2008 Woodie Awards
Inaugural Concert
Short yet Satisfying
Diana Lesperance
Issue date: 3/4/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
The three o'clock campus bells rang on a cloudy, cold Sunday afternoon, and even though Lakeland's concert band had only six rehearsals, the Inaugural Concert of the new Director of Bands, Dr. Eugene Bechen began.
The concert opened with a special rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Originally arranged by Jack Stamp, it was Dr. Bechen's specially "tweaked" arrangement to create a hymn/ballad that was a "citizens' love song for their country" rather than the "drinking style" of the original. He did this to honor those involved in the trade center attacks. The audience stood in recognition of it, and it sounded smoother and had a more emotional effect than the original.
The concert continued with "English Folk Song Suite" by R. Vaughan Williams and "With Quiet Courage" by Larry Daehn. The latter was a tribute to Daehn's mom, who lost her legs and eyesight to diabetes. The program, which gave very complete explanations of each piece of music, said that Larry, "Tried to make the music like her: simple, with strength, nobility, and beauty."
The next piece was written by Haydn, who is one of my favorite composers ever since I found out that he wrote his music to purposely surprise the audience. He would play soft, gentle music to lull the audience and then, when they least expected it, he'd blast them with loud music just to get a reaction.
I also read that two women got into a fight while in his audience and, rather than stop the music or the fight, he directed the musicians to play along, accentuating the punches.
There's no doubt that the "Surprise Symphony" is more dramatic than the "Armida Overture," but there were definitely elements of Haydn's attitude in the piece. As the program describes it, "many melodic fragments are repeated three times consecutively, and sudden fortissimos occur without warning."
Next, the "Basin Street Blues" was played by the Lakeland College Dixieland Band. It was "something to clean the palate," as Dr. Bechen put it. It was refreshing as Scott Rundhausen played the trombone and Jennifer Erdman played bass along with Dr. Bechen on the drums, Lisa Ellis on the piano, and Carrie Houck and Danielle Turney on the clarinet.
The final song, "Sedona" by Steven Reineke, was a very energetic way to end a short yet satisfying concert.
The band is made up of non-music majors, music majors, and a number of community members. It serves as a musical outlet and laboratory for future band directors. Dr. Bechen encourages anyone interested in joining the band to contact him.
The concert opened with a special rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Originally arranged by Jack Stamp, it was Dr. Bechen's specially "tweaked" arrangement to create a hymn/ballad that was a "citizens' love song for their country" rather than the "drinking style" of the original. He did this to honor those involved in the trade center attacks. The audience stood in recognition of it, and it sounded smoother and had a more emotional effect than the original.
The concert continued with "English Folk Song Suite" by R. Vaughan Williams and "With Quiet Courage" by Larry Daehn. The latter was a tribute to Daehn's mom, who lost her legs and eyesight to diabetes. The program, which gave very complete explanations of each piece of music, said that Larry, "Tried to make the music like her: simple, with strength, nobility, and beauty."
The next piece was written by Haydn, who is one of my favorite composers ever since I found out that he wrote his music to purposely surprise the audience. He would play soft, gentle music to lull the audience and then, when they least expected it, he'd blast them with loud music just to get a reaction.
I also read that two women got into a fight while in his audience and, rather than stop the music or the fight, he directed the musicians to play along, accentuating the punches.
There's no doubt that the "Surprise Symphony" is more dramatic than the "Armida Overture," but there were definitely elements of Haydn's attitude in the piece. As the program describes it, "many melodic fragments are repeated three times consecutively, and sudden fortissimos occur without warning."
Next, the "Basin Street Blues" was played by the Lakeland College Dixieland Band. It was "something to clean the palate," as Dr. Bechen put it. It was refreshing as Scott Rundhausen played the trombone and Jennifer Erdman played bass along with Dr. Bechen on the drums, Lisa Ellis on the piano, and Carrie Houck and Danielle Turney on the clarinet.
The final song, "Sedona" by Steven Reineke, was a very energetic way to end a short yet satisfying concert.
The band is made up of non-music majors, music majors, and a number of community members. It serves as a musical outlet and laboratory for future band directors. Dr. Bechen encourages anyone interested in joining the band to contact him.