For those in the audience, it was a lengthy spring orchestra concert. For those on the stage, it was much more: a celebration of four years of hard work and dedication to their instruments. On May 21, Lake Braddock Orchestra held its annual Senior Solo Concert in the Little Theatre.

The Concert Orchestra, made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores, served as the opening act when the show began at 7:30 p.m. After four long pieces and a brief intermission, the Symphony Orchestra came on. Though it primarily consists of upperclassmen, on this night it was merely there to accompany the real stars of the evening: the four soloists.

Performing a solo at this concert is a goal for many LB musicians from the moment they bring their instruments to class for the first time. However, if solos were simply bestowed upon anyone that wanted one, the show would drag on forever, so it becomes competitive. Nine seniors from band and orchestra entered January’s preliminary competition, in which they played a concerto of their choice with piano accompaniment. A panel of judges selected four musicians to play their piece in the big show: Daniel Song (cello), Austin Cho (violin), Patrick Kim (cello) and Daniel Cox (tuba).

“[The auditioning process] was nerve-wracking, and took a lot of practice,” Kim said. “I started around May or June.”

Despite countless hours of practice and numerous rehearsals, the night of the concert was still loaded with nerves.

“It’s a big stress,” Cox said. “You’re sitting in the theater dressing room with the other soloists, just counting down the minutes. I was expecting to be on within an hour, and it took me two hours to get on stage, so that was an extra hour of pacing and waiting for my solo time to come.”

When the time came, however, the soloists rose to the occasion. Song played Boccherini’s Cello Concerto in B flat Major, and Cho followed with Mozart’s Violin Concerto no. 5. Kim performed Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Ironically, each of the first three acts joined the Symphony Orchestra immediately after their performance. Cox capped off the solos with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Tuba Concerto, and the show capped off with Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.”

“There was excitement, relief that I was done with the senior solo, but it was definitely bittersweet because it was my last performance with Lake Braddock Orchestra,” Kim said.

As always, the soloists were showered with praise; it came not only from friends and family but sometimes from complete strangers.

“After the show, I walked out, and there was this guy waiting for me,” Cox said. “I didn’t know who he was, had never met him before, he just shook my hand and said ‘Thank you so much, that was fantastic,’ and he walked away. It was the greatest feeling, knowing that I had affected someone like that I never knew. That’s why you play, and that’s why you perform.”