Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra's Concert

On the night of September 30th, I was able to attend the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra’s concert at Baldwin Wallace University. A feature that made them unique was their ability to arrange modern songs into a salsa format. It was a lively performance where many audience members danced along with the band, demonstrating the danceable feature of the music.
The orchestra used many of the traditional salsa instruments, including timbales, conga drums, a cowbell, and a guiro. Mambo influences were also evident in the instrumentation. With the rise of big bands in the United States, the traditional flutes and violins were replaced with horns and saxophones, and this change was evident with the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra. An important feature of …show more content…
As the show progressed, more and more people danced to the front of the concert hall or even went on stage to dance with the band. The Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra was not an exclusive group, but they invited others to enjoy the music with them, which allowed the performers to become closer and more connected with the audience. This reflects the ideology of music in African cultures because the separation between the performers and the audience is nonexistent. The orchestra certainly allowed the opportunity for a bridge to be built to the audience. Another similarity between the performance of the orchestra and African music performance was the performer’s dance. In African culture, dancing is almost inseparable from music, and the performers in the group certainly danced to the music. Regarding the influence of the music on the listeners, it clearly encouraged them to dance and move to the music due to the high energy and driving rhythm of the percussion and the music in general. The listeners also provided the energy needed to carry the songs forward, because their response in dancing gave more intensity to the performance. The singer even referenced this during the concert when she said something to this