Concert band rocks house
The sounds of majestic themes, playful melodies, and dramatic cat-and-mouse chases between woodwinds and percussion filled Russell Auditorium last Thursday night and kept the audience mesmerized from beginning to end.
In a lively display of talent and passion, the GCSU Concert Band, directed by Dr. Todd Shiver presented their fall concert, “A Night of Overtures.”
The band performed pieces from Leonard Bernstein, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi and Dmitri Shostakovich. The audience favored the Rossini piece, “The Barber of Seville Overture.”
The piece began with a hesitant, timid melody. The whole piece resembled a chase, gradually building with intensity and crescendos into a climactic ending with dramatic tympani.
“The Barber of Seville” was used in Looney Tunes episodes starring Bugs Bunny.
Amber Barnard, a freshman English major, said “The Barber of Seville” was her favorite piece of the evening because she knew where it came from.
“I like to hear songs I’ve done before,” Barnard said. “I saw the Looney Tunes song and it made me smile because you know what was happening.”
April Pauf, a freshman music therapy major and principle oboe player, was pleased with the turnout and the performance.
“For me, I thought I did really well considering the practice,” Pauf said.
Pauf said the band has been rehearsing for this concert every Monday, Wednesday and Friday since August, and had two dress rehearsals on Tuesday and Wednesday night prior to the concert.
Erin Sewell, also a music therapy major and the principle bass clarinet player of the Concert Band, was impressed the band’s performance as well.
“I honestly think we did really well,” Sewell said. “All our work has paid off. This is the best we’ve been in a while.”
This is Sewell’s third year in the band and she has been playing the bass clarinet since sixth grade.
Sewell said her favorite piece was “Nabucco Overture” by Verdi.
“It’s my favorite because the beginning trombone fanfare,” Sewell said. “Out of nowhere the band jumps in and wakes up the crowd.”
For Brittany McGowan, a senior music therapy major and principle clarinet player, “A Night of Overtures” was her last concert at GCSU. McGowan has played with the Concert Band for nearly four years and will be graduating in December.
McGowan had mixed feelings about her last concert.
“I’m partly in relief because it’s over,” McGowan said. “The dress rehearsal was when it hit me. I just sat there and listened to everyone around me playing.”
Shiver was very pleased the performance of the band and the size of the audience.
“It was a pretty tough concert,” Shiver said. “The band was a little nervous – we’ll say anxious – going into it.”
Dr. Shiver said his favorite piece was the opening one, “Candide Overture” by Bernstein.
“I like ‘Candide,’ the first one, because it’s got, I call it, schizophrenic moods, like a circus tune; you never know what’s around the corner,” Shiver said.
Shiver also said this piece was the most difficult of all the pieces performed.
“There are lots of different meters,” he said. “For a conductor, that’s a challenge.”
Shiver said this year’s concert band is exceptional, especially considering the age of the players.
“This year I would consider it a young group,” Shiver said. “Just two or three seniors in the group, but it is a very talented group. We have a very strong freshman class.”
Shiver announced at the concert that the Jazz Band will perform its first holiday concert this year.
“We’re not thrilled about practicing holiday music in October, but we’re excited about having a holiday concert,” Shiver said.
Shiver also announced, with gasps from the audience, a concert exclusively of music by John Williams, composer of dozens of famous movie scores like Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Indiana Jones. The concert will be in the Spring.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Nov 3 2006. Filed under Features.
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