Band delivers ‘best performance of the whole time’ at spring concert

The GCSU Concert Band left a lasting impression on audience members at their “Rhapsody in Blue” concert March 9.

George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” was the featured song of this particular band concert, including a performance from famous pianist and GCSU Music Chair Dr. Richard Mercier. Audience members such as junior Patrick Gelinas were very moved by the performance.

“My favorite song was ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’” Gelinas said. “There were some incredible solos and really triumphant and energetic music. That song just made the whole concert.”

French Horn player Courtney Emmett also enjoyed the opportunity to hear “Rhapsody in Blue” played at the concert.

“I really enjoyed listening to Dr. Mercier play in ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’” Emmett said. “It is one of my favorite songs. It was nice to be able to sit and listen to it.”

Freshman Amanda Tate said the concert was educational, and that she enjoyed learning about new instruments.

“I had never seen a bassoon before,” Tate said. “I thought it was the coolest instrument I had ever seen.”

Dr. Todd Shiver, director of bands, said he was very pleased with the concert and all of the musicians.

“‘Rhapsody in Blue’ is a 20-minute long piece and it takes a lot of concentration to get through it,” Shiver said. “That evening was the best performance of the whole time we had together with Dr. Mercier. As a conductor, you always hope that the (musical performance) peaks on a concert.”

Shiver spends multiple days each week in preparation with his musicians for upcoming concerts.

“Once we get the music selected, we rehearse twice a week with the full group and then once a week we have sectionals with just brass or just woodwinds or just percussionists,” Shiver said.

Shiver chose to focus the concert on American composers. The first half of the concert included performances of “Porgy and Bess,” “American Salute” and “Rushmore.” These songs included trumpet and clarinet solos and most of the pieces had recognizable melodies, such as “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” and “America the Beautiful.”

“The challenge was to find music for the concert that would compliment that second half,” Shiver said. “I tried to concentrate on American composers like Alfred Reid. He passed away last fall, so I really wanted to do one of his pieces.”

Shiver started planning this particular concert a year ago when he asked Mercier to be a guest pianist during the song “Rhapsody in Blue.” Shiver said that having to plan that far ahead can be risky, but musicians like senior Sarah Bloomfield made it possible for Shiver to go through with his plans.

“With a concert like that, once you are committed to it, you are committed to it,” Shiver said. “That is kind of a scary thing because what if it is too hard for the group or you don’t have a good clarinet player like Sarah to do the solos?”

Shiver chose Bloomfield as principle clarinet after a tryout held at the beginning of the school year. As principle clarinet, Bloomfield is responsible for playing solos and sometimes for overseeing minor musical decisions for the group.

“In the middle of ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ I realized I had completed my solos and was able to breathe a big sigh of relief,” Bloomfield said.

Bassoon player Kara Hardy also enjoyed having her instrument featured in the song “American Salute.”

“Bassoon players got to be featured in the first piece and they don’t often get the melody,” Hardy said.

Hardy was also one of the students who had an instrument stolen in February of this year. She was thrilled at the recovery of the instruments just a few days before the concert.

“I didn’t actually believe it until I saw the instrument,” Hardy said. “You miss something for months and you just convince yourself that it’s gone.”

Hardy also explained that the connection between a musician and his or her instrument is far above monetary concern.

“As a musician, an instrument is like a friend of yours and to lose it is devastating,” Hardy said. “You get to know your specific instrument and what it does well. Getting it back is like seeing that old friend you never thought you would see again.”

Shiver said he also felt that the recovery of the instruments could not have come at a more appropriate time.

“If I were writing a novel, I could not have a happier ending,” Shiver said. “Past years we have had instruments stolen the week before the concert, so it was a nice change to have instruments recovered the week of the concert.”

Following a time of rejoicing over the recovered instruments, band members had even more to celebrate with the standing ovation audience members gave following the performance of “Rhapsody in Blue.”

“I was very impressed with the overwhelming response we got from the audience,” Hardy said. “They were standing on their feet at the end of the concert. That is the ultimate; to have people who appreciate your performance enough to stand on their feet.”

For information on future concerts or the band program, contact the Department of Music and Theatre at (478) 445-4226.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 24 2006. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry