By Daniel Smith
On Sunday, May 3 the spring semester student composers concert was held. The concert was a excellent and eclectic set of music that provoked thought as well as a few chuckles. The song was a recording created with loops entitled "Nimbostratus Virga" by Albert Wollmer. The piece followed a pattern of changing tension and was a unique experience to the evening. The next piece was "Diamond Garden" by CE Mortensen which was orchestrated for quintet, strings and piano. The work had an accompanying artwork as well as a a poem which was read before the performance. I found the interplay of the piano and strings as well as within the string to be interesting and creative scoing. "A Winter Coat" by Brandyn Klinect included parts for prepared piano, percussion, Celeste. piano, and spoken voice. With the addition of effects, the voice told a story while the other parts accompanied. The piece related ideas of excess in today's society and was a unique and well orchestrated work. "Intimate Voices" by Gerry Pimental was a relaxing piece utilizing solo Baritone and Soprano. The performance also included "FLAME and shadow" and other works by the composer not listed in the program. Among them, a song about a turtle which single handedly stole the show. After the intermission a string quartet by Jahrell Amani was performed. The piece featured counterpoint between the strings and was one of my favorites of the night. "Equilibrium" by Brandyn Klinect featured solo snare drum. This piece included many unique voicings of the snare drum and included several periods of silence. "Song" also by Gerry Pimental featured a quartet, a small choir, and piano. The piece sounded full and made me feel at home with some of the orchestral music I love. Following was "Mina and Dracula" for flute and cello. I couldn't think of a better instrument combination! The pieces was very cool and I think that the piece was a narration of a story with two very different characters. To finish the concert was "To All Mankind" which is an accompanying track to Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" speech. The piece featured a rising minor scale the grew and grew. I learned a lot about voicing from attending the concert and also about how to unlikely voices can interact with each other in a work. This is always one of my favorite concerts every semester and this one certainly didn't let me down. I'm excited to attend the one next semester and see the new and great material the students at Sonoma State University are coming up with. http://sonoma.edu
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By Daniel Smith March 29, 2015 I attended "A Celebration of Soloists with Frederica von Stade and Trio Ariadne" in Sonoma State's Weill Hall. The program consisted of musical works that "explore the rich and varied relationship between a soloist and an ensemble." The concert was performed by the Argento Chamber Ensemble with soloists Frederica von Stade, Carol McGonnell, Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir, and Elizabeth Joy Roe.
This performance was unique and certainly one that I will remember. With a mix of romantic, 20th century, and contemporary music, the program was extremely diverse and sourced excellent pieces that challenged traditional ideas about melody, dynamic, timbre, harmony, expression, form, and of course the relationship between soloist and ensemble. It was excellent, and it was truly a learning experience. Hearing these pieces performed by the Argento Chamber Ensemble and Soloists has changed my expectations of musicality in ways only the performers and composer could have initially envisioned. I hope to have the opportunity to see these artists perform again someday.
By Daniel Smith Last night, February 22, 2015, I saw Igudesman & Joo perform their show "A Little Nightmare Music" in Sonoma State's Weill Hall. In short it was a comedic show that combined classical music and popular culture. The two met at age 12, in 2004 developed their first comedy show "A Little Nightmare Music" and have since performed all around the world and received millions of views on youtube Mozart Will Survive.
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