The Ponca City High School Symphony Orchestra will present its Annual Spring Concerto Concert on Thursday evening, May 7, at 7:00 p.m. in the Ponca City Schools Concert Hall. The orchestra is under the baton of Paula R. Cochran, Director of Orchestras at Ponca City High School. Assistant Orchestra Directors Katie Hauge and Dylan Labon assist daily and teach orchestra at the middle and elementary schools. Head Band Director Connor Pratt and Assistant Band Director Jason Salazar have assisted with the wind and percussion sections of the Symphony Orchestra. Retired maestro Dan P. Larson has been invited back to conduct seven pieces on the program. Alumni are also invited to join the orchestra for the final two pieces of the concert. The finale will include the traditional farewell to the senior class, ending with On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss.
The community is cordially invited to attend this final performance by this award-winning group of musicians. “This orchestra senior class has worked hard to continue Dan Larson’s legacy,” said Paula Cochran. “They are an amazing group of young people who have left footprints on our hearts.” There is no admission charge.
The 2025 award-winning symphony opens the evening with Gravitas by Soon Hee Newbold. This piece, directed by Paula Cochran, helped secure the Sweepstakes Award at the OSSAA State Orchestra Contest, where the group received straight superior ratings.
Next, senior violinist Katelyn Scanlon will perform Seitz’s Violin Concerto No. 2, Movement III, under the direction of Dan Larson. This exciting concerto features runs and triplets sure to thrill the audience.
Following this, Dan Larson will remain on the podium to conduct The Idylls of Pegasus by Richard Meyer, a piece requested by the senior class as a favorite to perform.
Paula Cochran will then lead the Symphony Strings in Eric Whitacre’s October. Joining them on percussion are Addison Matthews on suspended cymbal and Sophia Vaden on timpani.
To conclude the first half of the program, senior bassist and percussionist Jason DeVinney will perform the second movement of Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra by Ney Rosauro, conducted by Dan Larson. This movement features rapid sixteenth-note passages and requires five timpani.
Following the concerto, senior members of the Symphony Orchestra will be recognized with an escorted walk to the stage. The orchestra has 18 seniors this year, including 16 string musicians.
Opening the second half of the concert will be Bass Concerto No. 2 by Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, performed by senior bassist Isaiah Branstetter and conducted by Dan Larson. This piece showcases beautiful melodies and the full range of the instrument.
Next, Connor Pratt will take the podium to lead the Symphony in Soon Hee Newbold’s full orchestra arrangement of Warrior Legacy, an energetic audience favorite.
Senior cellist Emma Dye will then perform Élégie, Op. 24 by Gabriel Fauré, conducted by Dan Larson. This piece highlights the cello’s lyrical capabilities.
The Symphony Strings will follow with The Gift by William Hofeldt, a selection that earned straight superior ratings at the OSSAA Orchestra Contest and helped lay the foundation for the group’s Sweepstakes Award.
To conclude the concert, more than 45 alumni will join the Symphony Orchestra for two pieces conducted by Dan Larson. The ensemble will first perform music from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End by Hans Zimmer, arranged by Lavender and Longfield, featuring maritime percussion, a haunting violin and viola duet, and a powerful brass finale.
It has become a tradition to close the final concert of the year with On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss by David Holsinger, based on the hymn It Is Well with My Soul. Dan Larson shared, “This is one of the orchestra’s favorite pieces to perform. They understand the history of the hymn and how to bring the music to life. I can’t believe there is a group anywhere that performs this selection any better than they do. They play with such heart.”