ISO Star Spangled Symphony: Concert Report

I stood up in front of a hundred curious, gleaming eyes. “Hey guys,” I began, “I’m going to show you why the trombone is the coolest brass instrument ever!” I immediately whipped the slide out and performed a series of sequential glissandos, each one with more vigor than the last. That morning, I was performing with my school’s jazz band at the KIPP Elementary Academy in Philadelphia. Over a decade passed since I had last stepped foot in a Philadelphia school, when I attended the James Dobson School in kindergarten, yet the cozy gymnasium and the children’s crisp uniforms instantly evoked memories of my childhood. But one thing I did not remember from the past was having the opportunity to experience jazz at a young age. Thus, I desperately wanted to display the awesome power of brass instruments that is the soul of jazz music and inspire the kids to partake in the timelessly euphoric journey of music that I am blessed to have taken.

Ludwig van Beethoven-Symphony No. 9 performed by the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra on May 9, 2016, was an amazing concert to view with the many pitches and ranges of the instruments and vocalists. I enjoyed the concert more than I thought would. As I am writing this report, I am listening to it once again. This concert report reveals what I saw and heard during the concert with any significant observations.

“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.

I especially liked, Spring: Overture for Wind Orchestra, because of the rapid and dance-like scene. In addition, I was impressed with the orchestra’s ability to perform so favorably with the brilliant soprano soloist. My least favorite performance of the evening was Danceries. The beginning was enjoyable but it quickly shifted to excessive refrains and distorted structure of instruments. After hearing these independent pieces I was able to comprehend and respect the talent of the performers of Bob Jones University’s music division. Overall, the musicians performed an excellent concert and left a lasting impression on

All is silent, the cars drive by honking in support, men remove their hats and place them ontop their chest. The band director steps onto the podium, raises his arms by tapping his thighs with his hands and slowly bringing them up level to his shoulders. As he raises his arms ready to conduct, our instrument come up to playing position in unison. “One, two” prepping us to play The National Anthem. As people stand in respect, we play the Anthem, the trumpets and trombones in harmony, the tubas carrying the underneath sound, the flutes, piccolos, and clarinets in melody. The cymbols crashing againdt one another, and the percussion adding rhythm

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.

I have never attended an orchestral concert. Although my taste ranges between several different types of music, the only concerts I have attended are of the rock and country variety. I was not sure what to expect in attending The Houston Civic Symphony’s performance on Sunday, October 9, 2016. It was held at the Dunham Theater within the Morris Cultural Arts Center at Houston Baptist University. Once inside I saw the beautiful stage with all of the performers warming up and three stories of seating. Many of the patrons were in the age range of 30 and up. I did see some kids and young adults but not many. The HCS marked its 50th year since the very first performance this season. The first performance happened in 1996 when a group of music lovers in Houston came together to play a concert just because they wanted to play and share their love of music with others. From that day they became known as the Houston Civic Symphony. Some of the players I watched in this performance have been with the Symphony for 25 years or more while others are barely reaching their first year if not their first performance; only two of the players have been there since the very first season. Out of the three pieces performed the one that caught my attention the most was the last, it hold a powerful message of fear and desperation for

Next, the chamber orchestra quickly transitioned to a vivace song that was performed con fuoco and was named “Indiana.” In this song, every instrument was given an uptempo solo to showcase the performer’s immense talent. The dynamic throughout was forte in fashion and did not vary from beginning to end.

For this assignment, I went to the Basically Beethoven Festival at the Dallas City Performance Hall. The recital was opened with a few pieces played by the rising stars Madera Wind Quintet. The main performance included Rachel McDonald on the viola, Joseph Kuipers on the cello, Grace Wollett on the violin, Scott Wollett on the oboe, and the great pianist Alex McDonald. They performed a compilation of famous composers’ masterpieces.

On Saturday, December 12th, the High School Philharmonic All-Region Orchestra performed a variety of fascinating pieces. They were directed by Professor Edward Kawakami from Carthage College. The region orchestra began the concert with “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4 op. 39” by Edward Elgar. The next piece that the orchestras performed was “Clair de Lune” by Claude Debussy. The last piece that the High School Philharmonic All-Region Orchestra performed was “Samson and Dalila Dance Bacchanale op. 47” by Camille Saint-Saens.

Saint Louis Brass began their set with a harmonious, traditional 1600s tune. I was amazed at how well all the sounds from the brass instruments melded together. Before hand, when I thought of brass instruments, especially trumpets, I thought of the sharp notes often played in jazz; however, the smooth sounds from the five instruments infiltrated the room, completely filling my body with a calm peace. The musicians sat, fully engaged in the music that buzzed from their lips. I really enjoy this antiquated piece of music far more than I anticipated.

For my second concert I attended the Central Methodist University Concert Band at Swinney Conservatory of music. The first piece that they played was titled Cyrus the Great, this piece was composed by Karl King and arrangement by Andrew Glover. Cyrus was a band member in King Fort Dodge Municipal Band from Iowa. This piece is a march. This piece contains low brass lines with minor key tonalities with some interesting harmonic changes. The great thing about this piece is that it gives all sections of the band a chance to shine and show their skills. Mr. King published this piece in 1912 after he finished playing in circus bands.

Following the few words was the Cello Concerto of Sir Edward Edgar. Structured with four movements rather then three opens with slow and poignant music. It reminded me of the music that you hear when someone is mourning from loosing someone. It had its ups and downs in-between and the third was like energy broken down with mourning while going into the forth was the longest and most overly dramatic, it brought the audience to its feet. The performance was soothing and relaxing and amazing to see that each one of those people on that grand stage added something to make the piece special. With that being one of the first symphony performances I

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.