The Soloist

In The Soloist, by Steve Lopez, Lopez shows great character through his befriending of the mystery that is Nathaniel, a homeless man in Skid Row. The story reveals the marvels small acts can cause, and brings attention to the issues facing homeless people. Lopez reveals that citizens need to do more to help solve the poverty problem, and that what seems insignificant to one can in fact make a huge difference to someone else. It only takes one act of generosity to make a lifetime of difference.…

intriguing performance. The choir’s performance of Messiah written by G.F. Handel featured soloist Ailish Tynan, Alice Coote, Allan Clayton and Matthew Rose. The combination of the orchestra, choir and soloists stirred an abundance of emotions throughout the entire audience. The well attributed song Messiah, was performed to a high standard from both The King’s College Choir, the orchestra, and the soloist. The performance…

after every phrase is sung. The variety of the changing dynamics continues throughout this first piece, becoming louder and quieter. The tempo and rhythm of the piece was very unified in this piece before any of the soloist began to sing their part. Throughout the performance of the soloists in this piece, the rhythm, tempo, harmony and volume changed drastically multiple times whenever the “idea” ended. The structure of this piece is structured ABAB. The purpose of this composition of a whole…

when the first performer walked onto the stage by herself. When the pianist started playing, I looked into the program and noticed the first song was in Italian. Katerina Hadjipavlis, the soprano soloist, began to and it was amazing! I was not expecting her to be singing opera. Like the other soloist, you could really see the passion on her face. That was one of the things that I really enjoyed regarding the performances. I could clearly see the passion and dedication that was put into…

violin, flute, or other instrument plays solo parts that are backed up or highlighted by an orchestra. Most concertos have three sections or movements, and in the 19th century they were especially popular as a way to showcase virtuoso playing by the soloist. In Italian, concerto means “concert or harmony”. Ritornello- The ritornello, Italian for ‘little return’, is one of the most frequently used compositional techniques and it involves a musical theme that returns repeatedly, with sections of…

video on YouTube. The quality of ensemble and solo playing is professional, featuring the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra under the direction of the soloist. This choice for the soloist to conduct the orchestra aids in the interpretation of the piece since at the time of the piece’s composition there was likely no one conducting separately, just the soloist leading the music through their playing. Also, it must be noted that the orchestra is not one of a massive 20th century size, but of a smaller…

audience also played a part in the performance by adding in syncopation. The last song Richland High played is called Love Makes the World go Round by The Ritz. The tempo was a medium/slow and there was numerous solos. There was a guitar solo, a soloist, and a trio of scatters in the…

Spirituals have come to be a recognized genre, but how? There are many ways to answer that, but I’m going to only go into three. Spirituals came to be recognized by its roots in Southern plantations, it’s performance by public groups and well-known soloists, and its performance and adaptation in modern music and society. The first way spirituals came to be recognized was by its roots in Southern plantations before and during the Civil War. Slaves would have informal and secret gatherings called…

I wanted this soloist to come off as very fierce and confident in her abilities to defend herself. After the soloist finished and retreated back into her ball, the other dancers returned to the space, using the entirety of the floor, and began dancing in free range in the same striking and pressing manner. After a short time the dancers began to shadow or mirror as the soloist slowly moved out of her frozen position. I wanted the dancers to shadow…

Furthermore, parallel fourths and fifths are used throughout the work, as well as, cross rhythms such as eight, seven, four, and two against three, and seven against four. Originally scored for chorus and large orchestra with a baritone and soprano soloist, the first piece, "Agnus Dei", is the only piece that is not in English. Taken…