Varsity Winds 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

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.

I have never attended an orchestral concert. Although my taste ranges between several different types of music, the only concerts I have attended are of the rock and country variety. I was not sure what to expect in attending The Houston Civic Symphony’s performance on Sunday, October 9, 2016. It was held at the Dunham Theater within the Morris Cultural Arts Center at Houston Baptist University. Once inside I saw the beautiful stage with all of the performers warming up and three stories of seating. Many of the patrons were in the age range of 30 and up. I did see some kids and young adults but not many. The HCS marked its 50th year since the very first performance this season. The first performance happened in 1996 when a group of music lovers in Houston came together to play a concert just because they wanted to play and share their love of music with others. From that day they became known as the Houston Civic Symphony. Some of the players I watched in this performance have been with the Symphony for 25 years or more while others are barely reaching their first year if not their first performance; only two of the players have been there since the very first season. Out of the three pieces performed the one that caught my attention the most was the last, it hold a powerful message of fear and desperation for

When listening to “The Santé Fe Jazz Combo,” you get a mellow feeling that courses through your body. Their opener “Recorda-Me,” which was my favorite piece, featured solos from Dr. Hamilton on Piano, Spencer Hoefert on Guitar, Ben Salhanick on Bass, Doc B on Alto Sax, Wyatt Thomas on Trombone, and Noah Woolard on Drum Set. The song had a moderate swing tempo that kept your feet tapping up until the solo. First, the brass rang through their part, then the electric instruments. Next came the bass; he was strumming so fast but he was barely audible. The pianist busting through with a tricky piano rift and the drummer finished it off with an intense solo. Every rim-shot sent a jolt into the air like lightning and the buzz rolls sounded like thunder. Noah’s part reminded me why I love playing the drums.

The concert that I attended was a charity concert, which was organized in Boston at a local university there. The South Asian Student Union of Harvard University organized the concert. I happened to be in Boston and this particular concert was organized for benefit causes such as using the proceeds of the concert to fund a number of poverty alleviation projects in South Asia. The concert was organized in a rather big room, which had a very big podium, as well as at least 500 seats that had been placed in it. Therefore, the overall hall where this concert took place was a typical auditorium setting with seating and a stage at the front. The concert promoters talked about different cause benefits related to alleviation of poverty in South Asia and that’s why the concert was organized. The organizers also informed the audience that the musicians wore traditional clothing so that the audience members could also have a good insight and understanding of the South Asian culture. All of ticket revenues for this concert were then given to a number of charities which then would use those funds to assist the different poverty alleviation programs in the larger South Asian region.

For my fine arts event, I chose to see the Bryan Symphony Orchestra at Dogwood Park on September fourth. Their theme for the evening was “Music in the Movies”, and they played a variety of movie pieces, including music from Star Wars and The Dark Knight Rises. I have always loved the orchestra because I have always loved music, but combining music and movies together made me love this event in particular even more. Our orchestra here at Tennessee Tech is so beautiful and refined that it blew me away. I have never really played an instrument with a group, but I have actually sung in multiple choir groups over the years, and I know how much time and dedication goes

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

After a few second, bass and two percussions joined them and then two woodwinds, three brass and violin began to play in a calm rhythm. In the middle of the composition, when the brasses and the woodwinds accompanied, the rhythm changed, it became faster and that part was so wonderful and energetic of this composition. The ensemble did an excellent job of keeping with the beat.

For my Cultural Event I had the opportunity to attend the UTEP symphony orchestra concert. This concert took place at the fine arts center in UTEP. I choosed to attend this event for a variety of different reasons. First of all, it was a fine arts event, and secondly, I love listening to classical music that orchestras typically perform. I was in orchestra for a number of years during my elementary and middle school education. Unfortunately, I stopped playing in High School in which I regret drastically. I enjoy hearing all the instruments play different parts of the music piece and at the end they all create a beautiful master piece.

The piece was very upbeat and well fast pace. As for Criantemi was opposite of the other piece. The emotion can off as sad. The tempo was slow and through the piece each section with crescendo and decrescendo throughout the piece as well. Make the piece sadder but yet suspenseful. It was differently song compared to the other ones on the program. This one really stuck out. The other piece they had play was “Capriol Suite composed by Peter Warlock” this one I think the as a whole band there time was very good in this piece. For the orchestra I think was the one piece where I could hear the each section of the orchestra. I was a piece that complimented each and every player in that recital that day. This piece was always a very calm piece, a lot more piano than forte. When they did forte in the piece the transition was

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.

On Friday, December 9, I went to see the MSVPA 8th graders’ live performance; 1776. The performers were students of course. I expected them to be off-tune at times, but even if they were, it did not stop the performance to be any less engaging. I also thought that they would be too quiet and I would not be able to hear them, but overall, you could still hear them clearly. The setting of the performance was a casual one too, it was located in the school’s cafeteria.

On Tuesday, February 9th, the Allen High School Wind Ensemble performed a concert consisting of only pieces by Frank Ticheli who is a 21st century composer. The ensemble began with Postcards and then played Amazing Grace. The concert ended with a sense of finality with Angels in the Architecture, which is also composed by Frank Ticheli.

While listening to a radio station dedicated to classical music, my grandpa heard about a concert played by Kirk Muspratt and the New Philharmonic orchestra. He had been a long-time supporter and contributor to the orchestra and loved the conductor, so he wanted me to have the experience too. The New Philharmonic really isn’t the newest orchestra; it was founded 40 years ago with only 29 musicians who practiced in decrepit old buildings. It was originally founded to be a chamber group, but it eventually expanded into a diverse orchestra, which played everything from Tchaikovsky to Rodgers and Hammerstein. The three of us saw them perform three Romantic French symphonies at the College of DuPage on April 9th at 3pm, but before, there was a

The concert was performed on the Southam Hall stage at the NAC; this is a large hall with extremely good acoustics. It is a nationally known stage, so the quality of the hall is very good. Generally, the audience was very receptive as it was composed of adults, who were all silent. The acoustics were very good as the hall spread the sound throughout the hall without making it echo. This had a positive effect on the performance, because it was possible for the orchestra to be clearly heard from any point in the entire hall. I was impressed by the large number of students that I saw that night because the show deserved to have been heard by many young people.