Flutist Yael ’11 takes a deep breath before playing the first note, focusing on her technique and style in order to perfect her sound. Freiberg said that some performers adopt an emotion for their piece to “feel” the music more. However, she tunes everything out and simply plays.

Yael, along with three other dedicated classmates, performed on Thursday, Apr. 21 at 3:30p.m., for friends and family who gathered in Caswell Hall to enjoy this year’s Senior Recital.

The girls performed a total of nine pieces, including a final piano mash-up arranged by Celine ’11 consisting of contemporary music from Justin Bieber to Lady Gaga and performed by Cuevas and Alice ’11.

Celine performed the “Time Travel Theme” by Jay Chou, which had a memorable staccato and forte ending, meaning louder with short, fast notes. Freiberg and violinist Colette ’11 performed the duet “Dialogues” by Denes Agay. The piece presented a conversation between the flute and the violin and frequently switched between allegro (fast) and andante (slow) tempos as well as between fortissimo (loud) and pianissimo (soft) volumes.

The seniors and the other music ensemble members, 47 students in total, also performed in the annual Recital of chamber music on Sunday, May 1.

This year, for the first time ever, a chamber orchestra performed consisting of five violinists and four flutists. Performing arts instructor Deborah Sealove said she was very pleased to have this addition to the music ensemble program.

“This was the first year Music Ensemble had the appropriate number of flute and violin players to start a chamber orchestra. I also had to make sure they were evenly matched in terms of their abilities,” Sealove said.

Maddy ’12, a member of Music Ensemble for the past five years, agreed that the new Chamber Orchestra was a success.

“You can only have so many duets. It was nice to hear all of the different melodies within one piece. They were able to bring out each individual instrument,” Maddy said.

Violinist and chamber orchestra member Ysa ’12 said it was great to be able to play alongside other instruments.

“It was a really rich experience. There are more instruments, but we still all have a part. I really enjoyed it,” Ysa said.

Over half of the Music Ensemble members play the piano, and the rest play the flute, violin, or clarinet. Annie ’12, the only clarinet player, said this year’s concert was one of the best performances they’ve had since she has been at the School.

“I thought the musical talent this year was exquisite. There were really top-notch performances. I felt really proud, and I was glad all our hard work paid off,” Annie said.

Every year at the Music Ensemble performance, Head of School Barbara Wagner has performed a piece with Sealove. However, this year, Wagner was unable to perform due to schedule conflicts. College Counselor Michael Heeter filled in for Wagner at the performance and, according to Millicent ’12, performed well.

“It’s nice to see the teachers perform because there are so few times when you get to see your teachers shine. You never get to see them do something to show off their set of skills,” Millicent said. “Mr. Heeter and Ms. Sealove played a lovely piece together.”