The Kansas State University Orchestra Conducted

The second concert I attended was performed by the Richardson Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra performed “Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582” by Bach, which is part of the Baroque era. The string instruments of the orchestra performed with the hair of the bow, in other words, arco (7). By using lots of motion or most commonly known as mosso (8), the orchestra increased the tension of the piece. The orchestra played at a pretty fast tempo (9), probably allegro. The piece had a distinct part where the harp played. The ensemble was large, in order to attain the full sound of the piece. The instruments played in the orchestra did not comply with the typical orchestras of the Baroque era because it did not have a distinct part where were the main instruments were the piano and the bass, or more commonly known as basso continuo (10).

The concert performed by the Allen High School Symphony Orchestra, which combines the Chamber and Sinfonia Orchestras, was an amazing concert but was not a flawless one. The pieces all sounded quite wonderful on the outside, but by diving deeper into the music and truly listening to and observing the performance with a sharper eye, there were some problems that appeared in a couple different areas, and those problems came mainly from three distinct areas: tone, technique, and musicianship.

When the concert first began, the three instrumentalists walked with energy despite their age. The first song, “Sonata I in G-Major Op. 2, Nr. 1” by Michel Blavet, was a Baroque Sonata. There were five movements and was played by the harpsichord, flute, and cello. All movements of the song were polyphonic because of the three instruments that had different parts and equal importance. In the first movement, I noticed that the flute tended to rise in pitch. In the second movement, I noticed that the melodies often repeated. Throughout the rest of the song the tempo changed from fast to slow and the flute would usually take the lead. On the last movement, the cello and the harpsichord

On April 11, 2014 The Florida Orchestra performed Wolfgang Mozart’s Symphony No. 28 in C major, K, 200, David Diamond’s Symphony No. 4, and Johannes Brahms Quartet No.1 for Piano and Strings in G minor at the David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Ferguson Hall in Tampa, Florida. Gerard Schwarz, guest conductor, led the Florida Orchestra for each of the compositions. According to The Florida Orchestra Program the list of performers for the violin is Jeffrey Multer, Nancy Chang, Jeffrey Smick, Lei Liu, Sarah Shellman, Lucas Guideri, Valerie Adams, Toula Bonie, Saundra Buscemi, Mary Corbett, Linda Gaines, Oleg Geyer, Cynthia Gregg, Linda Hall, Yan Jiang Lu, Evelyn Pupello, Claudia Rantucci, and Virginia Respess. The list of performers for the viola is Ben Markwell, Kathie Aagaard, Karl Bawel, Lewis Brinin, Alan Gordon, Alison Heydt, Kenneth Kwo, Warren Powell, and Barbara Rizzo. The list of performers for the violoncello is James Connors, Lowell Adams, Rebecca Bialosky, Alfred Gratta, Gretchen Langlitz, Laura McKey Smith, and Merrilee Wallbrunn. The list of performers for the bass is Dee Moses, John DiMura, Roger Funk, Alan Glick, James Petrecca, and Deborah Schmidt. The list for performers for the flute is Clay Ellerbroek, Daphne Soellner, and Lewis Sligh. Lewis Sligh was the only piccolo performer. The list of performers for the oboe is Shawn Welk, Lane Lederer, and Jeffrey Stepehenson. Jeffrey Stephenson also performed during the night playing the English

I attended the Baylor University Concert Jazz Ensemble directed by Alex Parker on Tuesday, November 10th. This ensemble consisted of saxes, trombones, trumpets, drums, a piano, and bass. The concert showcased many individual talents by including solo’s or duet’s in every song. The program consisted of seven songs with no intermission. The pieces I selected were “Big Dipper” by Thad Jones and “Undecided” by Frank Mantooth.

Auer, Leopold. Violin playing as I teach it, New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1921.

On February 21, 2016 from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM I attended, “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” by Jonathon McNair at Rudder Theatre. The Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Marian Anderson String Quartet, and special guest narrator Greg Wise preformed three pieces. These pieces include, “Lyric for Strings,” “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” and, “Symphony Number 1.” The Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra consists of Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Harp, Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Bass Trombone, Tuba, Percussion, Timpani, and Keyboard. The Marian Anderson String Quartet uses two violinists, viola, and cello.

I went to the Colorado Springs Philharmonic on October 22 2017, the concert was performed at the fine arts center and lasted 2 hours. The Colorado Springs Philharmonic performed under Josep Caballe-Domenech the conductor. The concert was put on as part of the October arts month at the Fine Arts Center. The Music was from the Romantic Period, it featured a full symphony. The musical instruments that were featured was a full range of strings including: violin, viola, double-bass, and the cello. It also featured a whole set of brass and wind instruments.

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.

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.

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).

The concert began immediately with the Chamber Orchestra’s performance of Mozart’s “Divertimento in D major”, K. 136. This piece consisted of the 3 movements, Allegro, Andante, and Presto, which follows the fast-slow-fast arrangement typical of the Classical era. Divertimento is one of Mozart’s “Salzburg” symphonies, which are symphonies performed by only string sections. After the performance of this piece, the conductor commented on the 2nd violin’s part, and drew the conclusion that Mozart must have saved that role for either himself or an enemy. The second piece performed by the Chamber Orchestra was Bach’s “Suite No. 2 in B minor”, BWV 1067. This piece did not require a conductor, and also featured a flute soloist, Maisa Peters. Their

The pieces played in this performance were Humoreske by Bernard Alt, Ecos Armonicos by Craig H. Russell, Concerto Grosso by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, Concerto for Bass Tuba by Ralph

There were a total of four music pieces performed. They were “Overture from the Singspiel”, “Concerto in e minor”, “Concerto on b minor,opus 104”, and “Symphony#2 in b minor, opus 5”. I think pieces were performed belong to classical style.

The performance that I attended was of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra playing the Overture to The creatures of Prometheus, by Beethoven, the Concerto for Orchestra by Kodaly, and Harold in Italy, by Berlioz. The orchestra was conducted by David Currie, and I think that they played very well overall.