Concert Report

On April 26th, I attended the College of Liberal Arts Department of Performance Studies presenting there Small Ensembles Concert. The performance began at 7:30 at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church and the ensemble was coached by David Wilborn. The ensemble included a variety of brass including; a horn trio, a brass trio, a trombone and tape, and a trombone choir. The performers were talented, but I did not care for the pieces that were chosen for the concert.

Throughout my life, no single thing has had a greater impact than music. It has made me who I am today, and I cannot remember a time when music wasn’t a huge part of myself - my earliest memories all contain the music that my parents played. Beyond being a product purely for enjoyment, as it was for a long time in my earliest years, music has gone on to become a fundamental part of who I am, how I spend my time, and who I spend that time with. It motivates me to be better for numerous reasons. I credit my early involvement in music with most of the successes I have had to this date.

This piece has a different theme than the other songs that I am reviewing today. Built to give thanks for the Russian victory over the French in 1812, the “1812 Overture” gives off a very strong and heroic feeling. The “1812 Overture” was introduced with a forte entrance with the help from the brassier, deeper instruments like the trumpets and trombones. The tempo of the song juggled back and forth between slow and fast paces to set the theme of the song. The “1812 Overture” started more at a homophonic texture followed by some imitative polyphony when the flutes were introduced. The flutes accented the song with their mesmerizing high pitch tones creating the audience to picture a scene where bells were ringing. The accompaniment of the flutes with the brassier instruments really intrigued the audience and left them wanting to hear

The concert that I attended was a charity concert, which was organized in Boston at a local university there. The South Asian Student Union of Harvard University organized the concert. I happened to be in Boston and this particular concert was organized for benefit causes such as using the proceeds of the concert to fund a number of poverty alleviation projects in South Asia. The concert was organized in a rather big room, which had a very big podium, as well as at least 500 seats that had been placed in it. Therefore, the overall hall where this concert took place was a typical auditorium setting with seating and a stage at the front. The concert promoters talked about different cause benefits related to alleviation of poverty in South Asia and that’s why the concert was organized. The organizers also informed the audience that the musicians wore traditional clothing so that the audience members could also have a good insight and understanding of the South Asian culture. All of ticket revenues for this concert were then given to a number of charities which then would use those funds to assist the different poverty alleviation programs in the larger South Asian region.

The concert I attended was called the Faculty and Student Recital, which took place in the Cisco Auditorium on April 11, 2017. The music that was on the program was mostly what is called “classical” music, as well as a Chinese Folk Song, an electronic composition, and variations on an Indian Tala. In the classical pieces, the instruments that were used were the violin, the piano, the cello, and the oboe. In the electronic composition, the computer was used to make music. In the Chinese Folk Song, the piccolo was used to imitate the unique timbre of a Chinese flute. In the Indian tala, drums from Ghana were used to imitate the rhythm and sound of Indian drums. The piano, the violin, the cello, and the piccolo all originate

On December 5th, the University High School Show Choir and Jazz Band performed. The show that the UHS Show Choir put on turned out to be fantastic. There were seven songs that the Show Choir performed, which varied from Ella Fitzgerald as well Broadway Musicals from Anything Goes, Gentleman Prefer Blondes, and Chicago. The first number was a song called “Anything Goes” from the 1934 musical Anything Goes, which was sung by soloist, Madelene Raneses. Madelene has very good potential in her singing as well as dancing. The dancing in this performance was greatly choreographed by Mylan Biltz. Furthermore, the concert moves on with their second number, which was Ella Fitzgerald’s minor, but lovely tune, “I Got Rhythm”. This song was performed

On Tuesday, Feb 28, the NMSU The Statesmen, Women’s Chorale, Chamber Choir, and University Singers presented a show called The Best of All Possible World, conducted by Christa Fredrickson. They performed various works: MADRIGALS, pieces from musicals, an ORGANUM piece, arranged by Fredrickson herself, as well as sacred text compositions and folk songs.

Smithville High School presented two winter concerts. I got the opportunity to view both performances. The first show was by the Vocal Music Department directed by Mr. Marcus Duncan and aided by accompanist Emily Rowland, and the second show was by the Jazz Ensemble and Symphonic Band conducted by Mr. Tom Brockman and Ms. Brittany Terwey. There were very similar aspects of the two concerts and very different aspects of the two concerts.

This year I am participating in the Area West Elementary Enrichment Band where I play the clarinet. I am proud of this because it is a large achievement in my passion, music. In grade 6 I was first introduced to the clarinet and instantly fell in love with it. Today I continue to play the same instrument. In Enrichment Band, I get to meet and play alongside other musicians who have the same passion and drive for music that I do. I also get to seek further learning opportunities within the band, such as the mc script I have received for the upcoming concert. Overall, the band is an excellent learning opportunity and I am truly privileged to have that opportunity available to me.

Many studies have been completed showing how much music can help students in listening, memorization, other areas academically, and social skills. Since one of the outstanding things about VCMS is our choir, it is very important to see Mrs. Grizzle’s--the choir director here--perspective. It is also important to see how the 8th grade chorus members think that choir has affected them throughout their middle school choir experience.

In the May 16th concert, the Sartell High School Concert Band played six pieces in the Sartell High School auditorium. Those six piece were, “Into The Clouds”, “On The Rising WInds”, “Adagietto”, “A Westward Expedition”, “From Russia With Music”, and “Prospect”. I will be evaluating the band’s dynamics and intonation.

On April 21, 2014 I watched the online performance of Sleeping Beauty performed by the Jacobs School of Music at the Musical Arts Center in Indianapolis. I have never personally been to the Musical Arts Center, but from the online streamed video, the place looks magnificently huge and phenomenal. The stage was absolutely stunning. It was big, vibrant, and breathtaking. It made it look as if you actually went back in time and were a part of the performance. The stage was enhanced with beautiful cool, calming purples, pinks, and blues that matched the performers’ outfits to a tee. It reminded me of royalty. Each performer had gorgeous outfits for every act, and I must say, the designer did a fabulous job.

On November 20, 2014, I had an opportunity to watch a concert entitled “Autumn Winds” at Colburn School in Downtown Los Angeles. It was part of a monthly concert series “Rush Hour Concerts at Colburn” hosted by Gibson Dunn. Gibson Dunn is a prominent law firm whose active involvement in the community expands to all various arenas of the society through their leadership and services. Rush Hour Concert is held monthly at Thayer Hall in Colburn School located at 200 South Grand Avenue diagonally across from the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Rush Hour Concert encourages the commuters to avoid traffic with this program to unwind after a long days of work with a wine reception at 5:30 pm

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.

Before my Junior year of High School started, I attended summer practice for Marching Band. In the same way, new members became brand-new friends. Meanwhile, we all played games to learn about each other and, in addition, helped each other with learning and memorizing the music. Immediately, people worked tough to prepare for our season. Our current band director, Mr.Verblaauw, pushed us to our limits. Therefore, I knew this would be the most tremendous season ever.