Orchestra pit

breath, glance at my conductor and the orchestra, and begin. I’d like to say I was infatuated with cello from the moment my future conductor first played it (rather badly, as I’d later learn) at the fourth-grade introduction to the music program, but that’s not what happened. The classic demonstration of the Jaws theme was lost on me, a ten-year-old who’d never seen Jaws and was (is) terrified of sharks. Truthfully, the only reason I decided to do orchestra (in spite of rumored early morning…

Style, perhaps, fluctuates the most of all aspects of a performance with the size of the group. Large orchestral groups or symphony orchestras may have dozens, if not hundreds in some cases, of performers on stage. This allows for numerous parts of a tune to be played simultaneously. The appeal to this is that there can be so much going on at once (a melody,…

On Tuesday November 15 2016, we had our very first concert of the year, our jazz concert which was called Jazz It Up. Many people were impressed not just by the 7th graders, but also varsity voices and us 8th graders. We were all great on our songs, and I especially liked the 7th graders songs. Mrs. Hjelm was amazing as she always is when she directs us and when she is our teacher. As always though a few things needed to change. Our first song was The Star Spangled Banner and we were very…

Hello Mr. Gershenson, I am the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and I will be telling you about my early life and education, early success and failures, and most famous pieces and achievements before my life ended in 1983 at age 53. Cholera is said to be the reason I passed away as well as the reason that my mom sadly passed away when I was 14 while attending boarding school in St. Petersburg. Throughout my life I have always regret the past, hoped in the future, and have been unsatisfied with…

Alberto Evaristo Ginastera was a Latin American composer from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was born on April 11, 1916 in Buenos Aires and died June 25, 1983 at the age of 67 in Geneva Switzerland. He was half Catalan and half Italian. Ginastera started his composing career when he was only 18 years old and won first place in a contest for the piano. He studied music at the Conservatorio Williams and the National Conservatory, both in Buenos Aires. Ginastera later co-founded the League of…

The concert that I attended was Sac State Jazz Combo with the guest artist “The Kandinsky Effect”, on Tuesday October 13, 2015 at 8:00 pm. in the Capistrano Concert Hall. At the beginning of the concert the Sacramento State Jazz combo played a couple songs. In this group there were many performers with different instruments: Domenic Dalpez (baritone saxophone) , Jesse Crosson (trombone) , Aaron Smith (trumpet) , Randy Sandoli (piano) , Molly Redfield (bass) , Devan Kortan (guitar) , and Cameron…

This symphony was written in Dresden during a love affair, according to Jeremy Dibble in (Dibble, 2016). The evidence of the love affair is evident in the third movement (Intermezzo), which contains a scherzo section of three motives. The symbolism of these motives are as follow; first motive is love, second is the religion of philosophy and the last is about the battle to live. Just by reading, the symbolism drawn to these motives shows us the romantic, poetic, and philosophical side of Bax. In…

The Baylor University Concert Choir performed a concert entitled “Child of Song- His Song”. It was performed by roughly 79 people, both male and female. The concert was their spring recital and all songs performed were praising God. Each selection had a unique feeling associated with it as well as a different connotation. The first section of the concert was slower and more somber than the final section. These songs were used more for worship and didn’t have the upbeat feeling as the later ones…

one of the most popular and respected composers in America. A recipient of a Bachelor's in Music Education from Troy State University and a Master's in Music from the University of Miami, Smith then has produced works for both concert band and orchestra that have been performed throughout the world. His greatest hits were his first two symphonies -The Divine Comedy and The Odyssey and have been used by North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Additionally, his pieces have been broadcasted…

As students rush into class, Shannon Anderson, the White Bear South Campus Band Director, sits patiently in her office, wearing her casual band jacket with her last name on it. As students come into her office to ask her questions, she remains calm and is very friendly. “To me, caring for the students is more important than caring about the music”, says Mrs. Anderson while answering questions that range from counting music all the way to relationship advice. Mrs. Anderson’s drive for music…