Walking into a room filled with decorations, waltzing students and orchestral and jazz music might seem like a dream to some, but on Nov. 21, this will become a reality as orchestra holds their fundraiser for the year: the Viennese Ball.

“[The Viennese Ball] is a three hour event that involves amazing food, waltzing, swing dancing, and general fun for all,” senior Emily Cleland, President of Orchestra, said. “All funds raised go into our orchestra Booster fund that is used to pay for repairs, sheet music, and other things that help make orchestra run smoothly.”

The Ball might just be a dance to some students, but to orchestra, it is more significant. Preparations take effort from volunteers, students and Orchestra Booster chairs.

“Planning and organizing the Ball started at the beginning of the school year when a member of the Orchestra Boosters volunteered to be the Viennese Ball coordinator,” orchestra director Allison Bailey said. “Decorations have been purchased, food donations have been assigned, and set-up committees have been created. As for the music, since our students are so talented, it only takes about a week to prepare the music.”

The Viennese Ball coordinator Barbara Steele has been in charge of organizing the Ball since the beginning of the year. She has been communicating with the Orchestra Presidents since the beginning of the year to organize committees, volunteers, donations and decorations. Although the preparations might seem tedious and hard, some of those working on Ball preparations enjoy them.

“I enjoy watching the excitement build within the orchestra and the school as the Ball approaches,” Ms. Bailey said. “Everyone seems to really enjoy the Viennese Ball and it is fun to watch all the planning come together for a wonderful evening.”

Although the coordinators of the Viennese Ball have been working since the beginning of the year, Orchestra does not take long to learn music. In fact, members only started to learn pieces about two weeks before the Ball. What might be even more surprising to some is that members of Orchestra don’t have extra rehearsals for the Ball.

“We just practiced the music once or twice during orchestra,” freshman and cellist Daniel Shen said. “There are no extra practices involved.”

Even though members of Orchestra haven’t been working for long on their pieces, they are still excited to see their hard work pay off when students attend the Viennese Ball. This isn’t the only thing they are excited for, though.

“I’m pretty pumped up to eat some great food at the ball,” Shen said. “I’ve heard from other orchestra members that the ball is classy, [especially] the food.”