My First Symphony Research Paper

I now realise that the Arts, including music, creates opportunities to engage, inspire and enrich our lives. Music making and responding can challenge, provoke responses and enrich our knowledge and understanding of ourselves, our communities and the world.

The novel is able to share how music is of great importance and is able to affect people’s moods and thoughts.

For as long as mankind has walked on this earth, music has been an important part of our culture and lifestyles. Each walk of life beats to a different drum. Different cultures use music for many aspects of their lives; for religious purposes, for celebrations, for comfort, for sorrow, for relaxation, for sports, for dances, for energy, for learning, for sleeping, and for sexual experiences. Everyone uses music for something. Music connects with people and reaches them in ways that words simply cannot. Music is a representation of what feelings sound like. It expresses emotion and brings that characteristic out from within us; it tells us a story. Every generation has its’ own sound and different music styles have emerged and become

My bow lifted off of my cello and froze midair after the final chord of Leroy Anderson’s “A Christmas Festival”, and I grinned at my stand partner. The audience rose to their feet, whooping and whistling as the conductor cued the orchestra for the encore.

The La Jolla Symphony concert was held on a warm Saturday night, May 5th, and it was definitely a memorable experience, since it was the first symphony concert that I have ever attended in my life. The whole atmosphere was very engaging and the music itself was very different in an insightful way. Over the course of the concert, five pieces were played as Sameer Patel conducted. Each piece was incredibly unique in their own way and did associate themselves together and also to many of the concepts we have learned in class. The concert overall was astonishing that I enjoyed every second of it and will now attend as many more symphonies as I can.

The Utah Symphony is a hierarchy based organization. The organization was founded in 1940 by Maurice Abravanel, who led and transformed the symphony over his 32 year reign. Abravanel fought for his musicians and secured them annual salary contracts. The organization chart allows for the music director to control the artistic vision, while the CEO fulfills the operational and financial duties.

Many people came dressed in formal attire and the largest groups were older listeners and families. As being a Symphony Orchestra from the Ukraine, there was a large number of Ukrainian people in the audience. Before the concert began, I spoke to an older gentleman in front of me. He was Ukrainian, and was excited to hear the concert. Many other people came up to him to greet him before the show. Seemingly, there was a close community of Ukrainian people in the surrounding area, that all came to see the concert. As America has so many different nationalities within such a large country, it is evident how a concert like this may affect communities and help Americans honor their ancestors. There was a large number of female musicians in the orchestra. Although mostly string, it is important to note this and many seemed very young, while other players seemed older. The orchestra was widely diverse in terms of age and gender. Putting aside the newer suite, two of the compositions played were played historically accurate to what could've been played in the nineteenth century. It was an Eastern European orchestra, but the famous compositions played have meaning in American music as well. Mostly being introduced in the twentieth century, classical concert European concert music like those played, are still played today by American symphonies. One of the compositions played, was a suite from “The Night Before

On April 14, 2016 I attended the Dvorak Cello Concerto at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, Tennessee. The instruments that were being played were made up of the whole symphony orchestra. In addition, the instrument that was featured was the cello. The reasoning for this is because there was a special guest musician, Susie Yang who was performing with the orchestra and she played the cello. The structure of the performance consisted of three different main pieces of music with different sections within them. In addition, this was the first time I had been to the Tennessee Theatre. The theatre was very intriguing because of the elegance that came with it. The décor was very nice and looked expensive. It is exactly what I imagined when I thought of the setting for a symphony. It was well lit with beautiful crown molding in the celling. In addition, there were lovely curtains blocking an area that looked to be a balcony beside the stage. In addition, there was back drop lights on the walls highlighting pieces that looked to be Grecian Urns.

Although my formal journey in music had to be temporarily halted once I started high school, my musical background has allowed me to construct my own identity in the world. I have acquired a sense of admiration for both the elaborate and simplistic elements that exist within the vast depths of our perception. I realize that possessing a commitment to persistent study through a solid foundation is crucial. I realize that in order to pursue my own interests and passions, choosing to think for myself, is equally as vital. I have come to view life as an infinite climb in which I am constantly seeking new heights. Although my niche in this world is evolving constantly, my appetite for learning remains resolute. My desire to test the limits and boundaries of life is fueled, not by the notion of reaching the top, but rather within the journey of overcoming obstacles in my struggle to unlock the mysteries of this world. The need to satisfy this perpetual craving for knowledge inspires me to search for answers—to understand the depths of life and where I stand in the midst of it

In the closing scene of Act II of Swan Lake, Siegfried lifts Odette high into the air right when the piano forte string hit is played; Odette is slowly lowered as the famous oboe solo beginning on an F sharp gracefully drops down to a B. In Beethoven’s Symphony Number 5, the entire symphony is silent while the oboist has an improvised solo in a still concert hall. In the Symphony in C by Bizet, the oboe solo is embellished with beautiful sixteenth note turns, which still manage to sound graceful. These solos will forever be remembered in the history of music, whether or not people know the musician or even the instrument playing said solo or not. The oboe’s piercing yet beautiful sound is caused by the double reed that is used instead of mouthpiece like other woodwind instruments.

When the word music is heard, generally the first thing that comes to mind is how one would be able to relate to the piece. John Cage, a contemporary composer, expanded the normality of music by sounds with no meaning or emotional connection and silence. The propinquity between mind and music is difficult to sever, and to have music without an emotional connection is unfathomable.

I have never been personally a fan of the romantic orchestra music but going to listen to a concert live is breathtaking. I attended the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, Masterpieces concert with music director Fouad Fakhouri performing Igor Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No.1 in D major. There was a full stage of musicians and a complete choir to back it up.

This was my first symphony I've been to and I thought it was really interesting and fun. Since this was my first symphony I really didn't know what all to expect, but the quality of the performance exceeded the exceptions I had coming into this. There were several terms I learned in class the was relevant to the performance. I noticed the first terms before the performance started. It was in the program with the terms of Soprano, Alto, and the various instruments listed. Other terms that were prevalent to the performance included concerto with work from the orchestra and soloist, dynamics with the varying loudness and softness, melody with the organized succession of musical tones, tempo with the speed of the music, and several more. The main

I experience the world through music. Whether it’s the hum of an engine or a favorite song, music is all around me. I fell in love with the ability to combine sounds in any particular way I wanted. My intimate relationship with music showed me what it meant to be creative and what it meant to be passionate about something. Beethoven’s 9th

Music elicits an emotional and cognitive response in all who listen to it. It is powerful at the individual level because “it can induce multiple responses – physiological, movement, mood, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral” (Francis, 2008,