I attended CODA in December of 2019, and it was one of my favorite orchestra-related memories. CODA is California's All-State Orchestra. To be able to participate, the students must audition using a set of excerpts and scales that are selected. Unfortunately, I was not able to audition for 2020's December High School honors CODA Orchestra, as it was cancelled due to COVID-19. However, the Junior-High CODA Orchestra was offered in a virtual format this year. One of our Bow Buddies participants, Marielle, a cello player who was accepted into the Junior-High CODA Orchestra this year, agreed to be interviewed about her experience.
In speaking to Marielle, she says that the "experience was wonderful, and that [she] learned a lot." She says that everyone did the best they could considering the circumstances and the fact that it was online. One downside, she said, was that "it was harder to meet people and make friends." In person, CODA is a bonding experience and a lot of people meet friends that they will keep in touch with for years to come. Participants stay in a hotel room for two nights, and get to meet kids from other schools across California.
Marielle's conductor for the Junior-High CODA Orchestra was Dr. Catherine Hudnall. Among the songs they played were Rondeau from "Masterpiece Theater," by Mouret-Leidig, Andante Festivo by Jean Sibelius, and Dance of the Tumblers from "Snow Maiden," by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakoff. The format this year was two Saturdays, one in January and the other in February. In the regular CODA experience, it's an intense amount of time. During my CODA experience, we arrived at the hotel room on Thursday night. We had rehearsal all day both Friday and Saturday, and we had our final performance on Sunday. CODA in-person experiences are usually held at a college campus, and during my experience, we rehearsed at UC Santa Cruz. We got to eat in the dining hall, and were invited on a campus tour, and experienced college life. Virtual participants did not have these experiences, but they still had the chance to work with experts in their field. Each participant of CODA this year received a "swag bag" in the mail, which included a CODA pin, a bag, and a T-shirt, as pictured above. In my CODA experience, we also received a T-shirt.
In addition to rehearsals with the orchestra this year, the students had access to a masterclass with a professional. In the masterclass that Marielle attended, she described how there were a large group of cellists led by one instructor, who was from the LA Philharmonic. Only two of the students had time to play, which was a slight disappointment to Marielle. This was a new addition to this year's CODA experience, as when I attended CODA, each instrument did not have its own masterclass. The focus was to prepare for our performance at the end of the conference. In addition to the masterclass and the rehearsals that Marielle attended, she also had the opportunity to pick an elective class. Her choice of elective was a Q&A session with a film composer who composes for Hallmark movies and horror movies. This was a special activity that wasn't available for the in-person CODA experiences.
During the virtual CODA experience, participants played while muted, while the conductor instructed them. The final product at the end of this experience will be a video compilation of all the participants playing the pieces together. Although it's not the same as the in-person experience, Marielle feels grateful that she was able to participate and says she knows everyone worked very hard to put this virtual experience together. Be sure to check CODA's website in the coming months for the virtual performance of the Junior High CODA orchestra! Stay tuned to my blog where I will post the final recording link!