Mabry Concert Report

For this concert report I chose to go to a performance of student composers held at the Kimball Recital Hall. I chose this one because I wanted to see some of the talent that my peers have in the music realm, and also it was one of the only concerts I have been able to attend because I usually work at night. It was impressive to hear pieces composed by students. I cannot imagine creating something as complex as a musical composition, much less actually performing it, so this aspect of the concert was particularly awe-inspiring. There was a large attendance, and I think that much of the audience consisted of friends of the composers and/or performers. I went with three friends, who I convinced by telling it would be interesting to see

“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.

Overall I actually enjoyed the piece more than I thought I would. It had a nice tempo that allowed listeners to be engaged and even when the volume dropped the violins played a softer texture as if they were inviting you to listen closer and pay more attention. Generally, the theme was also joyful which I took notice of and enjoyed. Lastly, I didn’t notice any musical mistakes, and thought the piece was well played.

On April 11th, 2017 in the Louis Armstrong Theatre, I attended the GVSU “University Band”. This up-beat ensemble lasted about 90 minutes; the talented students of GVSU’s university band joined together to perform multiple different songs ranging from a Waltz to a Dixieland Jamboree. All of the songs that the band played for the audience were all well-known, popular songs that they all enjoyed. Having the opportunity to attend this concert has opened new musical paths for myself and has allowed me to enjoy and kindly critique something that I perhaps would have never had the chance to otherwise.

My initial response to the concert was of much surprise. First, when I walked in I didn’t expect to see such a formal event. Thank goodness I showed up in my work clothes! My initial reaction to the music however was one of great surprise. I didn’t really know what to expect from the Lee’s Summit Symphony because honestly I didn’t even know they existed. Once the symphony began to play “Don Giovanni” my mood instantly changed. The symphony was incredible, and the music was not what I had expected at all. I was surprised by how much of the music I had actually heard before and just not realized it.

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.

The first song that they played was very lively and loud. The song was basically a series of solos and the composer described it as

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.

I am pleased to write to you on behalf of Stephen McDougall Graham, who is applying to enter the Master of Music in Classical Performance Program of Queens College. Stephen studied violin with me during his undergraduate years at Bucknell (2001-05), and played in the Bucknell Orchestra, an ensemble that I conduct.

Just as the other songs from the recital, this song is part of the modern era, and is a sonata genre. This song also had an allegro moderato tempo. In this performance, the saxophone was the main focus. The piano was just in the background, as for the tunes played before both the saxophone and piano were important. Indeed, there was a solo for the piano in this song. I assume that the saxophone player needs a time to rest, therefore the piano plays a solo in the middle of the piece. Overall, this song did have organization to it and had a lot of feel to it, as most jazz performances

The recital took place on Monday, February 12, 2018 at 7pm at the Capistrano concert hall. It was a graduate piano recital performed by Eunice Bancu Aldrich. The stage was set up with the piano being stationed straight in the middle being presented with all its glory and the spotlight straight on the performer. It consisted of a single ensemble played on the piano. The music genre of the recital was classical. The lengths of the pieces were both short and long,which included powerful pieces such as: Nocturn (Homage to John Field), Opus 33 - Samuel Barber, Nocturne No.10 in A-flat major, Opus 32, No.2 - Frédéric Chopin, Nocturne No.1 in C Major - Francis Poulenc, Nocturne, Opus 38, No.4 - Lowell Liebermann. The setting was different to watch, since this is the first time I have attended a recital; it had a very different sensation to the whole performance.

The performances of the song “The Peer Gynt Suite” and Autumn movement 1 were both really well-played. Both of the pieces were played with amazing technique, great phrasing and nice balancing, therefore it can show who has the melody line. I’ll be writing about my opinion about each of the performance of the songs.

I personally was not as excited about this piece as I hoped. I like louder and more exciting music that changes from soft to loud and has a more upbeat tempo. The second piece preformed was, “Sedona” by Steven Reineke. I really like this piece a lot. It reminds me of Christmas and happy times. I like how in the beginning the piece starts off softer, but you can still hear all the different instruments playing their part. The tone of the flutes is very beautiful to listen to and I really enjoyed how the piece slowed down to really enhance that sound. Overall, I really enjoyed this piece and it was very well played. The next piece played was, “Salvation is created” by Pavel Tschesnokoff and Bruce Houseknecht. This piece starts off soft but then you hear the Timpani which brings in a louder sound to the piece. This piece has a very slow tempo which was hard for me to keep my focus on. When I listen to this piece and I hear the Timpani, I think of something exciting happening and then it goes back to being normal again. Overall, I had a harder time concentrating but I didn’t mind it. The next piece played was, “Kentucky 1800” by Clare Grundman. This piece started off with a louder sound

Overall, the concert was very enjoyable. The stunning Teatro had large windows and great acoustics because of its high ceilings. The proscenium stage framed the musicians’ semi-circle well. I originally approached this concert feeling disappointed that I would not get to experience a full orchestra; however, the intimacy of the setting made it so I could really see what was going on and appreciate each musician and their respective instrument. I love that the curator chose works produced by composers from different countries and time periods who were all inspired by the same beautiful country that is Italy; in doing so, he gave the audience

First work they played is called Three pieces from Op. 10 by Carl Maria von Weber. The songs they played is Moderato, Andantino con moto, Rondo-Allegro . Weber is a German composer and an opera director. These pieces were easy to listen to. I enjoyed listening the opening pieces. It was interesting singing the pianists were in synced with each other. In Moderato it feels like the pianist is talking to each other. Like one is playing and the other is playing something different. In addition , Andantino con moto and Rondo-Allegro the song is more of an upbeat type of song. The type of music in opening was a quiet, but fast.