Personal Narrative: My First Music Concert

The first concert I choose to attend was the UMKC ensemble series. It featured the wind ensemble and the wind symphony.

The first song that Joseph Parisi, conductor, started with was “The Duke of Marlborough Fanfare” by Percy Grainger starts off very slow and deep with the melody being played by the woodwinds. The melody also sounds very prideful as if it is part of an end of a war and they feel proud of what they accomplished.This piece was well played and I enjoyed listening to it.

The second piece was “The Gum-Suckers March” from In a Nutshell by Percy Grainger. It was played in an allegro and the dynamics were in mezzo forte, but it also occasionally increased and decreased. The piece had a cheerful, vibrant, and joyful sound to it.
It felt as if you are in a cartoon that has a catchy tune.

The last pieces that the wind ensemble had to be folk songs sung by Aidan Soder a mezzo soprano. The song “Mrs. McGrath” had a marching feeling with a catchy beat. The rhythm was fast, but at times it would slow down. The next song was “All the Pretty Little Horses” which had a slow beat. It had a sad feeling, but it also had a caring feeling. The dynamics were also in mezzo piano and a short rhythm. The third song was “Yerakina” which had a cheerful vibe. The dynamics were in mezzo piano and the tempo in andante. The tone colors of this piece were pinging and echo. The fourth song “El burro” had a smooth short rhythm. The song was played in andante and mezzo piano. This song also had sadness, tension, and sounded cold or even threatening. The last song “A Fiddler” began with a joyful and fun vibe, but then it switched to a tense state. It was played in mezzo forte with short and long rhythms.

The next conductor, Steven D.
Davis, of the Conservatory Wind Symphony started off with “In Paradisum” by Rob Deemer. I realized that the star of this performance was the saxophone. The saxophone had a smooth and light feeling. The orchestra followed the saxophone in an imitative way. The dynamics were in mezzo forte and the tempo was in adagio. The tone colors of this piece had echo, vibrant, warm, and pinging. This piece had long, smooth notes of the rhythm.

The last piece conducted was “A Child’s Garden of Dreams” by David Maslanka. The tone colors of this piece had a pinging and jingly. There was much imitation in this piece and it reminds me of a twilight movie. The rhythm was long and smooth. The tempo was played in andante and the dynamics started in mezzo piano and crescendos to mezzo forte.

Overall, I feel that attending this concert made me more aware of the diversity of style. I enjoyed the many different sounds that this orchestra performed. I also enjoyed the dramatic tension I and the vibe that was given in the pieces . But mostly what I enjoyed the most of this whole performance was the second to last piece that was played. The way that the saxophone was played opened my ears to a new sound that I never heard. For this being the first concert that I have attended I can honestly say that this was a great
experience.