High School Symphony All-Region Orchestra

The concert performed by the Allen High School Symphony Orchestra, which combines the Chamber and Sinfonia Orchestras, was an amazing concert but was not a flawless one. The pieces all sounded quite wonderful on the outside, but by diving deeper into the music and truly listening to and observing the performance with a sharper eye, there were some problems that appeared in a couple different areas, and those problems came mainly from three distinct areas: tone, technique, and musicianship.

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 April 11, 2014 The Florida Orchestra performed Wolfgang Mozart’s Symphony No. 28 in C major, K, 200, David Diamond’s Symphony No. 4, and Johannes Brahms Quartet No.1 for Piano and Strings in G minor at the David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Ferguson Hall in Tampa, Florida. Gerard Schwarz, guest conductor, led the Florida Orchestra for each of the compositions. According to The Florida Orchestra Program the list of performers for the violin is Jeffrey Multer, Nancy Chang, Jeffrey Smick, Lei Liu, Sarah Shellman, Lucas Guideri, Valerie Adams, Toula Bonie, Saundra Buscemi, Mary Corbett, Linda Gaines, Oleg Geyer, Cynthia Gregg, Linda Hall, Yan Jiang Lu, Evelyn Pupello, Claudia Rantucci, and Virginia Respess. The list of performers for the viola is Ben Markwell, Kathie Aagaard, Karl Bawel, Lewis Brinin, Alan Gordon, Alison Heydt, Kenneth Kwo, Warren Powell, and Barbara Rizzo. The list of performers for the violoncello is James Connors, Lowell Adams, Rebecca Bialosky, Alfred Gratta, Gretchen Langlitz, Laura McKey Smith, and Merrilee Wallbrunn. The list of performers for the bass is Dee Moses, John DiMura, Roger Funk, Alan Glick, James Petrecca, and Deborah Schmidt. The list for performers for the flute is Clay Ellerbroek, Daphne Soellner, and Lewis Sligh. Lewis Sligh was the only piccolo performer. The list of performers for the oboe is Shawn Welk, Lane Lederer, and Jeffrey Stepehenson. Jeffrey Stephenson also performed during the night playing the English

As a member of the orchestra, Stephen distinguished himself by his solid musicianship, dependability, and leadership. Always on time for rehearsals with his music well prepared, Stephen’s supportive attitude and musical skill inspired his fellow performers. Greatly respected by members of the orchestra, he was appointed concertmaster in his freshman year, a rare accomplishment. In 2005 he won the orchestra concerto competion, and soloed with the orchestra, performing Pablo de Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen. I have engaged him to solo again with

When the concert first began, the three instrumentalists walked with energy despite their age. The first song, “Sonata I in G-Major Op. 2, Nr. 1” by Michel Blavet, was a Baroque Sonata. There were five movements and was played by the harpsichord, flute, and cello. All movements of the song were polyphonic because of the three instruments that had different parts and equal importance. In the first movement, I noticed that the flute tended to rise in pitch. In the second movement, I noticed that the melodies often repeated. Throughout the rest of the song the tempo changed from fast to slow and the flute would usually take the lead. On the last movement, the cello and the harpsichord

On February 21, 2016 from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM I attended, “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” by Jonathon McNair at Rudder Theatre. The Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Marian Anderson String Quartet, and special guest narrator Greg Wise preformed three pieces. These pieces include, “Lyric for Strings,” “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” and, “Symphony Number 1.” The Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra consists of Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Harp, Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Bass Trombone, Tuba, Percussion, Timpani, and Keyboard. The Marian Anderson String Quartet uses two violinists, viola, and cello.

To start with, the Varsity Band performed a royal march called “King Cotton” by Karl King. It reminded me of a Sousa-type piece due to the recurring melody and march style. As the piece began, the band played tutti but had a mediocre balance due to the woodwind instruments, particularly the clarinets, standing out from the others. Their reedy timbre and higher pitch than the rest of the ensemble

After a few second, bass and two percussions joined them and then two woodwinds, three brass and violin began to play in a calm rhythm. In the middle of the composition, when the brasses and the woodwinds accompanied, the rhythm changed, it became faster and that part was so wonderful and energetic of this composition. The ensemble did an excellent job of keeping with the beat.

As a University of Northern Iowa College student taking Soundscapes, I attended a recital by Annalea Milligan on Wednesday Oct. 19th, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. in Davis Hall, a small auditorium, at the Gallagher Bluedorn. Annalea Milligan received her Bachelor of Music degree in performance at Pacific Conservatory of Music, and is currently a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in bassoon performance at University of Northern Iowa. For the first half of the program she played the bassoon in Rhapsody composed by Willson Osborne and then she was accompanied by Mariya Akhadjanova on piano playing Variations on Theme of Pergolesi composed by Otmar Nussio which included I. Arietta, II. Scherzetto, III. Tamburino, IV. Lamento, V. Ostinato, VI. Rapsodia, VII. Elegia, VIII. Barbaresca, IX. Stornello, and X. Danza. Then after a brief intermission Milligan played the bassoon and was accompanied by Serena Hou with the harpsichord playing Concerto in G Minor, RV 495 composed by Antonio Vivaldi which included Presto, Largo, and Allegro, not to mention she also played Bachianas Brasileiras No. 6 composed by Heitor Villa-Lobos and was accompanied by Azeem Ward with the flute which included I. Aria (Choro), and II. Fantasia. I will depict the first and second part of the recital and describe my reaction and total opinion about the overall concert.

When I was an eighth grader in middle school, I joined IUSD Middle School Honor Orchestra. I played the viola in this orchestra and I was eighth chair violist out of sixteen violists. Many of my friends joined this orchestra and we had a lot of fun. I played different pieces of music with everyone in the orchestra and I learned many new things. Playing music pieces with different people that play different instruments have taught me a lot, and I learned that it is always important to work as a team. Joining this orchestra has given me the better understanding of music and teamwork. After the concert of this orchestra, we had a field trip to California Adventure and I performed there with the group of the first time.This is one of the best experience

On the 5th of December, I attended my second concert in Cypress Recital Hall. It was an amazing experience. I got to fully appreciate the sounds of the violin and the piano. Erika Salas, played the Violin accompanied by Yoko Mizuno, Doris Wang and Michael Cooper each individually performed a different piece on the piano. The first song was Sonata in D major HWV 371 by George Frideric Handel and performed by Erika Salis and Yoko Mizuno. The structure of this sonata was made up of four movements. Affetuoso feeling, tenderly, Allegro lively, fast, Larghetto slowly, steadily, and Allegro energetic, fast. Each section had a specific form the first movement reminds one of a slow symphony. The Allegro is written in a fugue, polyphonic style. The

The pieces played in this performance were Humoreske by Bernard Alt, Ecos Armonicos by Craig H. Russell, Concerto Grosso by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, Concerto for Bass Tuba by Ralph

Never could I have thought that my first concert experience was going to be in a college class, performed by various composers of classical music. During the concert, I got to listen to four performances. First, the Oxycotton was played by Tim Sanchez. Second, Samantha Post played Acht Stucke on flute, followed by Nicholas Gledhill, playing Blues and Variations for Monk on horn. Finally, the CSU Graduate Brass Quintet performed a piece named Misty. In this essay, I will share my personal experience of the concert and discuss the different elements of music seen in the different performances.

The Concert opened with “String Quartet in F Major” by Maurice Ravel. The piece was divided into four movements. The first Movement, Allegro moderato - Très doux, sets the tone for the entire piece. It opens in a warm, inviting tone played by all members of the quartet. Then, it immediately leads into somewhat of an exciting climax, with the first violin taking control and the other three instruments playing similar harmonies, but quickly the music quiets. This same, quick intensity transforming to a slower, quiet melody is continuously repeated throughout the entire first movement. The second theme presented in the opening

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