Choir teacher Adam Reimer is also the director of the orchestra for the musicals. Reimer said the orchestra, or “pit” ranges in size, and he enjoys conducting such a large project to bring entertainment to spectators watching the musical.
“The pit is a live orchestra that provides all the music,” Reimer said. “This year, I believe there’s 16 of us, and we’ve got trumpets, we’ve got trombones, we’ve got saxophones, flutes, clarinets, percussion, guitar, bass, and then we have multiple people playing the keyboard,” Reimer said.
Reimer said the pit is a live soundtrack for the performers during the musical.
“So when you go watch the show, you’ll see the kids singing and you’ll see the kids dancing, but you won’t see the orchestra playing,” Reimer said. “That’s what we do. We provide the music from an off stage area. So it’s kind of like a backing track, except it’s live. It’s great, and it gives the kids who are playing in it the opportunity to have the experience of a live performance with some kind of exciting times.”
Even if the pit is either too loud or too soft, Reimer said there is a fix for that problem.
“We also have a sound technician who sits in the house with controls of every instrument and controls of every microphone and can turn up different sounds. If we’re too loud, if we’re too quiet, if the trumpets need to be louder here, they can turn them up. And if the bass guitar is too loud, they can turn down.” Reimer said.
Reimer said that he is in charge of only the musical portion of the show and that theatre teacher Jennifer Ettinger runs the rest of the show.
“Ms. Ettinger is the main director of the entire show,” Reimer said. “She is the one that makes all the final decisions. I am the musical director, and so I’m in charge of anything that has to do with music, the singers, the players, the tempos, everything. Now, ultimately, if Ms. Ettinger says, ‘I think this tempo should be faster,’ since she’s in charge, then I say, ‘Yes,’ and I follow that. I offer my advice, and we have a great working relationship. Typically, what I advise is what we go with, but the hierarchy is Ms. Ettinger and then myself, and then we also have a choreographer that’s the person who teaches all the dance and comes up with all the dance, and so she’s in charge of all the stuff.”
The pit includes some adult musical players among the students. Sophomore Issac Thomson, who plays one of the keyboards, said that he likes being in the pit.
“It’s just an experience for me, especially with like, you get to know more people, because in a regular band, you just play music, you don’t really get to dig into, like, what the details are, and then just meeting new people is really nice.” Thomson said.
Junior Jaron Rains, who plays the clarinet, also said that he enjoys spending his time in the pit.
“I did it last year, but the only reason I did it is because all my friends were doing it, and then I tried out and I realized that it’s actually super fun,” Rains said. “And we get to play with all the singers, and we get to work with Mr. Reimer, who’s a really good teacher, and it’s just really fun.”
Alto saxophone player Katie Crick said there is a plentiful mix of music to play
“It’s really diverse,” Katie said. “It’s just really fun to play. It’s also really challenging. I think it’s fun having kind of working with like a smaller band. Like in my band class, it’s like a bigger class, but with the pit, there’s fewer of us, so it feels more like individualized, and I have more responsibility to learn my part and play out.”
“Matilda: The Musical” will be in the auditorium on March 5, 7, and 8 at 7 p.m. and March 6 and 4 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at bwhsne.booktix.com or at the box office the night of the show. Students with an activity card and staff with their ID may receive one free general admission ticket at the box office.
