On Thursday, October 8th, 2009, I sat in Kobacker Hall, wondering about the concert I was about to see. At 8 p.m., Nexus, a percussion group, was going to perform. I had never seen simply a percussion group perform before, so I was curious about what I would actually hear.
Though the first piece they played (“Music for Pieces of Wood”) was quite jarring, I was pleasantly surprised by the rest of the pieces. My favorite piece out of all of them, though, was “Kebjar-Bali,” a piece by William Cahn, which is based on the traditional music of Bali and is usually performed by a Gamelan orchestra. The group used so many different gongs, bells, marimbas, and other western and eastern instruments. The best parts of the piece happened when the tempo would slow and then there would be a sudden burst of playing. It had a really impressive effect.
Overall, I really enjoyed the concert. Percussion instruments are not my favorite to listen to, but I found it extremely entertaining.
At three in the afternoon on Sunday, November 1st, Sara Young walked on stage and informed the audience to silence their cell phones with a British accent. The entire cast of the Noobie’s Show followed soon after to sing the opener and then quickly segue into a mini Italian opera.
The performers did and excellent job of conveying messages through their actions as well as their songs. During “Taylor the Latte Boy,” the five singers took turns expressing their love for the latte boy, and as the song progressed they became increasingly jittery and wide-eyed. The songs that contained the entire chorus have witty lines that poked fun at certain groups at Bowling Green.
The Noobies Show was a very enjoyable experience. I would recommend this event to anyone who enjoys musical theatre or collages of well-performed songs.
On Friday, September 25th at 8 pm, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra performed Mahler’s Third Symphony at the Toledo Museum of Art. This was the first time I have been to a symphony in person and it truly moved me. Mahler’s Third is made of six movements conducted by Stefan Sanderling. The fourth and fifth featured a mezzo soprano soloist named Suzanna Guzman and the BGSU Women’s Chorus and the Junior Choral Society of Northwest Ohio joined in fifth movement.
My favorite movement was the last movement because of the dissonance and resolution. I have never had the chills so much in my life. The performers put so much emotion into the music and it definitely carried into the audience. The post-horn solo by Dr. Carpender was also very impressive.
Going to the concert was a very rewarding experience and I can’t wait to see another great performance like that again.
I recently attended the performance of “Patience” by Gilbert and Sullivan, and was very impressed with the talent portrayed by the performers. I did not expect the story to take the path it did, or the performers to portray their roles as well as they did. I was mostly impressed with the performance of Ryan Jones. He portrayed the role of the village “hottie” very well, and performed his vocals very well. He was very high energy, and even though I was sitting in the very back of the Wooster Center I could feel all the emotion Ryan and the rest of the crew were showing.
On November 22nd I had the opportunity to see, fellow studio member Emily Meyerson perform her senior recital. Emily is a student of Myra Merritt and is a music education major. Emily sang many wonderful classical pieces. Many of the pieces she performed are pieces that I am going to look at because they seem interesting and I would like to learn some of them. I had two favorite songs that she performed in her recital. I liked the song Taylor the Latte Boy simply because she was able to have fun with it, and you could tell that she enjoyed being able to sing it. I also really enjoyed her performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow that she performed to her mom, who was in tears by the end of the song. Overall the recital was great and I really enjoyed it.
On December 3, 2009 at eight p.m in Kobacker Hall I had the opportunity to perform in World Percussion Night with my Taiko Drumming class, directed by Tammy Starr. This was one of the most exciting concerts I have participated in so far here at Bowling Green. Our class sat behind stage to watch the other percussion ensembles perform. I really enjoy listening to all the different types of cultural drumming techniques. I will say my favorite is Taiko drumming because not only does it sound good, but it is aesthetically pleasing for the audience to listen and watch with all the moves and japanese sayings like “SA SA SA” that we add to the drumming. It is fun to beat on drums, but it is a work out at the same time.
By the end of our last song, some of the members of our group worked together to make a drum to give to Tammy’s baby daughter, because Tammy will not be leading our group anymore, which makes the whole ensemble sad. Tammy loved the drum and she was happy that we did a great job.
I realize I cannot write about a performance I was in, so I will write more about what I observed to add to tis blog.
World Percussion Night opened with a dance in between the seats of the audience by two people dressed in a dragon costume. The dragon danced all the way to the stage. Then the first percussion ensemble began to play on little instruments that looked to me like metal pots all lined in a row. From behind the stage I could see the soloist on the stage, Jake, who is a member of Taiko also. He did a little dance with a fan in his hand and then he began to play his solo on the pot like instrument.
I remember also being behind stage watching the African percussion group perform a tribal dance while the drummers were drumming. Our taiko ensemble was doing the dance behind stage. Then it was time for out performance. During the parts I did not perform in, I was backstage yelling “SA” or “YO” and other japanese words. So not only did I perform but I was watching from behind the scenes.
On December third I went to the world percussion night in Kobacker hall. I went simply to get recital attendance and ended up having a really great time. The second group had amazing dancers but the percussion itself was not that great. There was on girl in particular that really stood out in the dancing and performed it with tons of energy and enthusiasm. My friends and I speculated that she probably choreographed the routines. They were a really good group, but the last group was, by far, my favorite. It was the Taiko group and they were fantastic. Not only was the percussion aspect beautiful and exhilarating, but the performance itself was great. They all moved with such grace and beauty. My heart was racing and my attention was totally focused on everything they were doing. I’m a singer so percussion’s lack of melody and lyrics has always left me wanting more. However, that night I was totally satisfied and pleased with what they performed. I can’t wait till next years’ world percussion night to see more of these amazing performers.
On November 1st I went and saw the Newcomer’s show. It had a series of songs that were tied together in a strange way but a funny way. All of the freshman who performed were absolutely amazing. My favorite song was “Taylor the Latte Boy”. The song was very humorous and the ladies singing it were absolutely amazing. I also loved Carrey’s song. She was phenomenal. Her voice filled the hall and exploded with song. There was so much talent in every single one of these singers and it was impossible to think that they were freshman. They are all truly shining stars.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Rachel Killoren
On Thursday, October 8th, 2009, I sat in Kobacker Hall, wondering about the concert I was about to see. At 8 p.m., Nexus, a percussion group, was going to perform. I had never seen simply a percussion group perform before, so I was curious about what I would actually hear.
Though the first piece they played (“Music for Pieces of Wood”) was quite jarring, I was pleasantly surprised by the rest of the pieces. My favorite piece out of all of them, though, was “Kebjar-Bali,” a piece by William Cahn, which is based on the traditional music of Bali and is usually performed by a Gamelan orchestra. The group used so many different gongs, bells, marimbas, and other western and eastern instruments. The best parts of the piece happened when the tempo would slow and then there would be a sudden burst of playing. It had a really impressive effect.
Overall, I really enjoyed the concert. Percussion instruments are not my favorite to listen to, but I found it extremely entertaining.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Joseph Boldt
At three in the afternoon on Sunday, November 1st, Sara Young walked on stage and informed the audience to silence their cell phones with a British accent. The entire cast of the Noobie’s Show followed soon after to sing the opener and then quickly segue into a mini Italian opera.
The performers did and excellent job of conveying messages through their actions as well as their songs. During “Taylor the Latte Boy,” the five singers took turns expressing their love for the latte boy, and as the song progressed they became increasingly jittery and wide-eyed. The songs that contained the entire chorus have witty lines that poked fun at certain groups at Bowling Green.
The Noobies Show was a very enjoyable experience. I would recommend this event to anyone who enjoys musical theatre or collages of well-performed songs.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
On Friday, September 25th at 8 pm, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra performed Mahler’s Third Symphony at the Toledo Museum of Art. This was the first time I have been to a symphony in person and it truly moved me. Mahler’s Third is made of six movements conducted by Stefan Sanderling. The fourth and fifth featured a mezzo soprano soloist named Suzanna Guzman and the BGSU Women’s Chorus and the Junior Choral Society of Northwest Ohio joined in fifth movement.
My favorite movement was the last movement because of the dissonance and resolution. I have never had the chills so much in my life. The performers put so much emotion into the music and it definitely carried into the audience. The post-horn solo by Dr. Carpender was also very impressive.
Going to the concert was a very rewarding experience and I can’t wait to see another great performance like that again.
December 1st, 2009 at 10:51 pm
I recently attended the performance of “Patience” by Gilbert and Sullivan, and was very impressed with the talent portrayed by the performers. I did not expect the story to take the path it did, or the performers to portray their roles as well as they did. I was mostly impressed with the performance of Ryan Jones. He portrayed the role of the village “hottie” very well, and performed his vocals very well. He was very high energy, and even though I was sitting in the very back of the Wooster Center I could feel all the emotion Ryan and the rest of the crew were showing.
December 8th, 2009 at 10:29 am
On November 22nd I had the opportunity to see, fellow studio member Emily Meyerson perform her senior recital. Emily is a student of Myra Merritt and is a music education major. Emily sang many wonderful classical pieces. Many of the pieces she performed are pieces that I am going to look at because they seem interesting and I would like to learn some of them. I had two favorite songs that she performed in her recital. I liked the song Taylor the Latte Boy simply because she was able to have fun with it, and you could tell that she enjoyed being able to sing it. I also really enjoyed her performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow that she performed to her mom, who was in tears by the end of the song. Overall the recital was great and I really enjoyed it.
December 8th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
On December 3, 2009 at eight p.m in Kobacker Hall I had the opportunity to perform in World Percussion Night with my Taiko Drumming class, directed by Tammy Starr. This was one of the most exciting concerts I have participated in so far here at Bowling Green. Our class sat behind stage to watch the other percussion ensembles perform. I really enjoy listening to all the different types of cultural drumming techniques. I will say my favorite is Taiko drumming because not only does it sound good, but it is aesthetically pleasing for the audience to listen and watch with all the moves and japanese sayings like “SA SA SA” that we add to the drumming. It is fun to beat on drums, but it is a work out at the same time.
By the end of our last song, some of the members of our group worked together to make a drum to give to Tammy’s baby daughter, because Tammy will not be leading our group anymore, which makes the whole ensemble sad. Tammy loved the drum and she was happy that we did a great job.
December 8th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I realize I cannot write about a performance I was in, so I will write more about what I observed to add to tis blog.
World Percussion Night opened with a dance in between the seats of the audience by two people dressed in a dragon costume. The dragon danced all the way to the stage. Then the first percussion ensemble began to play on little instruments that looked to me like metal pots all lined in a row. From behind the stage I could see the soloist on the stage, Jake, who is a member of Taiko also. He did a little dance with a fan in his hand and then he began to play his solo on the pot like instrument.
I remember also being behind stage watching the African percussion group perform a tribal dance while the drummers were drumming. Our taiko ensemble was doing the dance behind stage. Then it was time for out performance. During the parts I did not perform in, I was backstage yelling “SA” or “YO” and other japanese words. So not only did I perform but I was watching from behind the scenes.
December 8th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
On December third I went to the world percussion night in Kobacker hall. I went simply to get recital attendance and ended up having a really great time. The second group had amazing dancers but the percussion itself was not that great. There was on girl in particular that really stood out in the dancing and performed it with tons of energy and enthusiasm. My friends and I speculated that she probably choreographed the routines. They were a really good group, but the last group was, by far, my favorite. It was the Taiko group and they were fantastic. Not only was the percussion aspect beautiful and exhilarating, but the performance itself was great. They all moved with such grace and beauty. My heart was racing and my attention was totally focused on everything they were doing. I’m a singer so percussion’s lack of melody and lyrics has always left me wanting more. However, that night I was totally satisfied and pleased with what they performed. I can’t wait till next years’ world percussion night to see more of these amazing performers.
December 8th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
On November 1st I went and saw the Newcomer’s show. It had a series of songs that were tied together in a strange way but a funny way. All of the freshman who performed were absolutely amazing. My favorite song was “Taylor the Latte Boy”. The song was very humorous and the ladies singing it were absolutely amazing. I also loved Carrey’s song. She was phenomenal. Her voice filled the hall and exploded with song. There was so much talent in every single one of these singers and it was impossible to think that they were freshman. They are all truly shining stars.