As fine arts director and conductor Susan Memoli cues the Honors Sinfonia Orchestra (HSO), the orchestra counts, “one, two, three, four,” before the quick-tempoed piece “Devil’s Nightmare” by Dean Marshall starts.
Wayland High School held its annual Masquerade Concert on Thursday, Oct. 23, featuring orchestras from both the high school and Wayland Middle School in the WHS auditorium.
WMS orchestras opened the spooky-themed concert, which was followed by the WHS String Orchestra and the HSO. The finale was Bernard-Stephans’s arrangement of “Golden” by Huntr/X, performed by a combination of the high school orchestras and the eighth grade orchestra.
This concert set itself apart from others because of the dress code. While traditionally, concert dress codes consist of all black dress clothes, the dress code of the Masquerade Concert featured costumes instead. This year, costumes ranged from movie characters to animals to food items and more.
“It’s supposed to be a recreational fun gathering,” orchestra president and WHS senior Jeffery Mao said. “Everyone is dressed in goofy costumes. It’s just a great time in general.”
This concert also allows middle schoolers to watch the WHS orchestras and perform alongside them.
“Its a great connection between the two schools,” HSO member and WHS sophomore Archie Baker said. “The middle-schoolers get to look up to the high schoolers and learn from them, and we get to be role models.”
The HSO set this concert apart by playing a movie soundtrack. The orchestra led with a dramatic performance of Nathan Johnson’s “Knives out,” which was arranged by Peyton Hall and rearranged by the HSO. Their final piece was the aggressive and intense “Devil’s Nightmare” by Dean Marshall.
The performance of “Devil’s Nightmare” featured senior HSO member Atticus DeGrenier, HSO first chair Rachel Lei, orchestra vice president Eric Zhang and sophomore HSO member Elyse Shiozaki Ta all on violin. This piece separated itself from others by having HSO members sing, stomp their feet and chant while playing.
The concert also acted as a chance for the musicians to connect with the audience. Orchestra officers ran games between performances, including a heads or tails game where the winner received a $25 gift card to Jindu Asian Cuisine. Other games included a Where’s Waldo game where musicians had to find someone dressed as Waldo in the crowd. There was also a costume contest where orchestra members’ costumes could be selected to win certain categories.
Some notable costume contest winners included sophomore HSO member Cyriaque Schaff, who won “Most Despicable Costume” as a minion from “Despicable Me,” and senior HSO member David Ryu, who won “Best Failed Costume That’s Still Good” as a Baby Saja character from “KPop Demon Hunters.” There were also other winners across all grades.
“This isn’t just about a bunch of orchestra dorks,” Memoli said. “We have all these kids, sixth grade through 12th, [spending] years and years honing their crafts. They come together, and they perform for each other.”
![From left to right, junior Ben Pyhtila, sophomores Aadith Charry and Owen Chislett play their cello instruments. Junior Jubin Kim also plays the cello and has been playing the instrument since third grade. "I think that [the cello] is a good balance between a high instrument versus a low instrument, and I just really like the rich sound that it makes," Kim said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_6540-1200x800.jpg)
