High School Symphony All-Region Orchestra

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.

My daughter and I attend the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra’s November Masterworks symphony conducted by Stuart Malina on November 13, 2016 at The Forum. I never attended a symphony before, so I was nervous about what we should wear and if we could find are seat. I expected the audience to be in their best clothes. The men in tuxedos with top hats on and the women in lavishing gowns with pearl necklace. My experience sure enough prove me wrong in many ways than one.

On September 8th, 2016 at 7:30 PM, a concert was held at Chabot College, Buffington Theater. A concert was performed by many different musicians such as William Sauerland with voice; Rick Flores with guitar , I really enjoy this performance because the guitar is one of my favorite instruments. The next one is Percussion which performed by Timothy Harris, Joe Bonfiglio with clarinet and Casey Hurt with piano and voice; Beverly Johnston with flute, Eric Schultz with vibes and electronics Deb Shider with oboe. There were 4 to 5 pieces performed by many musicians that I had listed on top. In each performance, each one of them contained its own unique techniques , contents, tempo and rhythms, sound and voice.

“A Music Faculty Recital” at Prince George 's Community College was actually the very first concert I’ve been to that included Baroque style. The environment created a nostalgic yet modern and elegant mood; something that made you feel like you were in the late 1700’s yet still in modern times. The songs were mostly enjoyable and we 're all well played. This concert included an ensemble: the flute, the cello, the piano, and the harpsichord. Peggy Bair, who played the flute, was very enthusiastic. Irma Cripe, who played the cello, was quiet for the first part of the concert but gradually became more important throughout the concert. And lastly, the virtuous Gary Kirkeby, who played the piano and harpsichord, served as the backbone of all parts of the concert and made this concert very enjoyable.

For the second and final concert report, I listened to the performance of Beethoven’s 9th symphony, as played by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Beethoven lived in Germany during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and was an influential figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in western music. The performance requires a large number of instruments, with woodwinds, brass, percussion, strings, and even a choir during the 4th movement.

On November 12, 2016 I attended a concert brought to you by the Chamber Musical Festival. The performers for this concert were; Vaneza Tallman, Peter Jalbert, Andrew Boyle, Christine Wang, Daniel Aizenshtadt, Kyunggok Kim, Nathalie Gaynor, Francesca Fetten, Rachel Halverson, Danbe Lee, Yu Ching Shelley Ng, Michael Brown, Abigail Tucker, Sebastian Stefanovic, Benjamin Lanners and last but not least Artem Kuznetsov. The instruments played tonight were the; Violin, Piano, Viola, Cello and clarinet. This concert review will be the last one I will be doing this semester and quite frankly I was very sad. That being said my mind was set to enjoy it more than ever.

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.

The concert started off at a quick and stimulating pace with Brahms’s Sonata for Two Pianos in F Minor. The piece starts with descending arpeggios echoing a sensation of distress or confusion. There are frequent slight pauses, creating a sense of suspense for what is to follow and building on the emotions

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.

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.

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 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

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.

Edward Elgar’s a leading English composer during his time and is known for composing the music piece named Pomp and circumstance No.1 which if you don’t know is now in day commonly played at ceremonial events such as high school or college graduations. When I started listening and analyzing this song I would notice how the piece is very joyous and uplifting, although when I listen to it I immediately think, as I said about a college graduation of some sort but if I didn’t think like that I would think it at another point of view. I would visualize a celebration as how the song starts of with a tiny loud bang and then resumes to a soft tone portrayed in a joyous manner where when you listen to the piece it gives you a positive feeling as if

Congratulations to the Edmond North Orchestra students! The ENO earned Straight SUPERIOR ratings for all four ensembles from all six judges at the OSSAA (Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association) Class 6A, 6A-E, 6A-EE, and 6A-EEE State Contest which was held at Edmond Santa Fe High School in February. This marks a new school and state record and our 14th consecutive State Sweepstakes Award! Way to go, ENO!