I saw my phone light up out of the corner of my eye during that faithful weekly orchestra rehearsal in November. My stomach did flips as I tried to adhere to orchestra etiquette of no cell phone use during rehearsal, but I couldn’t help but look. I anxiously opened the text from my orchestra teacher while the conductor walked over to a section where I was out of his line of sight, only to see the words I had been dreading for the past three weeks. “I’m sorry, Esther. You didn’t make it.” I could feel my face turn bright red, paralyzed by the shock and disappointment. I silently sat in my seat for the rest of rehearsal, angry that I had no one to blame but myself for the outcome. My journey up to this point first commenced when I fractured the head of my radial bone and tore a tendon in my wrist at a trampoline park. As a musician, the worst thing that can happen right before audition season is getting any injury upwards of the hips. A broken foot or leg won’t obstruct your arms’ and hands’ capabilities of playing excerpts from Strauss’ “Eine Alpensinfonie Op.64”. I could feel myself becoming more distressed as the weeks of not being able to practice because of the plaster and fiberglass prison on my arm went by and the audition date grew closer. The fear of not being good enough to make state orchestra haunted …show more content…
I am no longer afraid to take hard courses at school head on, rather I value the education they provide that I will need in the future. I am no longer afraid to tackle difficult audition excerpts, instead I cherish the experience of having the opportunity to play such monumental orchestral pieces with individuals who share the same passion for music as I do. While I still may be faced with failure and loss, knowing that I am doing something because I truly want to and that I am performing to the best of my best capabilities with conviction and zeal, is the most gratifying deed I am able to
looking to destroy me and everything I care about. The weight I carry beside me is more than average. There is the darkness slowly coming to consume me into to a life of hell. I have found out that revenge is a satisfying feeling. People very often do things they are not happy with, but I have done something so dark and devious and I have gotten away with it without a trace. Every day I sit here it haunts me, the scarring screams of the man they once called Fortunato. Today of all days especially I have devoted so much thought to my past with the ghost of a man I vowed to avenge. All the events every single one leading up to me trapping Fortunato down in the cold disgusting cellar are on replay in my head, my father never in my life loving me his own son, the people at my school never wanting to except me but the day Fortunato came into my life stealing all the attention and popularity I never had doomed
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
Music is virtually everywhere we go, no matter if it is background noise in a coffee shop or singing along while shopping for groceries, we can find music somewhere. The event I attended was the Flint Symphony Orchestra on October 8, 2016. I have never attended a symphony before so I was excited to go, especially since I had invited my friend to attend with me. For this event, I was already informed by my teacher that the symphony will be formal so we needed to look the part since others will be dressed fancy. This made me curious how this event will turn out. Walking past the ticket area and through the doors to the lobby made me feel instantly memorized at how grand it was on the inside. I went downstairs and there were a vast
Performing or public speaking of any kind is difficult, but that difficulty can help to build confidence. Fine arts gives students the ability to perform and build confidence with their own support team of people who do and love the same thing. Not having to perform alone and knowing that everything possible has been done to ensure a good performance helps performers be confident in themselves and in their abilities. “Puneet Jacob, former choristers and current assistant conductor, says kids are often afraid to perform because of fear of failure.” (Lefebvre) The more a person faces their fear, especially when they do well and the fear is disproved, the less afraid he or she will become. When students work on music or a play for months on end, they become much more confident in themselves and what they can do than they were when they first began.
The Philharmonic Orchestra performed at Lindenwood University Friday March 3rd at 8 O’clock. The Orchestra was under the direction of Robert Hart Baker. I have never attended a live orchestra performance so it was eye-opening to listen to the beautiful sounds that arose from the array of instruments in the orchestra. There were about ninety members and more than half of the members were string players which consisted of a lot of violins, cellos, and basses. Behind the strings sat the brass and woodwind instruments which consisted of trumpets, trombones, tubas, clarinets, flutes and oboes to name several. The percussion section was aside the woodwinds and brass. A choir followed in the last piece played and were placed behind the wood winds and brass.
On Tuesday, October 17, 2017, I attended a musical concert. This was the first time I had ever been to a concert and did not play. The concert was not what I expected. I assumed I was going to a symphony that featured a soloist clarinet; however, upon arrival I quickly realized that my previous assumptions were false. My experience was sort of a rollercoaster. One minute I was down and almost asleep; next I was laughing; then I was up and intrigued.
American Music therapy Association. (2013). Music Therapy journals and Publications. Retrieved from American Music therapy Association: http://www.musictherapy.org/research/pubs/
On Saturday September 16, 2017, I attended the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra. The symphony has never been an event that I would typically attend on my own. The style of music that is typically played at the symphony orchestra, classical music is not the kind of music I would willing listen to in my free time. This was not the first time I have ever attended the symphony, my mother has taken me before, as well as my school for field trips. It was interesting to experience this on my own, without my mother dragging me along. For one, when my mother dragged me along my mood was preprogrammed to not enjoy or truly take in what was going on in front of me.
Music has always been an important part of my life. Upon entering the fifth grade, my parents bought me a flute, at my insistence. After moderate success playing the flute, I saw greener grass on the other side of the musical fence. Singing just had to be easier than making music with a long metal pipe. My perception and reality did not exactly match. Singing has its own subtleties and complexities which are not readily apparent to the casual observer. Abandoning the flute for singing, I began taking voice lessons in the tenth grade. My voice teacher was very experienced and encouraged me to pursue my interest in music beyond high school. After much deliberation, I decided to major in voice during college. This path would be fraught with unforeseen difficulties and exciting challenges.
Nappi, Rebecca. “A Place for Music’s Healing Powers.” Student Research Center. EBSCO, 2013. 14 Oct. 2013.
The music was emotional and captivating in the beginning, I was just staring at the stage for the hour that they were performing part I that was based on the mass part.
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 student composers.
During a rehearsal of the second movement of Beethoven’s second symphony (10/01/2018), the conductor exhibited controlled and fluid gestures, which made a warm, gentle sound to complement the context of the piece – coupled with a smile directed at the players. During the first run through of bars 16-22, the conductor had constantly chosen to keep the lead up to the szforzando in the strings as piano, and after the rest of the phrase was completed, the conductor stopped. The leader of the violas suggested trying a gradual crescendo to see if it would make musical sense, and give a more gradual phrase than forcing the dynamics to be too loud too quickly, like on the score. The conductor was open to this suggestion, so the ensemble tried b.16-22 again, and the conductor preferred the viola player’s suggestion to their original intentions – and thus credited the player in front of the orchestra. This shows that an open personality allows players to contribute suggestions, and with positive feedback the orchestra can continue to develop a more fruitful relationship with the conductor.
Personal Narrative- Marching Band Competition This season was only the second year that I had been in marching band, even though we did do parades in middle school. The year before, I was selected to be drum major of the upcoming marching season. I was excited to meet the challenge of getting back to the state championships. It was also nerve-racking because I felt if we didn't make it to state, it would be my fault.
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