Concert band embraces challenges in spring concert
The spirited and dynamic sounds of the GCSU Concert Band reverberated throughout Russell Auditorium on March 18 when the group performed its annual spring concert.
GCSU students, faculty and fans alike came to enjoy the performance, which was one of the group’s most challenging to date, said Dr. Todd Shiver, interim chair of the Music Department and director of GCSU bands.
“There are lots of notes to learn, especially for the woodwinds,” Shiver said. “We have been practicing since the beginning of the semester.”
Over 70 students performed during the concert, about half of which are majoring in music. Sophomore percussionist Ryan Brown, for example, is majoring in economics.
“Though I don’t want to teach it, I still love making music, which is why I joined concert band,” Brown said. “It’s just a good emotional representation of how people feel, and everyone interprets it differently. Music is different between everyone.”
Master of Ceremonies David Muschell provided background information on the composers in a humorous but awe-inspiring tone, which seemed to endear the audience to their pieces. Junior biology major Lauren Marrone enjoyed the concert from the balcony and said she especially “liked how they gave out unusual information on the composer. It was rather neat.”
Of the six compositions that the concert band performed, the first four originated from the Australian-born composer Percy Grainger. The flavor of British folk music was infused throughout his work. The band kicked off the concert with a fun, fluttering and lively piece titled “Shepherd’s Hey.”
Other Grainger compositions performed by the band had a similar atmosphere, as the flutes and trumpets created an upbeat melody with the other woodwinds. The pieces were then made more commanding by the percussion.
GCSU professor Maureen Horgan took the stage with her trombone during the fifth piece, Nikolia Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Concerto for Trombone and Military Band.” It was a change of pace that fluctuated smoothly between sleepy, excited, and empowering, and served as a transition from Grainger’s compositions to the drastically different finale.
The concert ended in a stunning grand finale composed by student conductor John Hennecken, a senior who has been playing with the GCSU Concert Band for four years and is currently its lead trumpet player. Entitled “Call of Fate,” the concluding piece had a tone that teetered between powerful and thundering, and soft melancholy. According to Hennecken, it was inspired by romantic composers that he cites as influences, such as Beethoven and Wagner.
“I really like that kind of intense symphonic music,” Hennecken said.
The concert band’s next performance will be held in front of the Governor’s Mansion in downtown Milledgeville on April 24. It will consist of patriotic music and marches.
Posted by Olivia Dowd
on Apr 2 2010. Filed under Features.
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