On April 17, "Tweet-seats" was the theme of the night as Jarman Hall became engrossed in the sound of music from Longwood's Wind Symphony and duo Jazz Ensembles. Dr. Gordon Ring, conductor and professor of music, opened up the night with his comical statements regarding the new seating of the performing center.
Those sitting in the center of the concert hall were forbidden from taking out their phones during the performances, while those on the sides were allowed to have their phones out strictly for the purpose of tweeting about the concert.
"The concert was really great, and the performers put on an awesome show," said sophomore Cameron Brengelman. "The Tweet-seats were a cool idea, especially because I was one of the [attendees] who [was] sitting on the sides."
The first performance was a piece originally composed by Jack Stamp entitled "Gavorkna Fanfare." The piece was definitely an exciting way to kick off the concert with its epic drums and strong crescendos. The next piece, however, was even more exciting simply due to the soloist who performed. Matt Little, who was named the 2012 Student Soloist Competition winner earlier this year, played the clarinet to "Solo de Concours," Op. 10.
The sophomore music major practices between one and two hours a day, six days a week, and the effort showed in the concert. As far as winning his award, Little said it was "very weird, especially going up against so many others who were older." Little also plays the piano and sings with the Camerata Singers on campus.
The piece that seemed to be a crowd favorite of the wind symphony was "Ãra BÃ tur," an Icelandic song which brought out the Longwood Women's Chorus and lead singer for the performance Dr. Jennifer Capaldo, assistant professor of voice. Although the lyrics were hard to understand given that they were in Icelandic, the power of the song did not fail to come across. As a gentle melody played, a highpitched ring played in the background coming from a violin bow being run on a xylophone. The piano was also a huge part of the song along with the guitar. However, the ending was even more epic than the song, with a large crescendo at the end that combined all the pitches into one certain rhythm. Together the jazz bands focused on quick, rapid solos throughout their songs, many of which were actually improvising tunes.
One performance, the "South Rampart Street Parade" (composed by Ray Barduc) was actually a 1930s sound that seemed as if it belonged in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. The final piece that the Jazz Ensemble A ended with, "Oh, Snap" by Daniel Clark and Collin Killalea, was an interesting sound constructed by emphasis on the trumpet and saxophone. At one point each performer had fun with their instrument in a scene of organized chaos.
"I feel like the concert went really well," said Lauren Seidner, freshman member of Jazz Ensemble B. "The rehearsal really paid off, and it was probably the best we have sounded. My favorite song was 'Feel So Good' because you can't help but tap along while playing. I couldn't stop moving while playing it."
Overall the concert was a success, judging from the audience's applause and - at some points - standing ovations.
Longwood's Wind Symphony delivered a successful performance, earning standing ovations in their final show.
