MUSIC REVIEW: These performers didn’t miss a beat
Marimbas and drums and vibraphones, oh my!
Cache Valley is home to some talented high-school students. Four groups performed at Monday’s percussion concert, and many of the musicians were local high schoolers.
I was impressed at how well they stayed together and how quickly they could move their hands and arms. It’s not every day you get to see marimba mallets whizzing over their instrument.
I had never been to a percussion concert before, but I realized I really enjoy that type of music. Although, the songs started sounding the same after a while. Ten percussion numbers with the same instruments will do that, I suppose.
An extra treat was the performance of the Street People between songs. This is a group of three Logan High School students. They made music by banging together pot lids of various sizes, which they held in each hand. The lids were clashed on each other and on the floor.
I liked how these guys had so much energy. They were members of the Cache Valley Percussion Ensemble, which had already performed several songs. But they still had energy to jump around and bang their lids.
The beat they created wasn’t extraordinary, but their performance was creative and a whole lot of fun, which is probably why they got louder cheers than any of the other student numbers.
Sam Bryson, a sophomore at Logan High, did a good job during his “Suite for Drumset,” where he performed an extensive solo. This song had a strong, foot-tappin’ beat that made me want to get up and dance. Again, I thought the teenagers were right on.
This concert wasn’t missing anything, even some of the less-common percussion instruments made a showing. “Past Midnight” featured nearly every performer on the hand bells and also had orchestra bells, which was unique.
The only bad thing about “Midnight” was that it got very dreamy at times and almost put me to sleep.
The USU Percussion Ensemble also did a nice job. I especially enjoyed “Stars and Stripes Forever.” While it is a typical marching band number, it sounded great with marimbas and a vibraphone.
In addition to the talented students, the 250-member audience was treated to African drum music that was led by Fred Simpson, who has been performing this type of music for more than two decades. About half of the audience gave his number a standing ovation.
I thought the African drumming was great. The drummers took turns performing solos and earned the loud cheers the audience members gave them.
It was fun to watch the USU percussionists and a few drummers from the Outdoor Recreation Center get into hand beating on the drums. It made me want to take up the bongo or something.
Overall, the percussion concert was great. It’s unusual that this section gets its own concert, but these students deserved it. They were talented, and they were very entertaining. It’s hard not to enjoy a performance where the musicians obviously love what they do, as these beat makers did.
Katrina Brainard is the Assistant Features Editor at The Utah Statesman. Comments can be sent to kcartwright@cc.usu.edu.
Tyson Titensor, a featured performer on the marimba at the concert, performs his part.
African music instructor Fred Simpson demonstrates his music before the ensemble performs its African number. (Photos by Ryan Talbot)