After receiving superior ranks at the Orchestra String UIL competition, the orchestra decided to take their skills to the stage at the Round Top Festival at Round Top, Texas, to record Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7, Respighi’s Pines of Rome, Mvt III, and Gustav Holst’s Jupiter, from The Planets for upcoming competition submissions for the Texas State Honor Orchestra award. The award allows the orchestra to perform at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Convention.

“It was both our first time and Mr. Thompson’s first time going to Round Top,” Violinist Jeemin Oh ‘27 said. “We were all incredibly excited. We heard the concert hall was beautiful, and it definitely lived up to the hype.”

Unlike their usual performance stage, the Raymond E. Hartfield Performing Arts Center (PAC), the hall at Round Top was smaller. It had excellent acoustics and beautiful decorations, and the interior was made of wood, giving it an “old-style” appeal. 

“It was such a wonderful experience to perform in that incredible hall,” Oh said. “It wasn’t a modern space like the PAC, but more of a classic, old-fashioned style [concert hall] which made it feel even more special. I got to spend  time with my friends, and our performance sounded amazing.”

In the Raymond E. Hartfield Performing Arts Center (PAC), the auditorium radiated with feelings of pride, excitement, and just a slight bit of nervousness. All five performing orchestras arrived on the evening of Tuesday, April 15th, to showcase what they’ve been working on for the UIL Evaluation.   

The evening was divided into two concerts according to level, with the Camerata Orchestra opening the first concert and the Symphony Orchestra ending the evening. Each orchestra presented three pieces. Although some confusing moments in Dag Wiren’s Serenade for Strings, Op 11, mvt I threw the performers off during the Philharmonic Orchestra’s s performance, the musicians quickly adjusted back on the beat.

“[Many] components didn’t meet [our] expectations during the concert,” Philharmonic Orchestra violinist Diane Kim ‘28 said. “It definitely left us unsatisfied afterwards. [We need to] listen out for other sections, know our counts, and [remember] the corrections we made during class at the concert.”  

Despite a rough opening, the musicians found their footing with their final piece, Peter Warlock’s Capriol Suite, mvt II and mvt VI, by showcasing their transition skills. The second movement, Pavane, featured mysterious tones, all while keeping the rhythm in line with a waltz-like dance. The sixth movement, Sword Dance, was the complete opposite of Pavane, opening with a stable, bold tone from the cellos. 

“My favorite piece was [the Capriol Suite] because of the two contrasting styles of music in the piece,” Kim said. “I especially liked Sword Dance because of how exciting it felt to play and how different it was from most other pieces we’ve gotten to play.”

Closing the evening, the Symphony Orchestra delivered breathtaking music for parents and students to enjoy. Their first piece, Starburst, by Jessie Montgomery, showcased tough, agile notes paired with a fast and complicated rhythm. The talented musicians were able to bring out the various musical colors that were meant to shine. 

“A tempo or rhythm fluctuation is the last thing you want when dealing with this piece,” Symphony cellist Jonathan Chow ‘27 said. “Starburst is more rhythmically inclined, so [we couldn’t lose] our focus or else [we’d] lose our pace. Given that we only had a few weeks to learn these pieces, I thought we did pretty amazing.” 

Because of the short amount of time, the three full orchestras, Philharmonic 2nd and 8th blocks, and Symphony Orchestra recycled their middle piece from the collaboration with the band. Despite reusing a piece, the Symphony Orchestra still delivered an astounding performance of Thomas Canning’s Fantasy on a Hymn by Justin Morgan. 

“The Canning is incredibly musical, so the attention to detail [is more centered] on intonation and tone but also dynamic contrast,” Chow said. “There were a few intonation issues in the Canning and Montgomery, but it wasn’t that noticeable.” 

Next week, all five orchestras will take their skills to the stage at the PAC on April 23rd and 24th for the real UIL Evaluation. Until then, the orchestras will continue to rehearse and polish every part of their music. 

“I hope we can reflect on our Pre-UIL concert and use it as an opportunity to make necessary corrections,” Kim said. “I’m glad [we can] find our weak spots in our playing so we can work on them before the real evaluation.”

A loud boom in the Northwest Austin area occurred around 11:23 a.m. on Sunday, April 13, and was felt as far north as Georgetown. First responders rushed to the scene at 10400 Double Spur Loop following a reported explosion and discovered a two-story house that had collapsed.

The cause of the explosion is currently unknown, but emergency officials speculate it was caused by a gas leak since the home had propane tanks. According to Austin Fire Department (AFD) Division Chief Wayne Parrish, this is believed to be an isolated incident, and there is no Texas Gas Service to the residence. AFD Battalion Chief Thayer Smith said that there are garage doors and windows damaged throughout the neighborhood that need to be replaced. There will be no criminal investigation into the explosion.

“This [incident] is very significant, [but] we have had several explosions over the years,” AFD Battalion Chief Thayer Smith said in a press briefing. “Red Cross is here assisting those who may not be able to return to [their] homes due to damage. Except for the two [houses], the one that was directly involved and the house next door, everything else hopefully should be inhabitable.”

In addition to the collapsed house, one house partially collapsed. According to the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services (ATCEMS), they had six total injured patients. Two were from the primary residency, with one in critical condition and the other in a serious but stable condition. A secondary home also had a patient in critical condition, and an additional adult voiced minor complaints. Two firefighters sustained minor injuries, and one was transported to the hospital for treatment. As of now, there are no confirmed deaths.

“Explosions can have a variety of injuries, especially primary and secondary homes,” ATCEMS Public Information Officer Shannon Koesterer said in the briefing. “There’s anything from burns to fractures from the explosion.”

The AFD Crew extinguished small spot fires in the collapsed debris. The debris included wood, a burned-out vehicle, and damaged homes. Furthermore, the power was out due to damaged power lines. Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) detected the outage at 11:22 a.m. the same day. PEC crew members are currently at the scene. The power outage added to the chaos of the situation, impacting RRISD families nearby. Residencies in the neighborhood housed many Westwood students who experienced commotion and household damage from the explosion.

“I watched the screen on my window fall off,” Lasya Gudibanda ‘27, who was one street away, said. “I went downstairs and heard my parents screaming because they thought [I was injured]. I went outside, and there was a giant cloud of thick yellow smoke. All of my neighbors came outside and stood in our yard because they thought it was our house that blew up. [My dad] went over to the house that exploded, and they pulled one person out alive from the rubble.”

The primary residence was newly constructed, and the family that bought the house had planned on moving in in two weeks. Neighboring homes housed numerous RRISD students, including Browning Lind ‘25, who helped clear rubble off one of the people in the collapsed house.

“I was in [my] room at the time of the explosion,” Lind, who was three houses down from the collapsed house, said. “The boom shook the entire house so much that I thought a plane had crashed into my house. I was thrust out of my seat, and my ears rang for a couple of seconds. I made sure my dad was okay and then ran down the street to see what [had] happened.”

The explosion also caused minor damage to neighboring facilities. Parrish and his team counted approximately 24 damaged homes in the area, with additional reports of damage in Spicewood Mesa, Pantera Ridge, and Muley Drive. Laurel Mountain Elementary (LME) School, only 0.2 miles from the site of the explosion, had window panels shattered in the cafeteria and one classroom. A portable also had electrical and plumbing damage. The district is working to replace the windows and LME Principal Doriane Marvel has provided the school community with updates and resources.

“Our maintenance and operations teams were on-site as soon as it was safe and began cleanup and repair,” Associate Director of Communications and Community Relations Ms. Sydney Kim said. “The Laurel Mountain community immediately came together to support each other. Maintenance staff have boarded up the affected windows and removed all the broken glass. The structure was unaffected, and the school is safe for students to attend classes.”

As of 2:30 p.m., power had been restored to all houses except those severely damaged. The Travis County Fire Marshall is the lead investigator and is currently looking into the cause of the explosion. The AFD will release details after confirmation. It was estimated that it would take several hours for affected individuals in surrounding homes – except for the primary house and the neighboring house – to inhabit their homes again. Officials were on a temporary standstill at the scene as they wait for excavators to aid in removing debris.

“I’ll always remember this,” Lind said. “Being at the scene was certainly no joke, and seeing the injured is something I’ll always remember.”