Orchestra pit

Now, the Classical era did not only change how the violin looked, but it also changed how the violin was used and held. The Classical era brought a new way of holding the instrument, “[the] early Classical period assured holding the violin on the shoulder, though a few village violinists might still have played violins on the breast.” The shoulder playing technique is how modern violinists play the instrument today, but none of this would be possible if were not for the Classical period and its…

Steel Drum Reflection 1. My emotions before the Concert were that I was very excited and energetic to play In front of a large audience for the second time. I was also happy due to me having fun a lot of fun with my friends before the concert started. My emotions during the concert were that I felt panicked due me being nervous to make a mistake while playing. I was also panicked due to me feeling like the audience was watching me (Only me) playing during the concert. After the concert I felt…

On 11 November 2016, I attended a concert entitled Schumann & Bruckner that organized by Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) at PETRONAS Philharmonic Hall which located in Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC). It was an around 120 minute concert including 20 minutes interval in between. Two great works was presented on this day which was Piano Concerto in A minor by Schumann and Symphony No.4 in E flat major- ‘Romantic’ by Bruckner. In this concert, Constantin Trinks was the conductor whereas…

Mique also designed a frivolous Chinese inspired structure built in 1776 called the ‘Jeu de Bague’. This was a small red and silver coloured merry-go-round, which had carved wooden seats in the form of peacocks for the ladies and dragons for the men. As it turned on its axis sounds would emanate from small egg-shaped bells suspended from under its cupola. In 1781 Marie Antoinette had a semi-circular pavilion built behind the Jeu de Bague to provide better shelter from the elements for her guests…

January 19th at precisely two in the afternoon, I found myself sitting in Dunham Hall room 1109, better known as the Choral Room. Within that one room radiated a warm, lively, and vibrant atmosphere. One room filled with a handful of friendly faces all shouting out their joy and encouragement to their friends and bandmates. It was in room 1109 that I experienced the smooth rhythmic sounds that gave me a new appreciation for Jazz. Let us begin with the piece I disliked the most out of the…

Mozart’s “Turkish March” and its later adaptations This essay explores various functions of W.A. Mozart’s Piano Sonata No.11, third movement: Rondo Alla Turca. It is widely known as the “Turkish March” because it mimics the sound of Turkish Janissary bands. This song has remained its high popularity in the world by various adaptations. In the following discussion, I will explore its primary function as an education tool, and respective secondary functions in contemporary societies as a…

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…

There are many factors that contribute to an ensembles’ sound. Most of which we spend our musical lives practicing; things like tone, vowels, diction, ect. As we begin to make the transition from ensemble member to leader we are thrown yet another contributing factor to sound: conducting. The art of conducting is a continuously growing set of skills for an individual. Many of the greatest conductors have spent decades perfecting their craft and creating their style, while building their…

written by Rimsky-Korsakov in 1899 based on the poem of the same name by Aleksandr Pushkin. It comes as the prelude to Act III, where a prince rescues a swan which is attacked by a bumble bee. The composer professionally used instruments of the orchestra to create pictures from the story. The musical piece is a programmatic music in ternary form that is representing the sound of a bumblebee. The strings are heard buzzing hurriedly about at the outset, brilliantly conveying images of a busy bee…

it was the keyboard because we had hardly saw it. Then after we heard the voice, we pretty sure that it was the organ. The play of the organ at the beginning of this piece dominated the show. The sudden switch of the instrumentations from a pure orchestra flavor like an organ to the more modern rock sound, piano, made the show greater than ever. This was the metaphor the power of the king and also the worried to his love (I think…