I Visit My Old High School For Their Annual Spring Musical

The first part of the concert played Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, also known as Fantasia, and it lasted less than 30 minutes. It opened with a lady named Anastasia Markina, and she introduced the piece with a slow virtuoso playing of the piano, to which later on the strings, cellos and basses, enter. Then Markina played an ornamented version of the choral theme, to

Last Thursday, I attended the Department of Music Concert Series at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. I was able to listen to both the Symphony Band, under the direction of Dr. Cara Morantz as well as the Wind Symphony Band directed by Dr. Sean Murray. They presented a tremendous performance comprised of pieces by J.B. Chance, Frank Ticheli, Samuel Hazo as well as a wide variety of other authors. The event was pleasurable to me, as well as many others in attendance to the concert. By the looks, colleagues families and teachers came to support the talented musicians on stage that night!

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

East Carolina’s Concert band and Symphonic band performed on Tuesday, February 16, at seven thirty in the evening in Wright Auditorium. Being a duel performance it included over a hundred of my talented East Carolina peers led by outstanding band Directors Dr. Juchniewicz and Dr. Staub. Along with great students and Directors, the show incorporated a beautiful trombone solo performed by a fellow colleague. Although I have never attended a concert where such style of music was being performed, I did enjoy the music being played and most of them sounded as if I heard them before. The professionalism the students portrayed and maintain to the audience was breathtaking and made me honored to be their peers.

The stage was not furnished with any elaborate decorations. It contained just enough chairs and music stands for the musicians. The bare stage allowed the audience to focus on the music and the musicians’ talent. The musicians would enter and exit the stage depending on who was playing for each specific piece. The work was carefully thought out and arranged in a way that was easy to follow. McDonald took the time to introduce the players and briefly explained why and how the works were chosen and arranged. Since the festival spotlighted Beethoven they made Beethoven as the center point and expanded on both directions to include German, Austrian, and Polish composers. This was extremely helpful as it provided the audience context regarding the pieces and allowed them to follow

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

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 ended with a very energetic song, which all the musicians in the stage played in. This arrangement was very rock/country like. A vocalist accompanied the orchestra. His vibrant personality and style of singing help the audience really engage in the

Yet I stood there, on the brightly lit stage with a shadow on the thousands of seats spread across in front of me. I could not help but inspect every detail of the place, trying not to be conspicuous. The music echoed off the walls as we played our warm up music and grins slowly radiated on everyone's faces. I played out as loud as I could and forgot all about my nervousness, partially due to not being able to hear myself, and had the greatest time of my life.

The Performing Arts Center was bustling with attendees of all ages. There were young students holding notebooks and laughing and repeatedly changing seats. There were older concert goers wearing blazers and serious expressions. A man in a black suit and a bow tie was sitting in an aisle seat holding an oboe. The atmosphere was cheerful and lively.

With the cellos in the background, the violins were the forefront of the piece. They created a sound similar to festival music. Then, the cellos and the violins alternated playing in a sort of call-and-response. The cellos began to play, then the violas, and finally the violins. The movement ended with all the musicians plucking the strings of their instruments.

I thought the place would be more like the auditorium that I saw before from my high school, but in fact the lighting and the design had made the theatre looked more like a palace. It was divided into two levels, with the second level hanging over half of the first floor. The stage was covered with two red curtains that the outer curtain would be pulled open when the performance started. The theatre itself was surrounded by many window-like niches that appeared every few feets. We actually had met the musicians before the performance. Some of them were relaxing at the field in front of the building and talking to the audiences. The male musicians were dressed up in black suits uniformly while the female musicians had either dressed in black, long dresses or trousers. The similarities between all of the musicians were their friendly attitude and the sort of excitement that they shared on their

Before the concert began, I was able to observe the audience members outside of the entrance doors. Unlike the other Kennesaw State concerts that I attended, there was an extremely large and diverse crowd dressed formally. The doors opened fifteen minutes before the concert began and an usher escorted me to the second row in front of the stage. As the performance began, felt a formal and prestigious atmosphere within the crowd. I began to copy my neighbor’s etiquette in order to fit in with the audience.

There were a total of four music pieces performed. They were “Overture from the Singspiel”, “Concerto in e minor”, “Concerto on b minor,opus 104”, and “Symphony#2 in b minor, opus 5”. I think pieces were performed belong to classical style.

The stage was brightly lit from both on stage and the front of house and the musicians were arranged in a semi circle around the podium. The back rows of the strings section were mounted on risers and high stools. They were all wearing black formal wear. They seemed confident in their playing and very relaxed and used to the stage. They all had excellent posture and were concentrating on the music without talking.