Concert Attendance Reports MUSIC - Essay Example

Free Concert at the Performance Pavilion: ics and Popular Music in One Night “Free Concert in Dogwood Park” was the of the concert performed by the Bryan Symphony Orchestra (BSO). Music Director Dan Allcott mainly conducted the orchestral concert held at the Performance Pavilion in Dogwood Park. Sponsored by Sam and Diane Glasgow, the free concert was performed on Sunday of September 5, 2010; it formally began in the evening at around 7:30. The types of audience clearly present in the free concert were largely a mixture of young and old, and men and women.

In contrast to the young (like me), however, the old folks were greater in number for the BSO’s listeners. Old people flocked around the stage of the Performance Pavilion, particularly at the front seat. Old men and women appeared to enjoy the classical pieces played in Dogwood Park. To my mind, the reason why old people are the central audience for the orchestral concert is because such instrumental music is psychologically and mentally good for the old folks. Nonetheless, culture plays an important role why much of the orchestra’s listeners are old men and women rather than young people.

From classical music to popular theme-songs were the kinds of orchestral pieces lively performed in Dogwood Park. Masterpieces from Baroque composers were intricately played such as George Frideric Handel’s 1749 “Music for the Royal Fireworks.” A contemporary of Handel, one of German-born Johann Sebastian Bach’s masterpieces was performed by the members of the BSO. Maestro Allcott shared a funny story about the strong rivalry between the two Baroque orchestra masters, namely, Bach and Handel.

The nineteenth-century masterpiece entitled “The Bartered Bride” composed and arranged by nationalist Bedrich Smetana was also lively performed on stage. And from Germany to the United States, Charles Ives’s twentieth-century “The Circus Band” was patriotically played by the Bryan Symphony Orchestra. Quite striking in the Free Concert in Dogwood Park are the orchestral performances of the symphonic suites for the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Indiana Jones movies. The musical style for the piece entitled “Music for the Royal Fireworks” was patterned to a musical form called the French overture.

The BSO under maestro Allcott performed the piece from slow rhythm to fast rhythm, and returned to slow rhythm at the end. On the other hand, the style employed for the piece of “The Bartered Bride” was somewhat child-like, if not childish. Maestro Allcott added a touch of humor apparent in the dramatic shift of rhythm and tone. On the other hand, the style used for the Pirates of the Caribbean’s symphonic suite was, for lack of better words, pirate-like. Similar to the movie, there was a mixture of adventure, romance, and drama when maestro Allcott conducted the performance.

The instrumentation heavily utilized by the Bryan Symphony Orchestra were, as it appeared to me, violins, cellos, double basses, clarinets, and other woodwind instruments. Violins and double basses were very visible on the stage as the two main musical instruments widely used by BSO under Maestro Allcott. Woodwind instruments were greatly employed particularly during their performance of Handel’s “Music for the Royal Fireworks.” In the concert, the seating arrangement of the instrument players was like an inverted U-shape.

There was a wide space in the middle of the stage, and the Maestro stood before his orchestra members.Generally, the Free Concert in Dogwood Park was stunning and powerful. I fully enjoyed the performance of Maestro Allcott’s Bryan Symphony Orchestra held at Performance Pavilion. The touch of humor incorporated in the concert was truly captivating and enjoyable. Also, the inclusion of the symphonic suites of the movies Pirates of the Caribbean and Indiana Jones were very entertaining. Perhaps this is the reason, among other things, why some young people attended the free concert!