Sunday May 4, 2014, I attended the Civic Concert Band at LCCC. They put on a performance called “These Are a Few of My Favorite Things Part III.” This performance featured music by George Gershwin and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was also conducted by Mark Wainwright. The band was on stage when I arrived, all playing random notes. Then at about 2:55, they all started playing the same notes to tune their instruments. At 3:00, Mark quietly walked on stage, and the band started to play the song, A Few of My Favorite Things from the musical The Sound of Music. I remember smiling and thinking, “Hey, I know this song, maybe this won’t be as bad as I thought.”
After the song ended, Mark introduced himself and said the name of the next song they were going to play. It was title The Wizard of Oz, arranged by James Barnes. It was a medley of all the songs from the movie, The Wizard of Oz. The band started off slow and light, playing the melody of Somewhere Over The Rainbow. I could then tell the song had really started when the medley changed to Ding Dong The Witch is Dead. It was upbeat and I was singing along in my head, and that was when I knew I was in good hands. From there on, the song switched back and forth from We’re Off to See the Wizard to If I Only Had a Brain. This was definitely my favorite part of the whole concert.
They finished the song and the audience applauded while the conductor pointed for any soloists during the song to stand. They then sat down and begun the next song. This was titled Porgy and Bess. It was arranged by Robert Russell Bennett. I did not recognize and of parts of these songs, but I assumed it was a medley of songs from perhaps a play of the same title. Most of the song was upbeat, and I remember tapping ...
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...gs I recognized, I still enjoyed the performance of his medley.
After that song, the audience routinely applauded while soloists were pointed out, and then they sat and the audience stopped clapping. Mark went to the mic and thanked everyone for coming out to see them perform, and hoped we had enjoyed the performance. He then introduce the next song, Pirates of the Caribbean, arranged by John Wasson, and humorously corrected himself with an alternate pronunciation of the word “Caribbean.” I was especially looking forward to this performance because I loved the movies and could not get the main song, He’s a Pirate, out of my head after seeing it on the program sheet, and even now while typing this paper.
The medley including songs from all of the various films, although I did not enjoy it as much as the other songs mainly because I just wanted to hear He’s a Pirate.
The drummer had many soloistic features. But when he played his solos, he did not bother to make any eye contact with the audience. I speculate that he was too focused on his part to notice anyone hearing him. The twelfth piece of the concert featured “T’was the Night Before Christmas,” with a special guest, Ms. Clarice Tinsley, narrating. It was played in the exact same format as the Wind Ensemble piece from my school during the Toys for Tots concert. This song was the funniest of them all; the audience and I had some major laughing moments, especially the moment after Santa hopped down the chimney. The second to last piece of the concert, “In the Bleak Winter,” by Holst, was a variation of the same piece played by the Concert Band at the Toys for Tots concert. Generally, this slow piece is supposed to feature heavy vibrato. Unfortunately, the brass did not use such type of vibrato. This was a little offending to me, but I am a biased flute and do not know if the director had the time to ask them to use vibrato. The concert ended with the most familiar piece, “Joy to the World.” This piece was the most memorable because the volume was very well-managed, with trumpets, French horns, and trombones constantly adjusting. The melody was also well-shared in the piece. It was heard
Ever heard of a story that sings of the “Angel of Music” and the “Phantom of the Opera”? A tale that once you have listened to the sweet melody that you will realized that you've pasted the “Point of No Return”? This love triangle has captivated multitudes ever since the 1910 original Phantom of the Opera was published in France by Monsieur Leroux, although most story lovers recall the musical of the same name by Andrew Lloyd Webber or the motion picture adaption. Although this story has been entertaining people for over a century, in this new era have prerecorded voices and movements begun to overshadow the talented performers of live theater? Although “The lavish screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera (2005) only deepened the damage” of the dislike of musicals made into film “with non-stars in the leads and an unimaginative production,”(Musical),which version, the live performance or the film, makes the story more attractive? To answer these questions, permit this essay to analyze two methods of storytelling: 2011 live performance Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall and the 2005 film, and decide if music and story lovers everywhere have too “turned from true beauty”.
... and Hammerstein was also their last. The musical came from “The Trapp Family Singers,” by Maria Augusta Trapp. It opened on November 16, 1959 in New York and ran for 1,443 performances.
The period between early 1940s to mid-1960s or so, alternatively, the period between when the musical Oklahoma! (1943) was produced till the time when Hair (1968) was produced, is usually referred to as the Golden Age of the American musical (Kantor, 2010). It is during this period, that most of the noted titles such as “Carousel”, “South Pacific” etc. were produced. 1940s and early 1950s were dominated thoroughly by MGM musicals, while the late 1950s and 1960s belonged to Broadway. Initially, the musicals of this era had simple plots, unchallenging themes, with romantic or comedic characters and lots of singing and dancing. But towards the end of it, the plots were sophisticated, serious with singing, dancing as well as dialogue. In this paper, I choose to elaborate more on the musical – Arthur Laurents’s West Side Story. In the first part of this paper, I discuss the plot, songs and other aspects of the musical such as the awards etc. Later on, I explain how this musical revolutionized the theatre and the cultural effects it had on Americans. Finally, I conclude in the end the historical importance of this musical piece.
played were the fiddle and the lute. The subject of their songs were based on
One piece we sang this year was called “Reflections of a Lad at Sea”. Our conductor for the last movement (Mrs. Gee) was always nagging us to add more energy into the song. The last movement was called “Ghost Ship” which was a story about a ghost ship a sailor had seen one night.
The pianist and concert conductor, Christian Zacharias opened the Los Angeles Philharmonic Classical Music concert with a fascinating performance that left the audience in party mood and in happy f...
The evening opened with a nice pieced titled, Time After Time. The song opened with a guitar solo performed by Tyler Jones from Baxter Springs, Kansas. This particular piece had great dynamic contrast as it started out quiet and then gradually got louder. The song also featured a miraculous trumpet solo by Justin Crossman from Leavenworth Kansas. Justin stole the show with his remarkable
The first person to play was supposed to be Sweetwater but they were stuck in traffic so Richie Havens had to open up the festival. Richie did not want to open the show and kept making up excuses but Michael Lang was not giving up he knew he could do it. At 5:07 pm he sucked it up and went out there and sang his spiritual heartwarming music. He was only suppose to do forty five minutes worth of songs but the crowd wanted more so he went back on stage and sang every song he knew. His last song was called “Freedom” everybody loved it so much that other bands had to do fantastic to compare. (Hilstrom)
The first song, Magnificat in C, was one of the longer songs performed, and featured many solos by Union students. This song is in Latin, but due to the English translation the audience received prior to the performance, we were able to follow along and comprehend the lyrics. This song demonstrated the various parts of a choir and allowed the sopranos, altos, and tenors to express themselves through sectional solos.
The first song the piano trio performed was the Haydn C Major Trio. This piece is from the Classical period of music. The Baroque period is known for many of the smaller setting pieces that were written in that time period, so piano trios were quite popular at this time. The piece consisted of three movements in fast, slow, fast order. The piano and violin were featured in this movement and you could tell that their parts were pretty difficult. The first part of this piece was in sonata form, the second was in ABA ternary form, and the third was another part in sonata form. The piece changed tempo throughout it which really felt like it kept people involved. You could also hear the repeat of the intro and certain themes throughout the piece. This piece was very enjoyable. It was probably my favorite piece played in this concert. The changing if tempos really made you pay more attention and it wasn't slow or boring. The sonata forms allowed the musicians to perform more difficult parts from the pieces and it was very entertaining to observe. This piece also ...
During the concert the pianist, drummer and saxophonist did a great job, making the rhythm unforgettable. One of the songs that was performed was "Wrapped around your fingers" it contained a romantic melody. While the piano and saxophone then alternated the rhythm, as the passion of the song was motivating everyone to fall into the rhythm of it. The melody which was steady seemed to get faster like a heartbeat by the climax of the song. The sounds were increasingly getting louder until all instruments met at the top with a ban...
They performed five of my favorite songs. On their setlist were “Little Things” by Ed Sheeran and Fiona Bevan and “Change My Mind” composed by Savan Kotecha, Rami Yacoub, and Carl Anthony Falk. On their encore list were “You & I” by Julian Bunetta, Jamie Scott, and John Ryan, “Story of My Life” by Jamie Scott, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, and the One Direction members, and “Best Song Ever” by Wayne Hector, John Ryan, Ed Drewett, Julian Bunetta. First song I would like to cri...
The musical selections and songs that were sung told a story and narrated the almost the entire film, as is expected in...