The ISO, International Symphony Orchestra, performed an outstanding concert at Marysville High School with ten entertaining, yet drastic, pieces. Entering the High School I was quite thrilled to hear a familiar piece – Little Fugue in G minor by composer Bach, performed by a quartet of a tenor, two altos, and bari saxophone. What was even more exciting was that it was performed by students who attend Marysville High School. Once sitting down in the large auditorium which I am familiar with, my friends and I discussed the aspects of the orchestra on the stage. We were curious how full their sound will be with only three flutes, two clarinets, two bassoons, three oboes, three trumpets, and the rest of the ensemble with the minimal amount of specific instrumentation. Frankly, we were “dazzled” as the program pamphlet stated. The sound was much more than what was expected. In fact, it sounded almost double of the amount of fullness coming from the High School Band I used to perform with.
Starting the concert, the director Douglas A. Bianchi did not introduce the ensemble, he instantly started to conduct O’Canada, The Star Spangled Banner, and then the piece
…show more content…
Overture: Creatures of Prometheus by Beethoven. Only performing for roughly thirty seconds, he cuts off the orchestra, shaking his head in a disappointed notion, and steps off the podium making his way to the microphone stand. As I looked to my friends in amazement and misbelief, Bianchi informs the audience how disturbed Beethoven would be with the performance by far. He then proceeded to explain the proper attire for an audience and ensemble in the Classical Era, having each attendee stand and have conversations with one another until the ensemble begins to play in which we were to sit down. He then informed the audience that if we were impressed by something performed or heard something that was considered extraordinary, we were to clap and shout in excitement towards the ensemble. This for sure was something that I found fun, yet interesting because the only outcast-like behavior done at concerts today are after performed solos or the piece altogether. Next was Parade by Satie, which actually is a French piece meaning that the title is not pronounced the way Americans would think. This Parade was a ballet produced in the 19th century during the Romantic time period with contrasting noises. As stated in the program, “the rather unstructured plot includes the failed attempt of a troupe of performers to attract audience members to ‘watch them perform’”. In other words, performers used random and boisterous instruments to portray different elements throughout the piece. The song started as a chorale, in which a red curtain covered a tall box-like structure on the stage. Once the chorale was complete, the curtain was removed, showing odds and ends of instruments such as a pin wheel, wine bottles, alarm, typewriter, gun, and a vacuum. The orchestra supported the solos of the ear-piercing instruments as they were performed randomly and obnoxiously. The three movements had their own specific noises portraying different events in the ballet, with the most fascinating movement The Acrobats. This movement included the vacuum noise and a bouteillophone, which was an instrument created with fifteen bottles hanging from a frame that were chromatically tuned. The next piece performed was much toned down in length and style compared to the previous one.
Akasha (Sky) composed in 1989 by Glenn Buhr, started with a humming of the double basses. The calm, yet eerie sounding texture, had similar patterns in the woodwinds and brass with the support from the string section. This was the part in the concert where I could register other particular aspects such as how formal the ensemble was with attire and posture. The piece was a much slower tempo than the others so far, which allowed me to hear the emphasis in dynamics and the gentleness of the orchestra all together. The four-minute piece ended with the double basses just as it begun. This piece overall would not be considered my favorite, but helped introduce the next piece well because of its slower and peaceful
style. Following Akasha (Sky) was Introduction & Rondo capriccioso, op.28 by C. Saint-Saёns which was composed of two movements and an outstanding violin solo. The composer wrote the piece in 1863 for his friend and prodigy, but did not publish it until 1870. The song was performed in concerts throughout Europe and the United States, then too in Marysville High’s Auditorium. The introduction was rather a slower tempo, bringing in the soloist, James Enns, who played throughout the entire piece with rare measure rests. Memorized, he brilliantly performed with passion in his violin, as he solely moved with the music creating a connective feeling with the song. The young soloist blew away the audience as cameras started to shutter and flashing lit up the room. The rondo formed piece came to an end with an oboe solo accompanying the violinist, with a cadenza and coda brought to a hush. Overall, this piece impressed me most. The violinist was something viewed in movies or musical programs on television, but to watch it performed right in front of me was inspiring and unbelievable. He easily received a standing novation. Next was a piece a majority of the audience was waiting for – Star Wars Medley by the famous and outstanding composer John Williams. John Williams is known for his scores for the film industry, adding memorable effects to those who hear his compositions. The movie “Star Wars” was created by the producer George Lucas, as he released the movie in 1977. The popularity of the movie itself brought sequels in which most enjoy to this day. Williams received the Academy Award the year of the release leading him to the face of popular music scores for films. The piece was a contrast of romanticism and Richard Strauss’ contemporary pieces. This brought Williams to create compositions with more of a contemporary style instead of classical. Star Wars Medley was a known piece to those who attended the concert, and was favored by those who attended it with me. After intermission, the ensemble collected back with the pieces Teddy Bear’s Picnic by J. Bratton, Kikimora opus 63 by Anatol Liadov, In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Greig, Notturno No. 2 in D major by Alexander Borodin, and lastly Highlights from Jurassic Park by once again John Williams. Out of these last five outstanding pieces, Notturno No. 2 in D major was most relevant and inspiring to me. This piece specifically has a particular meaning to me because of the memory I shared with students for my last Marching Season of High School Band. As a grand portion of the auditorium was marching band students whom I performed with, they too had a close connection with the piece as I heard afterward. The violinist once again astonished me as he smoothly played each note, bringing back every memory from the marching field. As it personally is memorized, I loved to hear the interpretation of the original piece since I performed a different version of it. The slower movement is extremely passionate and overwhelming with emotion. The ascending scales from the woodwinds section was smooth and crisp followed by the intimate solo played throughout. While this piece was being performed, I felt a very deep connection where I lost the fact I was at a concert, and more like lost in my own mind and memories. In conclusion, the International Symphony Orchestra concert was overall a success in all aspects. I enjoyed the varieties of music performed as it intrigued me to attend more concerts and listen to more classical music. I was mostly impressed with the violin soloist as he seemed to have a new characteristic despite what I was expecting. In the end, I would say that Notturno was my deepest connection piece, and Introduction & Rondo capriccioso was my most entertained piece. I learned quite a bit at this concert, and followed along more than just listening but trying to interpret the music in different ways. I look forward to attending another concert one day by the ISO.
This concert is held by the Stony Brook University music department and is to perform seven pieces of music written by seven student composers. The concert is performed in Recital Hall of Staller Center in Stony Brook University. Since it is a small hall, audiences are very close to the performers. In fact, it is the first time I am this close to the performers and the sound for me is so clear and powerful that seems like floating in front of my eyes. Among the seven pieces, “Ephemeral Reveries” and “Gekko no mori” are piano solo, “Two Songs for Joey” is in piano and marimba, “Suite” and “Fold Duet No. 1” are in woodwinds, “Elsewhere” is played by string groups, and “e, ee, ree, and I was free” is in vocal. Personally, I like the sound of piano and guitar the best. Therefore, in the latter part I will analysis two pieces in piano, “Gekko no mori” and “Two Songs for Joey”.
On February 17th, I attended the “UIC Jazz Ensemble” at 7 in the evening. The concert was located at the Illinois room in Student Center East. The concert director was Mr. Andy Baker, and he is one of the music professors at UIC. Besides, he is a lead trombonist of the Chicago Jaz Ensemble, co-leader of the sextet BakerzMillion. He is also a first-call theatre and studio musician. The lights in the room were pretty dim, and the room was filled with audiences. I noticed that there were a total of nineteen musicians performing that evening, and a lady jazz singer accompanied the musicians throughout the concert. There were sixteen members playing the wind instruments, including the trumpet, trombone, saxophone, flute, and French horn. Some of them were standing, and some were sitting. Besides wind instrument, the concert also included a guitar, drum and piano into the performance. They were played by Edwin Garcia, Aaron Gorden, James Wenzel and Will Gingrich respectively.
On Friday, November 15, 2013, I attended a concert that I found very interesting. It took place at 7:30 pm at the First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. The group performing was the Erie Chamber Orchestra, but as a special the Slippery Rock University Concert Choir was also there. During the performance I attended, two pieces were performed. The first was a Mozart piece by the name of Symphony No. 41.
The first song played was from a genre that I had previously taken a test on, Sonata. The musicians played the song by the book. There were three movements and polyphonic texture. It was even fast and jerky. Nonetheless, this is the part where my rollercoaster was going down. In my opinion it was boring. Although very well played, the song itself did not interest me. I did not like the roadrunner, coyote essence of the song. The piano accompaniment would sometimes play the melody and let the clarinet follow and then they would switch. This to me seemed force instead of like the Sonatas that I listened to in class. However, apart from the musical aspect of the first piece there was a certain intensity expressed by the performers. I had never seen a
The two concerts that I chose to go see were Stanislaus State Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensembles & Combos Concert. These two concerts are both very similar yet different in their own ways. Each piece also has many attributes to contribute and it was fun being able to watch two very different genres.
...xcited to have this experience. Part of the drama of the concert at first is felt when the musicians come in and sit down and begin tuning up their instruments. I would not be able to comment on the performance of the orchestra. During the performance, I seen the audience were moving with the music, but I felt like that everyone seems knows more music than what I learned throughout this semester. After I went home and did some of the research on these music I finally understand why these people like to attend the orchestra concerto, it was because that every piece of music has a history behind it. The Los Angeles audience seemed to me to be people who know music and who will listen to something new in a respectful way. All the same, when the more familiar sounds of the last piece were heard, I could feel a little sense of relaxation and fun coming into the room.
People have dreams of what they want to do or accomplish in life, but usually musical theatre is just pushed into the non-realistic void. It isn’t a dream for me. In the past four years, musical theatre has been clarified as my reality. Musical theatre has been the only thing I have seen myself wanting to do. My first love was The Phantom of the Opera, seeing how I watched it almost every day and it was one of the first shows I saw. Of course, I started doing all of those cute shows in middle school and making a huge deal about it to my family and friends, but I have never felt so passionate about something. The minute I get up on that stage I throw away Riley for two and a half hours and it’s the most amazing feeling! Being able to tell a story
On November 16th, 2013, I attended a concert choir, fall choral concert. This event took place on the Wheaton College Campus, in the Edman Chapel at 7:30 pm. The chapel was well-lit, with long pews for the audience to be seated. The concert began with the audience looking up into a balcony, where the ensemble stood in neat rows. They watched the conductor, who stood on a stage in front of the audience, waiting for their cue.
Most things have their beginnings in something small: a word, a breath, or idea; but not music. Music begins with a single vibration. It explodes and carries on, morphing worlds of unrelated personas. It lives rampantly in the mouths of millions of unruly and free-spirited teenagers, like a fever. The rock 'n roll trend that defiantly rose against the conformist ideology of the mid-twentieth century left remnants that commenced the start of a progressing society: a culture that redefined the rules of society and pushed social and moral limits while addressing social concerns.
The changes in rock and roll music reflected the mood of the population in the United States during the Vietnam War. Rock and roll, written as rock ‘n’ roll, music was fully born in the 1950’s and formed from electric blues and gospel music. Rock and roll is characterized by electric guitars, a strong rhythm and youth-orientated music. This music became popular because of the children of the decade. Parents called this type of music “noise.” While parents were listening to calm music, their children were listening to rock n roll.
On November twenty-second, the concert that I attended was the APSU Wind Ensemble at the George and Sharon Mabry Concert Hall. The conductors of this concert were Gregory Wolynec, Christopher Dyel (graduate) and Sarah Turner (graduate). I have been to numerous concerts but never like this. When I first got to the concert I expected to hear the first instrument in the wood wind section; the flute, but unfortunately I was in shock because the musicians begin with a bass sound; the trumpet. I also expected the performers to be on stage, but they were stationed on opposite sides of the hall playing toward one another. I was very pleased by the performance I thought it was extraordinary and exhilarating.
Theatre has heavily evolved over the past 100 years, particularly Musical Theatre- a subgenre of theatre in which the storyline is conveyed relying on songs and lyrics rather than dialogue. From its origination in Athens, musical theatre has spread across the world and is a popular form of entertainment today. This essay will discuss the evolution and change of musical theatre from 1980-2016, primarily focusing on Broadway (New York) and the West End (London). It will consider in depth, the time periods of: The 1980s: “Brit Hits”- the influence of European mega musicals, the 1990s: “The downfall of musicals”- what failed and what redeemed, and the 2000s/2010s: “The Resurgence of musicals”- including the rise of pop and movie musicals. Concluding
On December 7, 2017, Colonia High school hosted it’s Winter Concert. Pieces were performed by the Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band (directed by Kevin Perdoni), and the Concert Choir, Women’s Choir, Acapatriots and Show Choir (directed by Alaine Bolton). I, being in Concert Band, really thought that the show was a success and that we were able to display the hard work we have accomplished since September. The first band group to perform was the Concert Band. We performed “Christmas Spectacular”, “Chanukah Festival Overture”, “The Polar Express”, and “The Canadian Brass Christmas”.
Our class had previously heard about this particular concert, so I knew what to expect as far a music pieces being played but I have always preferred to have the program in front of me. For this concert, there were two parts with an intermission between them. During the first part, three pieces were played. During the second part, Beethoven’s 6th symphony was played. The first piece in the first half was the Die Fledermaus Overture (1874)
There is an event that I just can describe as one of the most unique and memorable in my life: attending my first concert. After years of listening to Ron Pope’s music, watching his YouTube channel, and following all of his social media accounts, the satisfaction of seeing someone whose music has been the soundtrack to my life for so long was unreal. There were moments that I had to internally remind myself that this is, in fact, happening in real life. Being a dedicated (some may say eccentrically so) fan is tough work – and I was rewarded with two hours of pure magic for one night. Attending my first concert was a unique event that I will always remember fondly because of the atmosphere, the amazing performance and the sense of connection