The KHS 56-member Symphonic Orchestra, under the direction of Patrick Jackson, played a concert at the Tan-Tar-A Resort in Lake of the Ozarks for the Missouri Music Educator’s Association’s (MMEA’s) annual convention Friday, Jan. 27.

After sending in an audition tape last year, Jackson and his orchestra were one of three high schools in Missouri selected to give a non-competitive performance for renowned educators from across the state.

“It’s a big honor to go [to this convention],” Katherine Bartels, second violinist and freshman, said. “Not many schools get the opportunity to go.”

The program consisted of  “Overture to the Wind” (Mosier), “A Prayer for Peace” (Williams), “Tango No. 2 Cantengue” (Piazolla) and “Adagietto from Symphony 5” (Mahler), four emotionally and technically challenging songs, Jackson said.

“I thought that ‘Adagietto’ was challenging because to play it with the correct emotions you had to look deeper into yourself and play with everything you had,” Maggie Cox, cellist and freshman, said. “The Tango was difficult because it was so technical and fast.”

The orchestra’s performance was well-received, getting a standing ovation from the audience and bringing tears to some people’s eyes, Jackson said.

“I felt that in 26 years of teaching that was the best performance I’ve ever conducted with a high-school orchestra, not just technically, but emotionally. People couldn’t believe we were a high school orchestra,” Jackson said. “Teachers said it was the best performance they’ve ever heard at Tan-Tar-A. It was said by my colleagues, ‘Why did you pick such difficult music? This is too difficult for high school students.’ For them to play at that level, to prove them wrong, was really satisfying.”

However, the performance went over the allotted 30-minute time slot. Now, they cannot send in another audition tape in for six years (versus the normal three). Because Jackson is retiring after the 2014-15 school year, this was likely his last performance at the MMEA Convention.

“I’m disappointed that we went over,” Jackson said. “[But] we left a very high standard for any orchestra to play after. To come behind that would be very, very difficult.”