Southwest Orchestra Concert Report

This concert overall was interesting and entertaining. The way that the ensemble is split into trios and groups and the short and plentiful songs provide a refreshing change continuously giving the audience a chance to hear different play styles. The only critique I have of the pieces is that at times they had a disorganized sound that I did not recognize as pleasant to listen to. The emotion I was able to leave with was a lightened mood, but I did not have any deep emotional connection to the music. My favorite piece of the night was “The Obstinate” because of the amazing french horn solo that is played halfway through and leads into the conclusion of the song. The style of this concert was new to me and I enjoyed becoming a part of a musical era and style that is not something that I would typically indulge in. The art behind these pieces was shown through the passion of the performers

The piece was extremely loud and before I looked at the program I was not sure if the trumpet ensemble was in fact the first piece or just simple entry music. Not to sound ignorant or anything, but I did not understand why they played behind the crowd; I thought it was kind of cool and different, but everyone had to turn around to see them and I found that a little odd. This piece sounded like a typical fanfare with multiple sharp notes, good end cadences, and a duple meter. I personally thought the song was very fast, but other than that it was satisfactory, the piece is not my new favorite thing, but the piece did not make me regret my decision on showing up

The pieces were quite odd for me at the first time, first hearing, but I got used to it at the end of the each piece. “The Gospel Train” and “Little David, Play On Your Harp” were African-American Spiritual songs, which I kind of enjoyed, because I was also, very spiritually active. The last song, “Precious Lord Take My Hand” was very calming songs. I liked the lyrics of the song. The lyrics were very touchy that it made me ponder after the applause.

My favorite part of the concert was the second part. The group played a song called “Body and Soul.” The guitarist played slowly before the others joined. They created a relaxed atmosphere with an old-school effect. All the notes were legato except the melodies of the drum which was staccato. The combination added character to the piece and made it entertaining. At 19:00, the pianist played briskly but beautifully, then the guitarist did the same. The notes became high pitched and the tempo and dynamics increased. After the guitar stopped, everything went into decrescendo and the melodies from the bass and drums became choppy (staccato). Overall the piece surrounded the theme of dependence and how it affects one’s happiness or strength. The piano and the guitar brought the happy aspect to the piece and without it, everything weakened and became uncoordinated. Initially it celebrated peace,

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.

The band was directed by Jordan Sayre and Arnold Rose. The band started off with “Perdido Arranged by Roland Barret/Juan Tizol”. For a high school band they had very strong beginning, the song was very fast tempo, and lots of bold accents through the piece. The tenor sax was really the star of this piece the band was really following him instead the tenor sax kind of keeping time and beat. The band played about 2 more songs and LCHS Jazz I came on to stage about played another 3 songs as well. One the played was Called “The Chicken arranged by Kris Berg/Alfred James”. This songs included a lot of saxophones solos from alto sax to baritone sax. The trumpet also played a big part to for solo, this piece they did lot of crescendos as well as decrescendos. It gave a more bold jazz feeling which I really enjoyed. Last but not least the NMSU jazz I came about on the stage to finish out the concert. They had four songs to play instead of three like the other bands. They started off with “Cell Talk composed by Sammy Nestico”. This piece was a calmer piece like a modern typical jazz piece. There was great transitions as well bold accents through the pieces. The band ends with a piece called “Uno Mas composed by Paul Lopez”. This piece was more fast tempo as well bold accents was well especially from the trumpets. It gave me more a swing vibe it was super neat to hear. This piece was perfect

The Dallas Brass is a brass ensemble that performed on September 24th, 2016 at Hart Middle School Auditorium. The members of this group are Luis Araya and Terry Sawchuk who play the (various) trumpets, Juan Berrios who plays the horn, alto horn, and the Flugelhorn, Paul Carlson and Ryan Christianson who play the tuba and trombone respectively, and Andres Crovetti who is the percussion section. Michael Levine is the created the group back in 1983 and was their trombone player before Ryan joined.

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.

The next composition was “Next Exit” written by Scott Martin. At the beginning, played piano, guitar, bass, and two percussions. After several seconds, joined the brasses and a violin. The tempo was played at medium, in my opinion. At the middle of the piece, one of the brass had improvisation after which the audience applauded very loudly. It was very nice to watch each of the musicians. Especially, I liked the end of the composition as they stopped all in an instant. It was just awesome!

On Tuesday, March 14, 2017, I attended the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra at the Pioneer Center. The program for that evening included a Violin Concerto op 14 (1939) by Samuel Barber. With Benjamin Beilman, on the violin, the piece included three movements. Followed by Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 1 I D major, Titan (1889).

I loved the improvisations for this recital, especially the saxophonist from Konrad Plays Klarinet, Colin Houlihan. As a former saxophonist, the tone and constant improvisation was incredible as he put his entire soul into that instrument. Sweating, smiling and happy, anyone could tell that Colin was happy to be there. “So Dance Samba” by Antonio Carlos Jobim also had a lot of improvises. “So Dance Samba” started with the frontline playing together for a certain section before individual solos played. The clarinet improvised with long notes at a high pitch and gradually got faster in notes as the sound increased. The trombone solo had a strong forte resonance with a percussion background and electric guitar background. The pianist solo used syncopated notes and many arpeggios that were in the higher register. The electric guitar solo slowly built up his part, the clarinet played another solo and then the last solo went to the percussionist. The percussionist and the entire band made it seemed like the piece had ended, and then they would play again which made me very

This was a great piece to start the concert with. Finding out later from Conductor Dr. Chuck (what he likes to be called) that the concert was Americana themed, the orchestra did a fantastic job bringing in the crowd with a song everyone would know. I caught myself dancing along with the music and counting the beats along with the orchestra. Played with great fortissimo is exactly how I pictured American bands and orchestras playing during the Revolutionary War. I loved it when all of a sudden they went very pianissimo and then crescendo into my all-time favorite patriotic song, Yankee Doodle!

I went to Palmetto Middle Schools band concert. It was conducted and directed by Avery Davis. There were around 50 students that performed. It was held luxurious Palmetto Middle School auditorium. They played: Rough Riders by Karl L. King, Afton Variations by Carl Strommen, and Blue Ridge by Brian Balamages. Before I went to the concert I did not expect much, but then I completely was blown away. I enjoyed the whole concert but, I loved Afton Variations the most. I know this song pretty well, and I know that it requires a lot of “woodwind power”, which they had.

I cannot believe what my eyes have witnessed. On February 24, 2017, I had the opportunity to volunteer and to witness a Stax Music Academy concert. Every year in February, the Stax Music Academy pays tribute to legendary music artist by performing some of the most iconic songs that were sung during the late 50’s - early 90’s. This year, the Stax Music Academy did an R&B concert based on the Stax Volt tour, which included people like, Otis Redding, The Barkays, The Staple singers, and more. This concert was sold out, and the crowd really enjoyed themselves.

On Sunday, May10 2015, a concert was held in The Broad Stage. The concert was played by Santa Monica College Symphony Orchestra, whose conductor is Dr. James Martin. For this concert, I would identify myself as a referential listener at this concert. I say this because I am not an expert in music, therefore it would be hard for me to be a critical listener. I wouldn’t be able to tell what went wrong with a performance even if some incorrect notes were played. I was more of a referential listener because the music was soothing and brought my mind to peaceful thoughts. This essay will tells my experience of the concert in order to persuade my friend to  attend a classical music concert with you in the future.