Chamber Music Spectacular

It’s amazing to listen to musicians who do not normally play with each other come together and leave the audience in complete awe. That is exactly what happened on the day of Thursday November 26th 2014. The Bill Crothers Varsity Winds comprised of grade eleven and twelve students along with a few, talented grade tens went to listen to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra play. We travelled via a typical yellow school bus that took us to Roy Thomson Hall where we went right to the top level and took our seats. The seating seemed rather helpful because from a distance you could hear every instrument when you focused on it. It was beautiful. The band presented well with their “Penguin” like attire that was kind to the eyes. They appeared very organized,

This concert overall was interesting and entertaining. The way that the ensemble is split into trios and groups and the short and plentiful songs provide a refreshing change continuously giving the audience a chance to hear different play styles. The only critique I have of the pieces is that at times they had a disorganized sound that I did not recognize as pleasant to listen to. The emotion I was able to leave with was a lightened mood, but I did not have any deep emotional connection to the music. My favorite piece of the night was “The Obstinate” because of the amazing french horn solo that is played halfway through and leads into the conclusion of the song. The style of this concert was new to me and I enjoyed becoming a part of a musical era and style that is not something that I would typically indulge in. The art behind these pieces was shown through the passion of the performers

For this concert report I chose to go to a performance of student composers held at the Kimball Recital Hall. I chose this one because I wanted to see some of the talent that my peers have in the music realm, and also it was one of the only concerts I have been able to attend because I usually work at night. It was impressive to hear pieces composed by students. I cannot imagine creating something as complex as a musical composition, much less actually performing it, so this aspect of the concert was particularly awe-inspiring. There was a large attendance, and I think that much of the audience consisted of friends of the composers and/or performers. I went with three friends, who I convinced by telling it would be interesting to see

Overall I actually enjoyed the piece more than I thought I would. It had a nice tempo that allowed listeners to be engaged and even when the volume dropped the violins played a softer texture as if they were inviting you to listen closer and pay more attention. Generally, the theme was also joyful which I took notice of and enjoyed. Lastly, I didn’t notice any musical mistakes, and thought the piece was well played.

I attended a Senior Recital performed by Travis Hogue-Smith. This concert took place at Barry University’s chapel on March 28, 2017 at 7:30 PM. The instruments used in this concert are a clarinet, played by Travis Hogue-Smith, and a piano, play Dr. Beverly Coulter. Music from both Romantic and Classical genres were played in this concert.

On November 7, I attended the concert called “ArtPower! Presents: St. Lawrence String Quartet” at 8pm in CPMC, UCSD. Four artists performed it: Geoff Nuttall, Mark Fewer for violin, Lesley Robertson for viola, and Christopher Constanza for cello. They performed three String quartets, composed in different eras. The first one is “ String Quartet in C major, Op.76, No.3 ‘Emperor’,” composed by Franz Josef Haydn, 1732-1809. The second one is ”Five Pieces for Spring Quartet,” composed by Erwin Schulhoff, in 1923.The third one is “String Quartet in C-Major, Op.61,” composed by Antonin Dvorak, 1841-1904. This String Quartet with four musicians impressed me a lot, not only for the concert full of audiences, of whom half were on the lower floor

On Saturday, May 9th, the RIT Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra put on a performance titled the “Apotheosis of the Dance” at the Allen Chapel within the Schmitt Interfaith Center. The performance began with the RIT Chamber Orchestra, featuring mostly stringed instruments, performing works of Mozart, Bach, and Grainger. After a short intermission, the RIT Orchestra entered and performed a piece composed by Beethoven. The majority of the concert was conducted by Michael E. Ruhling, with the exception of a few pieces performed by the Chamber Orchestra that did not require a conductor. The Orchestra consisted of string, woodwind, brass, and percussion sections, and the Chamber Orchestra only had a string section with a flute soloist.

Also while listening to the music I started to realize that every kind of music has its own rituals. Thinking about how rituals help performers and audience get into a musical frame of mind, and to contain some sort of energy released by the music. Thinking back to how pop or rap music music has its own set of moods; depending on which type or pop/rap it can have a hyper or depressed. In my two experiences with instrumental music both had a very laid back and relaxed mood. Also, seeing the amount of skills and talent the musicians playing the instruments have, from holding the instruments for 30 minutes in a certain position to their ability to read musical literacy. Also, seeing facial expressions change at a constant moment, looking at there hand movements while playing the instruments feels as if someone is controlling their movement speed. Also seeing how most of the audience looks like there analyzing something during the recital, enjoying the music in their own way. Everyone should get a chance to experience chamber music

Overall, I enjoyed the performance; the chance to play such amazing pieces, the opportunity to bring a smile to the audience, and to continue to learn and push myself to better my style of playing. There is always something almost magical about staring out into the audience at the end of a performance; it always brings a smile to my face. As great as the concert turned out to be, there are a few things I wish would have been different, such as, having more room on the stage, having the auditorium be slightly cooler than it was, and performing Riders for the Flag

Most of the songs that were performed in the chamber concert on October 20th 2016, were more contextual and emotional approach. With the measures of duple and triple. Some were hard to identify because it jumped to different themes and change in rythmes. The concert dress code was more casual and normal. The performers gave their full potential to bring the music to live. There were six performers overall. They performed a duo and then performed as a whole group to bring a mixture of sound. As three grand pianos and two toy pianos were used to create suspense and bring a set of tone to their audience.

I feel that the fourteen members of chamber orchestra and the two vocalists did an outstanding job. This piece was well put together. I loved the harmony that was brought forth between the orchestra and the vocalists. The two vocalists a tenor known as Paul Groves and a soprano known as Anna Larson, did a beautiful job staying in tune. The way that their voices went back and forth in harmony was just beautiful.

On Sunday, May10 2015, a concert was held in The Broad Stage. The concert was played by Santa Monica College Symphony Orchestra, whose conductor is Dr. James Martin. For this concert, I would identify myself as a referential listener at this concert. I say this because I am not an expert in music, therefore it would be hard for me to be a critical listener. I wouldn’t be able to tell what went wrong with a performance even if some incorrect notes were played. I was more of a referential listener because the music was soothing and brought my mind to peaceful thoughts. This essay will tells my experience of the concert in order to persuade my friend to  attend a classical music concert with you in the future.

The concert was performed on the Southam Hall stage at the NAC; this is a large hall with extremely good acoustics. It is a nationally known stage, so the quality of the hall is very good. Generally, the audience was very receptive as it was composed of adults, who were all silent. The acoustics were very good as the hall spread the sound throughout the hall without making it echo. This had a positive effect on the performance, because it was possible for the orchestra to be clearly heard from any point in the entire hall. I was impressed by the large number of students that I saw that night because the show deserved to have been heard by many young people.

In my opinion, I believe that the second performance was very different from the first performance. The second part of the concert had a variety of melodies and more people sung than during the first part of the concert. Some may consist a dramatic, happy, love, suspense, and others melody. For example, one of the play that they sung that really interested me was the end of the opera music that they sung called La Traviata by Giusseppe Verdi during the romantic period. During this performance, it consisted a solo pianist, two soloists singers which is a man and a woman, and a chorus which is all the cast of the Repertory Opera Company. La Traviata by Giusseppe Verdi is a libretto opera that was inspired from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. I believe that this piece fits the style of the romantic period because based on their performance, the play consisted arias which the singer sung the music piece beautifully, lively, and happy. And lastly, the libretto allowed the audience understand what is happening during the play. Having a staged also allowed us to see the play in a more realistic

At the entrance of the theatre there was a really nice lady greeting the audience that was going inside. I think that that affected my mood and everybody else 's by making us feel comfortable and welcomed. That was a simple yet convenient gesture, setting the mood of the audience is a very important step in order to have a successful performance. I liked the way the stage was set. I witnessed the construction of the set. As the stage was taking