On the evening of April 19 students, professors and community members packed into the seats of Jarman Auditorium for a night of music from Longwood University’s Wind Symphony along with Jazz Ensemble A. Aside from the Wind Symphony’s performance at graduation, this was the last chance to see the pair of ensembles perform on Jarman’s stage for the semester.
Songs performed throughout the night took the audience through quite the variety of music styles and genres from classical French operettas to the more modern sounds of Jazz-Funk fusion.
Fifty-three musicians made their way to the stage with various wind instruments of all shapes and sizes to start off the concert with a 19th century French operatic piece. Students have been preparing these songs since mid-March with nothing but a single rehearsal within the performance space.
“We only get one rehearsal in this hall,” said Dr. Gordon Ring, the conductor for the Wind Symphony, “and it always takes a little time to adjust to the acoustics in this room, but they did very well.”
The concert featured many notable performances by the groups as a whole as well as featured musicians throughout the program. Within the first portion of the concert the Wind Symphony was joined by the Winner of 2016 Student Soloist Competition vocalist Steven Brown for a poetic Austrian piece composed by Gustave Mahler entitled “Liebst du um Schönheit.” Brown’s delivery of the piece eloquently displayed his expressive baritone voice all the while blending with the subtlety of the symphony behind him.
Following the conclusion of this piece, Dr. Ring turned over the conductor’s podium to Cory Anderson, Winner of the 2016 Student Conductor Competition who dedicated “A Jubilant Overture,” a piece composed by Alfred Reed, to Jeff Stables, a mentor and close friend of Anderson’s that passed away.
“I think this piece really shows the jubilance of life,” said Anderson, “Jeff was a fun-loving guy and anything he could do for others, he would most certainly do. I think the sense of jubilance of [the song] really captures his essence. I feel as if he’d be proud.”
After a brief intermission, the eighteen-person Jazz Ensemble A directed by Dr. Charles Kinzer makes their way to the stage for a switch in rhythm and beat. With the conductor’s podium offstage, Dr. Kinzer steps aside after introducing each song to let the band take the stage and fill the room with their music.
Beginning with an upbeat bebop style of Jazz, followed by a ballad featuring a moving trumpet solo by Tyler Gage allowed the audience to sit back, relax and enjoy a more casual approach to the pieces performed.
Half-way through the Jazz Ensemble’s performance, they were then joined by vocalist, Roxanne Cook for a collaboration on a rhythmic piece entitled “Orange Colored Sky,” written by Milton DeLugg and Willie Stein, in which once again Kinzer stepped aside to let Cook and the band take over the stage.
The Jazz Ensemble then ironically ended the concert with a song by Thad Jones called, “Greetings and Salutations” featuring multiple skilled soloists including Joel Worford on guitar, Michael Velez on bass trombone, Michael Norwood on electric bass, tenor saxophonist Cody Leonard and drummer Nate Irving.
Each solo showed extensive ability of the individual musicians, all of which had their own style and mood for their portion of the song. The solo that stood out the most was Irving’s drum solo to end the “boogaloo funk groove” – as Dr. Kinzer called it – and the entire concert on an intense rhythmic note.
Whether it was the expressive quality of Brown’s poetic voice, Anderson’s accomplished smile as he bowed, the snapping of fingers, the tapping of toes or nodding along to the beat, the unfathomable care and dedication that each of the performers puts towards their art was incredibly evident. It was most certainly a night of music to be remembered as a proud accomplishment by every single musician heard throughout the concert.
