Oklahoma State University Symphony Orchestra Concert Report Sample

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I attended the American Landscapes performed by Oklahoma State University Symphony Orchestra and Dr. Thomas Dickey conducted the orchestra. The concert was held at the Serentean Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. At the concert, I was an amateur, listener to this type of music. I had never witnessed a live performance of this musical style before. I would consider myself to be a passive listener. I listened to the performance with great effort and tried to pick out detail. Due to my lack of knowledge before participating in this course, I was unable to precisely, dissect and have full understanding of all the musical detail displayed. I feel that this experience exposed and enhanced …show more content…
The conductor was directly centered in the front. There were three main arches of instruments as well as two rows of woodwinds in the back, a row of percussion on the left and both back corners. There was also a piano near the front right. The first arch of instruments were string instruments including six violins and two cellos. The next arch consisted of six violins and four cellos. In the final arch there were eight violins, one cello, one piccolo, three flutes, one English horn, and one French …show more content…
He wrote To Dust, which was the first piece played. To Dust was a relatively short piece, nearing four minutes in length. O’Dell went into great detail explaining not only the rhythm, tempo, and other musical aspects of the piece, but also its history and reason of existence. He mentioned that it was a reference to the Dust Bowl and all the struggles Oklahoma faced during this time. O’Dell mentioned that the rhythm was greatly influenced by Morse code. This really brought a new focus, as I found myself paying extra close attention looking for patterns. This piece did a great job of grabbing the audience’s attention. Initially, the drums roared loud in volume at a rapid tempo. It soon transferred into a sorrow decrescendo, bringing vivid images of the Dust Bowl Aftermath. Concluding the piece, the audience showed a great appreciation for the musical style, structure, purpose and history that was

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