Chamber Music Concert

On Thursday November 13^th, 2008 I braved the blustery winds and made my way over to Hassell Hall to attend the Rhodes Chamber Music Concert. All of the performers were current Rhodes students and I was impressed with the wide array of instruments and diverse repertoire. Each ensemble was comprised of a different group of instruments, and the ensembles ranged from a string trio performing selections by Antonin Dvorak, to a guitar ensemble imitating the sounds of rain in Leo Brouwer’s Cuban Landscape with Rain, to a quintet including bassoon, oboe, French horn, clarinet and piano playing Beethoven—and everything in between! I love watching how expressive the instrumentalists are while playing the music. Violinists are particularly fascinating to watch because of their arm movements, and the way they tend to lean into phrases and relish sustained notes. There were a number of talented violinists at the chamber music concert that evening, all of whom engaged with the music in different ways. Another instrument and instrumentalist I enjoy hearing and watching is the flute. The only noise I can coax out of a flute is a shrill high note, so hearing beautiful legato phrases and high notes that don’t induce head-aches is a real treat! My favorite piece of the program (aside from the Geographical Fugue) was “upbeat” from Springsongs, by Gary Schocker. Nicole Baker played flute and Tyler Turner accompanied on piano. The duet was riveting and beautiful. It required quite a deal of breath support and control as there were several runs up to the higher notes in the flute’s register—but Nicole managed it with lovely musicality and grace. In fact, it sounded like something out of a movie soundtrack from a 1960s or 70s classic!

Of course, no chamber music concert is quite complete without the rhythmically demanding, spoken word piece called “Geographical Fugue” by Ernst Toch. The entire Music Theory 206 class clambered on stage to show off their skills! I walked out of the theater that night thinking about “Trinidad! And the big Mississippi…”.

I think more students should attend chamber music concerts. It’s a great way to hear new music and support your friends! It was so fun to cheer on my friends and it’s always a comfort to the performer to see a familiar, smiling face in the audience! The next Rhodes student performance is the Wind Ensemble performance on Thursday December 4^th at 7:30 in the BCLC ballroom. I hope to see you there!!

- Brigid Hannon