Keyahnte’ Cooksey
Prof. Prudchenko
Music Appreciation
March 2, 2014
Concert Attendance #1 Review
Earlier today, I went to the first of my two concerts for Music Appreciation at Georgia Perimeter College (Clarkston Campus) Fine Arts Department presented a trombone/piano recital featuring Ed Nicholson and Todd Qualls. Since my car is in the repair shop, and I don’t know anyone in the class (being that it’s online), I ended up getting my entire family, with the exception of my elder brother, to go as well. My younger cousin initially wanted to go, however upon the revelation that it was music from the 16th century, he was immediately put off as if I’d asked him to attend a gymnastic event populated by communists-lepers or something equally off-putting. Finally, after much un-needed drama over who was going and who was staying, we left at quarter to three, confident we would not be late. To my surprise, we were late. We arrived at the Performance Studio (In the Fine Arts Building) just a few minutes after the performance started, so we ended up sitting in the lobby area until the first set of songs were over so we could enter, undisturbed and the musicians would be none the wiser since they go backstage for about a minute between each set in the program. Quite convenient, actually since it gave me a chance to find the nearest elevator so that I can get to the lower level of the auditorium, being that I’m in a wheelchair.
To begin I’d like to discuss the tone of the music. The program featured the keyboard instrument known as the piano and trombone, a part of the wind instruments. The music pieces played were Concertino, Sarabande from Suite no. 5 in c-minor for Unaccompanied Cello, Sonata No. 5 in E minor, and four different movements from the Preludes Book I. All the music played were from a variety of composers. The program was different from others, because it had only two single instruments. However, it did not stop it from being a fantastic performance. The musician, Ed Nicholson, accompanied by Todd Qualls (the pianist), were casually dressed and exuded great posture as they played the music. The intensity upon Ed Nicholson’s face as he blew into the trombone reminded me of the time I was blowing up balloons for my nephew’s birthday. But a part from that, there were several things I notice as I observed the music being played.

The music piece that was interesting to me was Allegretto in c-minor for Piano, WoW53. The texture of this music piece was exchanged from monophonic to polyphonic witch gave a very enjoyable rhythm. In the harmonic aspect of the music, the movements had consonance with some dissonances. The pace of the music was very exciting changing from adagio to allegro, and the loudness stay in the volumes of piano for obvious reasons. The style in this piece of music gives a feeling of being in the streets of 16th century Germany as the title suggests, but also gives a sense of romanticism of being heartbroken. Then, the movement changes to a style of anger and revenge depicting a different sense in the music. In my opinion I really enjoyed this piece of music. It make me feel all the emotions a person have when is in love, and then betrayed causing emotions of frustration and sadness. As a whole, the piano and trombone recital was very interesting giving a different style of music with each song selection.
As I surveyed the auditorium, I only noticed a small number of people in attendance. The music being performed reminded me of the time my senior class and I took a summer trip to Germany and Ireland. I could vividly see the historic structures of Germany and Ireland as I reminisced on my trip. I’ve always been a music enthusiast so I could tell that I would really enjoy this concert; besides, it was a rather intimate setting. The diming of the lights just added to the overall experience of watching a close quarter concert. Alas, the musicians begin to play and the music quickly suffocated the room with such a rich sound. It was like magic, full of life and energy. I could feel my heart pounding as the sound grew larger and larger as the music intensified. The rumblings from the trombone had my body shivering from top to bottom. It was at that moment where I felt that I was at peace. It’s amazing how music can just take you to places you thought were unobtainable. I felt that the musical selections could have been extended just a couple of minutes longer. After the selection was performed the musicians exited the stage and begin preparing their music for the next performance. Just before the musician walked back onto the stage, I notice a modest couple with their two young sons, who were very active might I add, and new born baby wall n the doors of the back entrance. I thought myself “here we go, just what I need, two uncontrolled little boys and their whining baby sister. I just knew for sure that their parents had a handle on the two younger kids and that the baby would be sound asleep. Boy was I wrong. Those kids were everywhere but sitting down. I grew angrier and angrier by the minute. I couldn’t appreciate the music as I did during the first couple of selections. They’re behavior had gone on for about at least ten minutes before one of the two parents reprehended them. Because of their whole uproar, I had missed most of the performance. However, the last two sets of songs were amazing and a few of them made me feel like I was a guest at Buckingham Palace.
At the end of each set, Mr. Nicholson and Mr. Qualls would stand, bow, bask greedily in their applause and exit the stage only to come out again after a moment, probably for Mr. Nicholson (trombone player) to inhale large amounts of pure oxygen to keep from passing out. They would then come back to the stage to more applause and play a few more songs before repeating the process and undoubtedly upping the amount of oxygen each time.
One style of music in particular “Allegro Vivace” originally arraigned by Ivor Kazimierz Serocki did make me feel a sense of calmness as it cascaded across the auditorium. I could notice the nice family beside me feeling the same emotions and the two preformed. I closed my eye and imaged I was a royal elite in the times of 16th century Europe. I envisioned me being greeted by kings and queens from all over the world only, to sit next to the prince and duchess of England themselves, almost as if we were all drawn together in an infinite time loop of royalty and wealth while the locals clapped politely. The music begin to end, and I had awaken from my deep slumber, only to transported back to present time (reality), questioning what yourself on whether or you glimpse of the past was real or just a dream. From the looks of the modern décor and western vernacular, I was in fact back to reality.

After the last piece was played, the two did their usual ritual, however, this was followed by a hand-holding bow and I thought that it was finally over, that I could get home and start writing my review. Overall, I really enjoyed the concert and the constant feeling of content caused by the music, combined with the disbelief in my mind that such a rich sound could come from just two instruments. After the concert was over, I immediately asked the nice lady sitting in the lobby, greeting every guest as they entered the doors leading to the auditorium, if she knew of any other upcoming concert dates. She kindly ushered me to a bulletin board which had all the dates listed from this month through the summer. I’m well aware of the second concert attendance assignment so I jotted down the date of the concert I wanted to attend so that I can get a head start on everything. Because I was so impressed with the performance, I’m thinking about doing the two extra credit assignments as well. I’m sure it won’t hurt my overall grade in this class, if anything, it could help boost my grade.