Next month, Evan Reichenfeld will continue a musical tradition that began in the late 1930s, when his great-grandfather Eugene emigrated to the United States from his native Hungary.
Reichenfeld, 28, a middle school music teacher in the Woodland Hills School District, took over a few years ago as conductor for the Opus 2 Orchestra, which began life in 1954 as the Wilkinsburg Junior Symphony and later became the Reichenfeld Sinfonietta, composed mostly of Eugene’s private string students.
After his retirement in 2004, it became Opus 2 and today draws from across the east suburbs. The average age skews younger, although members range in age from sixth grade all the way up to Reichenfeld’s grandmother, who is in her 80s. The group practices at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Monroeville.
On Dec. 7, the group will mark its 70th anniversary with a concert featuring many of Eugene Reichenfeld’s original compositions.
“He taught at the old Turtle Creek High School, which is now Turtle Creek Elementary, and that’s where we’ll be performing the concert,” said Reichenfeld. “I got out every piece in our music library that he composed.”
Reichenfeld said his grandfather was heavily influenced by classical and romantic compositions.
“Mozart, Haydn, he probably thought that was the only important music,” he said. “He certainly was not a big fan of jazz, and I’m sure he’d disapprove of my arrangement of Clifford Brown’s ‘Yesterdays’ that will be part of the concert.”
Musical talent runs deep in the family: Reichenfeld’s father Doug will be featured on trumpet during the performance of “Yesterdays.”
The concert also will include Italian composer Giuseppe Antonio Capuzzi’s “Concerto for Double Bass,” which was the first piece of music Reichenfeld’s great-grandfather gave him.
“I have it framed in my house,” he said.
For Amy Russak of North Huntingdon, Opus 2 has been part of her life since high school — she was a member of the group from 2010 to 2015 and today serves as treasurer for its board of directors.
“Everyone is really friendly, and it’s like a real community,” said Russak, 27, a Norwin graduate who works in music licensing. “I think it also really helped to build my leadership skills. I was running sectional rehearsals as a senior in high school. It definitely helped me learn how to work with people.”
Reichenfeld the biggest challenge in preparing for the anniversary concert is a lack of familiarity with his great-grandfather’s original pieces.
“There are no recordings of that music,” he said. “So there’s no, ‘Well, here’s another orchestra playing it on YouTube and this is how it’s supposed to sound.’ I played the different parts on the piano and got a vague sense of how they sound, but we found out a lot when I started rehearsals.”
Opus 2 Orchestra’s 70th anniversary concert will take place at 2:30 p.m. at Turtle Creek Elementary STEAM Academy, 126 Monroeville Ave. in Turtle Creek.
For more, see Opus2Orchestra.com.