My First Concert Of Symphonic Music

It’s amazing to listen to musicians who do not normally play with each other come together and leave the audience in complete awe. That is exactly what happened on the day of Thursday November 26th 2014. The Bill Crothers Varsity Winds comprised of grade eleven and twelve students along with a few, talented grade tens went to listen to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra play. We travelled via a typical yellow school bus that took us to Roy Thomson Hall where we went right to the top level and took our seats. The seating seemed rather helpful because from a distance you could hear every instrument when you focused on it. It was beautiful. The band presented well with their “Penguin” like attire that was kind to the eyes. They appeared very organized,

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 decided to attend the Symphony on the Prairie on July24, 2015. I haven’t been to a Symphony Orchestra since I was very young and I was unable to attend the Symphony last Friday or Saturday. My fellow classmates invited me to the concert on July 24, 2015. I wanted to view a concert so I agreed to attend the Symphony with them. I also like Harry Potter and Star Wars; and they played pieces from both movies in the Symphony concert. Unfortunately there wasn’t any vocal throughout the concert but there were many instruments. These instruments include the entire string family (violin, viola, cello, and contrabass), the woodwind family (flute, piccolo, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and contrabassoon), the brass family (English horn, horn, trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, and tuba), and the percussion family (timpani, harp, and keyboard)

Symphonic Winds- Symphonic Winds is included in the curriculum as a second band to further develop student’s ensemble abilities and technique beyond that of the Freshman Band.

Music is an essential part of today’s culture, especially here at the University of Delaware. There is a wide variety of activities to get involved in on campus, from instrumental ensembles to choruses and everything in between. There are also several options for majors involving music. Overall, there are many options for each and every student at the University of Delaware to pursue their passions, and to expand their college education to studies that consist of more than could be learned from books, lectures, and laboratory work. This was the ultimate goal for Rodney Sharp, a very significant man who invested a lot of time and money in the school.

On February 25, 2016, I was able to see the Mid-Year Band Concert in the PAC. The pieces I have chosen to review were performed by the Varsity, Symphonic II and Symphonic I Bands and conducted by Mr. Bailey and Mr. Hillhouse. “King Cotton,” “Amparito Roca,” and “Valdres” were among my favorites in the program and are all coincidentally, marches.

On October 13, I attended a concert by the UT Jazz orchestra at the Bates Recital Hall. This performance consisted of seven pieces and all were stylistically different, which allowed the audience to enjoy the various sounds of jazz music. Among the instrument groups, there are saxophones, trumpets, trombones, piano and drums. Professor Jeff Hellmer served as director andJohn Mills appeared as guest conductor. The whole concert made a lasting impression on me.

I attended Western Kentucky University 's symphony concert. It was on Friday, October 30th at 7:30pm. It was held in Van Meter Hall. Their event was named “It 's time for a treat.” The symphony was conducted by Dr. Brain St. John. Before it began, I read over the program that was handed out to find out basic information. The history of the pieces helped in understanding them. The concert featured many well-known works by famous composers such as Camille Saint-Saens, Modest Mussorgsky, and Berlioz. The three pieces that are the most memorable in my mind are “Overture to La Cenerentola”, “Là ci darem la mano”, and March to the Scaffold from Symphonie Fantastique.

Presently we have the gift of hearing music of the past through the formation of the concert hall and sheet music. We are able to hear the styles and structures of the past as well as the feelings and individual initiatives of composers in relation to the time period. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra provides an avenue for listeners from a wide range of backgrounds to hear and hopefully enjoy the sounds of the past. The two pieces preformed are styles notable from the modern era, both originating in Russia. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of Rachmaninov’ s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Schostakovich’s symphony No. 8 gives insight to the composers and conductors, as well as personal reflection of what emotions these pieces evoke.

On Saturday, October 1st, 2016, I attended a performance by The DVC Symphonic Band at the Performing Arts Center at Diablo Valley College. The symphony was composed of wind, brass, and percussions sections as well as a string bass and a piano. The musicians were all dressed in black with a blue haired clarinetist and a pink haired French horn player.

The Cosumnes River College Orchestra and Band presented their performance at Recital Hall last Wednesday. The event was presented by Jim Mazzaferro and Grant Parker. The Concert Orchestra portion, conducted by Jim Mazzaferro, consisted of collection of pieces composed by notable composers such as: Johann David Heinichen, Antonin Devorak, Antonio Vivaldi, Martin Grayson, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Concert Orchestra started with “Sonata for Violin, Flute, Oboe Viola and Bassoon” by Johann David Heinichen and continued with “Slavonic Dance No.3” by Antonin Dvorak. “Slavonic Dance No. 8” was the last composition in Orchestra’s program. After the intermission event continued with the Concert Band performance directed by Grant Parker. The program

I saw a Beethoven concert online which took place on May 7th, 2015 in Chicago, to celebrate the anniversary of Beethoven’s glorious masterpiece Symphony 9. The concert was a classical concert which was conducted by Ricardo Muti who has remained a conductor for Philharmonica orchestra (London), and Philadelphia Orchestra. The concert was directed by Duain Wolfe who is and Americal Chorale conductor as well as the founder Colorado Symphony and the Colorado Children’s chorale. . Some of the artists who participated in the Orchestra were Camilla Nylund (played soprano), Ekaterina Gubanova (played mezzo-soprano), Matthew Polenzani (played tenor), Eric Owens (played bass-baritone), and the rest of the artists were from Chicago Symphony Orchestra. All the musicians were dressed formally in black suits with white shirts, or black dresses. The symphony was played in four movements: Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso, Scherzo: Molto vivace, Adagio molto e cantabile, Finale: Ode to Joy.

When attending the Ball State Symphony Orchestra, I did not know what to expect since this was the first orchestra that I had attended. I did not think that I would be interested in the music that would be played by the orchestra and that I may even want to leave early. When I sat down I noticed that there were more people than I expected, and everyone was mingling. This was until it was time for the performance, and at that time you could have heard a pencil hit the ground. I was curious how all the performers would be introduced and when they would start playing their instruments.

On October 27 at 8:00 pm I will be attending the concert of Symphony 1 played by the conductor Alain Altinoglu and the Violin Veronika Eberie. It will be held in The Philadelphia Orchestra, Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Centre.

Throughout the semester, I went to several concerts, some classical in nature, some more popular, and even a bit of house music made by DJs-which was not really my style. One of the concerts that took me out of my comfort zone the most was performed by a Juilliard Orchestra and conducted by Juilliard faculty member, Jeffrey Millarsky.