The world premiere of “Metamorphosis: A Caterpillar’s Journey” will be performed by the Montverde Academy Orchestras on Wednesday, February 13 at the Clermont Performing Arts Center. The free concert is open to all ages and begins at 6:30 pm.
Montverde Academy has received a commissioned musical composition that allows novice to advance musicians to perform ensemble. The new piece titled, “Metamorphosis: A Caterpillar’s Journey,” is composed by Francis J. Caravella and dedicated to Mr. Hanrich Claassen, Mrs. Gina Mobley, Dr. Jeannine Mongeon, and the Montverde Academy Orchestras will debut at the Strings Concert on February 13 at the Clermont Performing Arts Center.
It became apparent when searching for music that students of various ages and abilities could perform together, that few pieces existed. Dr. Jeannine Mongeon, Orchestra Director at MVA, contacted Caravella, a composer and teacher in Pennsylvania, and proposed a commission project for this years’ string concert. She chose Caravella for his compositional experience writing for various ages and abilities. The vision and details for the commissioned piece were outlined and he went to work, composing a piece that beginning to advanced students would be able to perform together.
The work features musical parts for the Montverde Academy Advanced Orchestra, Middle School Orchestra, Lower School Quartet, Grade Three strings, and Grade Two strings, with a number of solos to feature Advanced Orchestra students. The six-minute long piece begins quietly, slowly evolving into a majestic, rhythmic finale – a musical progression depicting a caterpillar’s dramatic metamorphosis into a butterfly.
“It was challenging to find a piece that all of our string musicians could play, so we seized the opportunity to create an original piece,” said Mr. Dean Bell, Director of Arts, Montverde Academy. “This piece is noteworthy for the string education world and MVA, as Montverde Academy’s name will appear on this music forever, being seen by anyone who uses the music.”
“Working with Mr. Caravella was wonderful,” said Dr. Mongeon. “He understood our vision and our students’ abilities to compose a moving piece that creatively evolves a simple theme at the beginning into a more complex and rhythmic melody at the end.”
MVA’s active Music Department spans all ages from Pre-K3 through 12thgrade and has a Music Conservatory for Middle and Upper School students who are interested in a more robust music education program. Lower School students begin learning to play the violin, as part of the curriculum for second and third-grade students. The fourth and fifth-grade students, middle and upper school students have opportunities to perform in the school orchestras.
