Tap with the beat
The Sand Hills are alive with the sound of music, provided by CSC’s prolific music department. This past week of performances is only the second in the department’s barrage of winter concerts, and it featured the Jazz Band, Wind Symphony, Community Band, and two personal recitals.
First, the Jazz Band filled the Student Center Ballroom with thrumming harmonies. Lead by Michael Stephens, associate professor of music, the 21-student band performed six swinging jazz pieces. The show contained favorite jazz composers, like Dizzy Gillespie and Thad Jones, and Stephens paired certain students with free-form solos. Their concluding piece, High Maintenance by Gordon Goodwin, featured pairs of students playing off each other. This call-and-response soloing created the air of a musical dialogue between the two instruments, and lent a creative dynamism to the show. Kaleb Britton, senior of Rapid City, S.D., finished the night with a fantastic drum solo. Britton, who has played CSC’s percussion for four years, will graduate this semester. He said, “I feel ready to graduate and be done with school. I’m very grateful for all that I have learned through the music faculty.”
CSC’s music department lauds a commitment to producing quality musical educators, performers, and business people. To insure this quality, music students pass through a four-year gauntlet of review and performance, including a freshman jury, sophomore qualifier, and senior recital. This final hurdle, a daunting hour-long performance, intimidates most participants. Amy Graham, senior of Valentine, wasn’t immune to these nerves. On Sunday, Nov. 16, Graham performed for a full audience at the Sandoz Center’s Chicoine Atrium. Graham said of feelings pre-concert, “I tried not to look nervous, but my mind was racing.” This recital, a necessary step for Graham to earn her BS in Music Education, featured the graduating pianist playing an hour of classical piano. Ranging from 17th century sonatas to double-piano concertos, the musical selections were peaceful and mature. Graham overcame her nerves and performed a gorgeous, elegant program. She described her feelings afterward: “At first I was disappointed in how well my playing went, but quickly my emotions turned into tears. I was finally done, all of those years of hard work were thrown out on the table (or piano) that afternoon. And I was done. I’ve been playing for 17 years, constantly preparing for something, either a recital or audition. It was surreal to be done, with nothing more to prepare for, if I so choose.”
The following day at 3 p.m., associate professor and department head Una Taylor held a faculty recital, also in the Sandoz Center’s atrium. Taylor performed three song cycles which had her flowing across three languages and the full treble clef. Taylor’s soprano mastery reminded audience members why she conducts for, teaches, and heads CSC’s music department. Along with a fierce technical talent, Taylor’s love for music could be heard above all else.
Finally, CSC’s Community Band and Wind Symphony performed in Memorial Hall on Tuesday. The Community Band, directed by Pamela Shuler, presented their four pieces first. Each arrangement contained a religious undertone, but the show’s composition retained variety. “Rikudim,” a series of four Israeli dances for band, was refreshingly different and rhythmic. The Community Band ended with a Calvin Custer Christmas arrangement, which played on recognizable favorites. The Wind Symphony also ended with a Christmas arrangement, but their’s was far from familiar, and was a piece by Alfred Reed. Sidney Shuler, Wind Symphony director, mentioned that Reed only had “twelve to sixteen day’s notice” to compose the piece for a Soviet-American peacemaking seminar.
Shuler’s introductions were always engaged and educational, even when he was trying to stall. While a flautist, whose horn had lost a screw, waited for the replacement instrument, Shuler said, “I am supposed to tell some jokes, but that would be horrible.” Instead, he provided more preface with commendable calm. The Wind Symphony played refined and resonant selections which, despite the modest audience, were strong and absorbing.
The music department will take a performance break next week, but it will return Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. with the Vocal Jazz and Guitar Ensembles.
