Reflection On Attending The Concert “Orchestra Of The Pines”
The Monday of October 1, 2018, I attended Stephen F. Austin State University’s “Orchestra of the Pines”. The seats of the Cole Concert Hall were slowly filling up as I arrived, and the members of the orchestra were preparing to perform. When it turned 7:30pm, the lights dimmed, and the conductor walked on stage. This started the first of three pieces that the students had rehearsed so hard for and I was excited to experience it.
The opening piece, “Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg” composed by Richard Wagner, caught my attention because of the dynamics consisting of forte and fortissimo. In one section of the piece there was bright sounds coming from the trumpets that were heard above everything else that was going on for just a short melody, playing their notes using a staccato style, adding excitement to the music. The ending was finished off with a strong crescendo, which set the expectations of the concert to be pleasant and exciting. Overall, I really enjoyed the first piece because it consisted of different melodies that embodied a sense of welcoming to the concert.
The second piece, “Concerto for tuba and orchestra” composed by Edward Gregson, was my favorite piece of the night. When the tuba soloist, Casey Stringer, appeared in the piece, the rest of the orchestra would decrescendo to piano, allowing him a chance to introduce the melody that is heard throughout the piece. Also, throughout the piece, the orchestra would crescendo to build up for the tuba soloist to begin playing. There was a contrast in styles between staccato and legato that happened in part I, Allegro deciso. In Allegro deciso, the snare drum enhanced the staccato style by playing along and hitting their drum along with the other instruments as they did short, separated notes. In the beginning of part II, Lento e mesto, the instruments played dynamically as piano and the gong was introduced. The tuba soloist led the other instruments into a huge dynamic change, consisting of a crescendo and then went back softly into piano. One of my favorite parts of Lento e mesto was the very last note. The last note was notably played with tuba on a lower octave note along with the gong, creating a dark and somewhat scary sound. In part III, Allegro giocoso, the tempo became faster and I recall that mutes were being used by the trumpets, which added a new variation to the piece by introducing a new sound that has not yet been heard. Overall, for this second piece, I think the tuba soloist caught my attention and inspired me to actively listen to the music.
The last piece, “Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 36”, had four different parts. The first part, Adagio molto: Allegro con brio, had a fast tempo and loud, forte dynamics. There was a contrast in the volume when the second part, Larghetto, was being played, which consisted of softer, piano dynamics. This part made me feel very tired because of the way the melody was repeated. As the third, Scherzo: Allegro, and fourth, Allegro molto, parts went on, everything started to sound the same to me. Although, Allegro molto, did consist of a few crescendos that provided excitement to the end to officially end the concert with a more notable and emotional effect.
I enjoyed this concert and was impressed with how well the orchestra prepared for their performance. I could tell that they rehearsed long hours with how well each instrument section balanced with the other and created such a full sound when the time was right dynamically. Not only did the music sound well prepared, but it was fascinating to see the musicians perform and ultimately watch their facial expressions change with the emotion of the different pieces.
