I got to spend a couple of rehearsals with them, and really the only direction I had to give was to pull out the violas and cellos a little more so they weren't overwhelmed by the sheer amount of violinists. I'm sure you know how many violinists a high school orchestra tends to have in comparison to the other strings...
And thanks for the kind words! It was a challenge trying to balance emotionality with simplicity, but if there were never any limits to creativity... I don't think we'd create very much. 🙂
They managed to get a nice warm sound and a good amount of line out of their performance for a youth group. Nice job to them, and to you for writing something emotionally engaging, but within the capabilities of a young musicians! Did you get to spend any rehearsal time with them, or just attend the performance?