Music Concert Review

The first piece that was played was called “Dragon Blues.” This piece was just played by the ensemble, the solo singer was not on stage at this point. I enjoyed this piece because it had several solos in it which truly showcased the talent of the artist that played on stage. When they played you could tell that they were passionate about their music and they worked extremely hard to become as musically talented as they are. “Dragon Blues” had a moderate tempo with a very thick texture. Although there were solos the instruments all played together through most of the piece. Overall I think the structure of the piece was planned out perfectly. The solos and ensemble parts were spaced out perfectly. To me the pitches sounded very high, also the dynamics were insane. The instrumentalist would go from soft and quiet to hard and loud in the matter of one

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

Last Thursday, I attended the Department of Music Concert Series at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. I was able to listen to both the Symphony Band, under the direction of Dr. Cara Morantz as well as the Wind Symphony Band directed by Dr. Sean Murray. They presented a tremendous performance comprised of pieces by J.B. Chance, Frank Ticheli, Samuel Hazo as well as a wide variety of other authors. The event was pleasurable to me, as well as many others in attendance to the concert. By the looks, colleagues families and teachers came to support the talented musicians on stage that night!

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 music played throughout all of the concerts adhered to be diverse. The instruments, the individuals performing, and the conductor all proved to be outstanding. The concerts proved to be interesting as I witnessed them, first hand.

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 Friday, May 18, I attended the Burrell High School Jazz Band Concert. Over the concert, a band played for the first half, there were then chamber groups that played in between, the second band next, and then a combined band with alumni. I felt that the structure of the concert flowed nicely, as the chamber music in between was refreshing from the jazz. My favorite chamber piece was an African piece involving bongos and soprano saxophone.

The concert I attended was called the Faculty and Student Recital, which took place in the Cisco Auditorium on April 11, 2017. The music that was on the program was mostly what is called “classical” music, as well as a Chinese Folk Song, an electronic composition, and variations on an Indian Tala. In the classical pieces, the instruments that were used were the violin, the piano, the cello, and the oboe. In the electronic composition, the computer was used to make music. In the Chinese Folk Song, the piccolo was used to imitate the unique timbre of a Chinese flute. In the Indian tala, drums from Ghana were used to imitate the rhythm and sound of Indian drums. The piano, the violin, the cello, and the piccolo all originate

This week, on February 27, I visited the Latin Jazz Ensemble concert at Sacramento State University. It was my first time at a jazz concert in Sacramento. The jazz ensembles performed seven pieces during the concert with twelve different instruments. “Mama Cool Beans”, “Keeper for the Flame”, “Next Exit”, and “Plena Con Sabor” were four different and unique pieces which I liked and I think these compositions inspired the audience.

Overall the performance was a great experience. It was wonderful to hear music from an area that was previously unknown to me. The ancient musical language and centuries old instruments were a wonder to uphold. Not to mention the brilliant collage of Kyrgyz and American styles. I hope to hear more from this ensemble in the

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.

My favourite piece from the percussionist was when she started playing The Village. The unique sound of The Marimba left me in awe and made me feel like I was in a village in Africa with jungles surrounding it. It was defiantly one of my favourite pieces! Another enjoyable piece was the Moderato by Piu Mosso. It was different than the other pieces because it conveyed what I felt like was a horror feeling. The tuba started off the piece and was later accompanied by the trumpets in a minor note but later on changed to major tonality near the middle of the piece. It was very elegant and I enjoyed the major parts more than the minor parts in this piece. The group also played some other interesting pieces near the end of the performance which caught my attention. She’s like the swallow (Newfoundland) was a very interesting piece because it sounded like a James Bond piece in the beginning but soon changed into a weird piece because it didn’t follow the normal flow of music and was not as calm as I expected it to be. Another piece that I believe didn’t follow the normal patterns of music and sounded kind of odd was Star Dust. It did

I feel that the fourteen members of chamber orchestra and the two vocalists did an outstanding job. This piece was well put together. I loved the harmony that was brought forth between the orchestra and the vocalists. The two vocalists a tenor known as Paul Groves and a soprano known as Anna Larson, did a beautiful job staying in tune. The way that their voices went back and forth in harmony was just beautiful.

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.

Overall, what made the quartet successful was having a common goal, which was to sound like one instrument versus an individual. This goal allowed the team to work toward one common theme and provided a platform for constructive conflict, which they engaged in regularly. As simple as it sounds to have a common goal, the truth is there is often not a clear defined goal