The “Music at Midday” concert on March 6 brought together members of the DVC Philharmonic Orchestra and the Advanced Piano Class to expertly perform selections from Vivaldi, Mozart and Bach.

The Presto movement of Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto “Alla Rustica” in G major, RV 151 really showcased how confident Joe Stefee was on first violin and was accented nicely by Tsun On Fong’s cello. Moet Onodera was the second violin.

Presto seamlessly transitioned into Adagio, which started somber, but eventually picked up and became more optimistic in its sound.

The next piece was Mozart’s “Divertimento” in D Major, K. 136, featuring Jaehwi Kim on first violin John Jungwoo Yoon on second violin, Grace Mun on viola and Dean Hiura on cello.

Kim really shone in the first part of this piece, and his impressive playing was further enhanced by Mun’s plucking on the viola, the sounds coming together to form an image reminiscent of a child sneaking up the stairs, suspenseful, but triumphant.

The Andante section proved to be very somber, like a symphonic goodbye to a lost lover.

This piece finished with Presto, which was definitely evocative of a scene of some grand ball, perhaps something out of “Anna Karenina,” where bold attendees ask one another for dances and happily oblige.

This piece garnered the loudest applause, with the audience seeming thoroughly impressed with this particular portion of the performance.

The concert closed with Bach’s Double Keyboard Concerto in C minor, conducted by orchestra Director Owen J. Lee and with Kim, Yoon, Jessica Hariott, and Diana Tataru on first violin; Steffe, Onodera, Kathy Gusenkov on second violin; Mun, and Valentine Robert Atchinson on violas; Hiura and Fung on cellos; and Trevor Murphy on the contrabass.

The first part of this piece, Allegro, featured Angel Liu and Ronni Jackl on the pianos, who not only showed the audience how much the piano can add to a piece, but impressed all with their masterful playing.

Adagio was the second part of this piece and my personal favorite. Stella Vivian Pramudji an Karen Snow took over the pianos, and it really felt like their instruments were the focus. The tempo was slowed down for this piece, giving listeners an opportunity to fully  appreciate each instrument and its individual contribution here.

This piece and performance closed with Allegro, which was the most grand piece played of the whole performance and featured Chia Yu Chung and Gwyn Baumberger on the pianos.

When you closed your eyes during this portion of the performance, you’d find yourself instantly transported to a century past. Every instrument was a compliment to each other and it really seemed like every single person in the orchestra really flourished here.