Single-reed instrument

“No Place Like London,” Act 1, scene 1 from Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim The orchestra enters with a full and resonant timbre, sounding the melodic theme “No place like London,” twice. The second echo ends on a peculiar chord, unresolved. The first soloist’s timbre is bright, energetic and full of hope, in contrast to the second soloist’s timbre that is dark. As the second soloist enters the music changes, the key shifting from major to minor. The second soloist sings in a lower register…

a. The four instruments I chose were cello, trumpet, flute, and snare drum. The cello is part of the string family, and consists of a wooden neck, endpin, tuners, fingerboard, bridge, and body. The cello has four strings: A,D,G,and C. The strings are held by the bridge and when a string is plucked or bowed it sends vibration waves through the cello producing the sound. One of the most common uses for the cello is at an orchestra or quartet. The trumpet is part of the brass family and consists of…

The concert attended was An Evening of Opera Arias and Scenes, at Nightingale Concert Hall, on October 10, 2016. The environment of the concert was informal for most of the audience dress wise, but the performers were fairly formal with their attire. The stage was very simplistic. It was just a plain white background with large white squares and a dark grand piano. The performers were Jamie Flora, Olga Perez Flora, Chris Langton, Albert R. Lee, Helen Lee, and Suzette Thoeni as the…

under conductor Eugene Goossens. The style of music is Nationalistic music. The melody played by the trumpet and other brass instrument played harmony. The rhythm was sharply detached and it has a steady, slow beat, but at the middle it speeds up and shifts into a smooth. At first the melody is low with all of the brass instruments mixed together, but later when more instruments get blended it gets both louder and the melody gets higher. The meter was really hard to measure in this kind of…

It’s first important to note what the word ‘Princeps’ means. It comes from ‘Princeps Senatus’, meaning ‘First among equals’, which gave an individual the privilege of being the first to speak in the Senate and being the first name on the roster. This title was used officially by Augustus (then Octavian) because it had no royal connotations. In actuality, Augustus had auctoritas (‘authority’) far greater than that of merely a Princeps. He was an Emperor, but he did not explicitly say so, for his…

One of my favorite songs is Vienna, by Billy Joel. I like the message of slow down, you have your whole life. After the second verse there is an interesting accordion solo. The piano runs going down keeps it interesting while still building anticipation for the second line of the chorus. The short rests make the rhythm interesting. The vocal flourishes at the end of each verse provide a smooth transition into the chorus or next verse. The instrumentals do a good job of keeping the listener in…

Three hundred pairs of eyes sat before me: friends, family, and strangers. They came to India from all over the world. As I sat tuning and applying rosin while waiting for the master of ceremonies to finish speaking, I surveyed the hall and found my grandparents greeting guests with infectious excitement. I thought how grateful I was to receive an opportunity to play Carnatic violin in a concert hall in India. Carnatic music is a devotional art form that originates from South India. I grew…

Throughout childhood, people try and find where they fit in, where they belong. I desperately tried to find my place by throwing myself into multiple activities, from sports to musical groups. I liked the majority of them, but nothing was as enjoyable as marching band. The image I have chosen is my marching band’s practice field. We like to call it our “dirt mound” due to the lack of flat ground, dying grass, and dirt ditches from the years of band camp. The field may not boast the greatest…

Pore over the tune titles on rapper Ludacris' 2015 collection, Ludaversal, and a few topics rise that are apparently custom-made to cutting edge Acura. "Grass is Always Greener" could depict Acura's deserting of storied nameplates like Legend and Integra for alphanumerics; "Not Long" could allude to its conviction that a seat in the full-extravagance pantheon is practically around the bend; and "Brute Mode" could be a gesture to the up and coming NSX supercar. In actuality, the collection's…

metronome. I passed the screening audition. Fast forward a few years, during high school. I now had to audition for my school’s drumline. My instrument of choice was the tenor drums. I was told that since there were many students with more experience than I had, it was likely that I would not make that spot. But I was also told I would make some instrument, regardless if I made tenors or not. So, I concluded it was at least worth a shot. But not just any shot - my best shot. In the weeks…