Music takes center stage this weekend as more than 50 students from Orange Lutheran’s Instrumental Music program will perform in the annual Student Showcase on Sunday, April 26, at 4:00 p.m. in the Nechita Center for the Arts.

Musicians representing OLu’s Wind Ensemble, Strings Ensemble, Jazz Band, Handbell Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble will perform a variety of pieces from across several genres. Specialty groups will also take the stage, including a brass band, a guitar/bass/drum trio, a handbell trio, a jazz combo and senior spotlights.

The student-run concert will be presented in two acts. The first act will showcase academic-style works studied in class and performed at adjudicated festivals, and the second act will feature recognizable favorites, including medleys from Aladdin and Harry Potter, along with popular selections from Bruno Mars.

OLu Director of Instrumental Music Aaron Zeilinger has intentionally designed the showcase to be largely student-driven, with students taking the lead in selecting repertoire, designing lighting and stage backdrops, and conducting.

“Students are writing pieces, making their own groups, and conducting the pieces,” says Zeilinger. “They introduce all the pieces and write their own script.”

Planning and preparation for the showcase began in January and was spearheaded by the Instrumental Leadership Team, a group of student musicians selected to lead the program. As part of OLu Student Leadership, the Instrumental Leadership Team helps plan the showcase, supports fellow student musicians and shapes the overall direction of the program.

“My goal as a teacher is to teach them skills for life using music,” says Zeilinger. “I'm very much a believer in servant-based leadership, so for the leadership team, I focus on students who are ready to be a leader.”

This year’s president of the Instrumental Leadership Team, and one of the seniors who will be featured during the showcase, is Hudson Dexter, a percussionist who started playing his first drum set at age three.

As the son of musicians, Dexter has always gravitated towards music, and at OLu, he has found a supportive community that has allowed him take on leadership roles and helped him grow as a musician.

“Here at OLu in the music program, the teachers are here to teach music because they genuinely love it and love sharing it with us,” says Dexter. “And the Instrumental Leadership Team is so great because it’s so highly organized, and we're so passionate as a unit.”

One aspect of Dexter’s music journey he had not explored prior to arriving at OLu was composition, which has since become one of his main areas of focus. The showcase will include one original piece he composed called Rainforest Cafe and two he arranged.

“Composition is something I didn't really ever do before I was at OLu, but so many people here encouraged me to pursue that, and it's now become one of my favorite things to do,” says Dexter.

In the fall, Dexter will attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music on a full-ride scholarship, where he plans to study composition and pursue a career writing music for video games, movies and television. He will also continue to train and perform on the drums.

“I don't know if I would have been able to accomplish these things if I wasn't in such a nurturing and arts-forward environment,” says Dexter of OLu’s instrumental music program. “This environment and community are so fantastic, I can't imagine anything else.”

As Dexter prepares for his final showcase performances as a Lancer, he is especially proud of what the students have created this year and is excited to share it with the audience.

“This year has been my favorite year,” says Dexter. “There are so many students on fire for music…  These are kids that are super passionate about music, and they're putting on a very eclectic show of different styles. I think anyone would be interested in going. They're in for so much amazing music.”

The two-act showcase will feature 13 selections in Act I and 18 selections in Act II, with an intermission. As is

tradition for the Instrumental Student Showcase, the performance will conclude with an arrangement of In My Room by The Beach Boys, symbolic of the time music students spend in Room C-108 on campus.

Additional senior spotlights will feature Lucy Berman performing a marimba solo and Chloe Wei performing a cello solo. For Act I, Zeilinger says the students will perform some of the most challenging literature the program has ever presented, while Act II will feature several widely recognized and well-loved pieces. He encourages everyone in the OLu community to come out and support these Lancer musicians.

“There's something for everyone in this concert, and on top of that, you get to see the students do what they chose to do,” says Zeilinger. “You get to see students conduct and students lead…It is theirs, so you’ll get to see not only their performance, but also the effort and care they’ve put into it.”

For more information and to purchase tickets to the Instrumental Student Showcase, visit lhsoc.org/arts/purchase-tickets.