Tuesday, 28 February 2006

I don't know how to put this, but the DeVos Musical Showcase is kind of a big deal...
As promised, here is an entry which includes the DeVos Musical Showcase. First, a brief overview.
Do you know what a collage concert is? No? Okay, here's the quick-and-dirty definition: a collage concert is a fast-paced showcase of music which usually includes multiple large musical ensembles (such as a choir, an orchestra, or wind symphony), soloists & small ensembles, all in one long concert. The concert progresses quickly, one act immediately following another with no rests in between and applause held until the intermission and at the end. The Department of Music at Hope College holds a Collage Concert in the fall in Dimnent Chapel, with acts spread on the stage, the main floor, under the balcony, on the balcony, and everywhere else.
The DeVos Musical Showcase is another Collage Concert, on steriods, with even more acts. The Major General Music was fortunate to be a part of this year's performance as a member of the well-known Chapel Choir. Here's a rundown of the whole show.
The Symphonette kicked things off "Hoe-Down" from Rodeo, by Aaron Copland. You've likely heard of this piece as the theme from the "Beef" commercials. Yes, it IS what's for dinner. By the way, these folks are conducted by Prof. Richard Piippo, the blond-haired man leaning over and waving the funny stick.

This young man is Sean Daenzer and he is an organ-playing machine. His piece was called "Te Deum" by Jean Langlais. In case you forgot, he is also my studio accompanist.

This is Sarah Blankenship and she sang a song called "Fleur Jetée" by Gabriel Fauré. She is arguably the best singer at Hope College, but more importantly, she's a wonderful, WONDERFUL, person.
The Percussion Ensemble played next and did a good job on a piece called "Aquarius" from Tierkreis by Karlheinz Stockhausen. Public Relations didn't get a picture of them, though. Too bad for the Percussion Ensemble.
This man is Sam Adams and he plays a mean piano. Here he is pictured playing "Gershwin Etude No. 7, 'Fascinatin' Rhythm'" by Earl Wild.

These young ladies are the Women's Chamber Choir, pictured singing "Two Romani Folk Songs." They are usually conducted by Prof. Jennifer Wolfe, who is on a leave of absence in Europe with her husband, Dr. Brad Richmond. In her stead, Dr. Jeff Buettner conducts the choir.

Next on the list was "Desert Celebration" by Matt Savage. Noah Livingston and John Yehling, two of the finest percussionists from Hope College did a splendid job playing the pair of djembes. John is on the left, and Noah is on the right. Noah's tie fell off during the performance and no one really cared. Look how fast their hands move!

These two singers performed in the Opera Workshop's showcase of scenes from The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. They sing well together, and they're also currently (as of this post) an item. Presenting Dane Clark and Kelly Sina, singing "Papagena/Papageno Duet."

Our young concertmaster at Hope College, Alexandru Hamzea (from Romania), played in the showcase as a soloist, too. He played "Hungarian Dance No. 5" by Johannes Brahams, who is neither Hungarian nor Romanian. Brahms is a dead German.

The Jazz Ensemble recently premiered a new piece by Fred Sturm called "Michelangelo" at their most recent concert. They played it again for the DeVos Showcase. Their conductor is a crazy cat named Dr. Brian Coyle. Yeah, man, yeah! The saxophone soloist is a senior named Derek Brown, who plays unbelievably and is a really cool guy too.

Rachel Daley, who is known to comment on my Xanga from time to time, played the "Grand Polonaise in D major" by Theobald Boehm. She's a very good flautist and slightly crazy.

The first half ended with the Orchestra playing "Fandango Asturiano" from Capriccio Espagnole by Nikolai Rimsky-Korskov. They also are conducted by Richard Piippo, the blond-haired man waving the funny stick.

To begin the second half, the Post-Bop Jazz Combo performed "La Comparsa," arr. by Chuco Valdés.

Another scene from The Magic Flute was performed - "Quintet: Hm! Hm! Hm!" From left to right are: Jeff Brown (tenor), Chelsea Kramer (soprano), Kay Gillette (mezzo-soprano), Chantelle Kramer (mezzo-soprano and Chelsea's sister), and Isaac Droscha (baritone who starts the scene with a lock in his mouth).

This organist also played at Vespers. She's Abbie Rockwood and she played "Sortie" from the Pentecost Mass by Olivier Messiaen. It was very modern-sounding.

These two musicians are Eric Bourassa and Kailey Schroeder. They played "Forked Deer/Bill Cheatham." I liked it a lot.

This soprano is Meghan Moore and she beautifully sang "The Song of Doretta" from The Swallow by Giacomo Puccini. You would have liked it a lot.

This is Emily Chapman; she's a scholarship-winning pianist and she played "Gardens in the Rain" by Claude Debussy. She's a very good person.

Laugh at their name all you like, but the Tutti String Quartet is a talented group of strings players. They performed "Molto Allegro" from String Quartet, Köchel No. 387 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Yahoo, it's the Chapel Choir! We sang "Gaudete Omnes et Laetamini" by Jan Pietszoon Sweelinck. Dr. Jeff Buettner is our conductor too, in Dr. Brad Richmond's absence, who is currently on sabbatical in Europe with his family. It's strange having a conductor who doesn't wear an eyepatch and has a low, resonating baritone voice. But Dr. Buettner is pretty cool. I made it in both pictures with my mouth wide open!

Kelly took to the stage a second time, singing "Art is Calling for Me (The Prima Donna Song)" by Victor Herbert. She is particularly good at stage presence.

The last act was "The Great Gate of Kiev" from Pictures at an Exhibition, by Modest Mussorgsky and arranged for wind symphony by John Boyd. The Wind Symphony, directed by Dr. Steven Ward, performed it and made an excellent closer. The Chapel Choir provided the lovely backdrop.

Comments(4)

yes... you must watch out for those flute players... we're all slightly crazy. Must be from using up all that oxygen.
chickenlittle27

Wow.. great pics. Who took them?
And yes to The Angela.. it is the oxygen...
dorothygale27

You have no say Becky. You are not a flute player, were never technically a flute player and you don't know enough about chemisty to tell me about oxygen.
It could be in the rubbing alchohol that we use to clean them though...
chickenlittle27
These pictures were taken by a fellow from Public Relations. He usually does a good job, but as mentioned in the post, he failed to get a picture of the Percussion Ensemble.
Major_General_Music