Music department will give fall performances
USU students looking forward to more than just the crisp air, the cooling weather and the colorful changing leaves this autumn can enjoy music of the season this week. The season is accompanied by two fall concerts, the USU music department’s “Autumn Voices” choir concert and the jazz big band performances at 7:30 p.m. in the USU Performance Hall Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Though tickets are normally $10 to the general public, students can get in free to both of these events simply by showing their student ID.
Dr. Cory Evans, director of choral activities, said the USU Chambers Singers, Women’s Choir and University Chorale will all join together to bring “challenging choral music with world-class musicality and precision” to the public and the university community Tuesday night.
Evans said the the first song of the performance, a South African hymn called “Siyahamba,” will feature “African drums and a fevered rhythm that will grab the audience.”
Though this is the music department’s first concert of the year, Evans said the students have been working hard and will be providing an array of musical styles from places all over the world, including Ireland, Germany and Estonia.
The event is a very popular concert due to its variety, Evans said, and it always sells out. He encourages USU students to take advantage of this opportunity.
The USU jazz big bands concert will be held Wednesday. Two of USU’s jazz bands, the jazz orchestra and the jazz ensemble, will be performing, and both will be playing songs from all around Europe and displaying a variety of jazz styles.
Jon Gudmundson, director of the jazz orchestra, said this year’s concert will be different from the last. The band is getting involved with music that is a bit more rock-oriented and challenging to play, Gudmundson said.
The two bands are going to bring a diverse sound filled with different effects, he said. Students will not only be playing typical jazz instruments, such as saxophones and trumpets, but also woodwinds like flute and clarinet.
The guitarists will be using distortion and effects that sound almost more like rock ‘n’ roll, and Gudmundson said the students and directors wanted to add “more of an edge” to the music.
Besides the music, Gudmundson said there are other components that add to the concert this year and said they are sure to make each viewer’s experience better.
Art graduate students have been incorporated into the show to create a visual experience of lighting and patterns that students will be able to watch as they listen to the music, he said.
The jazz concert will be recorded for a CD that is set to come out sometime next year.
“We’re recording this concert and our next concert on Nov. 20,” Gudmundson said. The recordings will both be available on iTunes once they are released.
Both of these events promise to offer wonderful music to students of all levels of musical experience, Evans said.
“This concert will feature something for everyone,” he said.
“The students always put on a really good show,” said Alex Holbrook, an undeclared freshman. “It’s definitely worth going to see, and it’s free to students. There’s no way you can beat that.”