Music is one of the best forms of human culture that helps people understand reality and appreciate it by looking from the side that displays the beauty of life and the surrounding world. On March 6, 2006, the special concert of the symphonic band’s titled Symphonic Band and Concert Band took place in the Eisenhower Auditorium in Penn State. This concert deserves it’s mentioning here as far as the pieces of music presented there made an unforgettable impression on all its listeners, among whom the author of this paper was happily present. The performers of the concert operated with mainly jazzy topics that were combined with the classical symphonic pieces of music, and respectively the instruments used were the saxophone, the percussion instruments, and all the others used in these styles of music. Their use provided for the brilliant performance that widened the scope of the listeners and enriched their minds in an aesthetic sense.
To begin with, the major point that was the most impressive during the concert was that it combined classical music and such a relatively new style, compared to music by Bach or Zdechlick, as jazz. This was a new thing that the author had never experienced before while visiting either purely symphonic concerts or purely jazz ones. Another impressive point of this very live performance was that all the compositions performed by both bands participating in the concert were executed consecutively without any breaks, rehearsals, and time for the rest of the musicians. They seemed to live by the music they played and feel every single emotion this music was intended to render. Moreover, the modern adaptations of the classical masterpieces of music of the famous European and American composers made the performance more understandable for the listeners of today for them to understand them in the context of the modern world.
The selection of compositions that intrigued the listeners to the greatest extent was the part of the concert performed by the Concert Band. This band specializes in modern adaptations of the famous masterpieces of musical art, and at this very concert, the listeners enjoyed Prelude and Fugue in D Minor by J.S. Bach, Chorale, and Shaker Dance by John Zdechlik, and Dreams and Fancies by Timothy Broege. As for the music performed by the band in these compositions, it was rather specific making the impression of hearing a sound of one instrument, for instance, fugue, which is gradually imitated by other instruments of the band. For example, the piece of Bach’s composition was characterized by the use of numerous variations in pitch and tone combined with the original chorale theme of the composition. The performance of the Symphonic Band was also brilliant with such pieces included as Outdoor Overture by Aaron Copeland, On the Town by Leonard Bernstein, and others. Thus, there was no failing part in this concert and the performance of the musicians was perfect, especially taking into consideration the fact that their emotions were similar to those that listeners could feel while enjoying the compositions performed by Symphonic Band and Concert Band.
To conclude, the overall impression of the concert under consideration was positive. Moreover, the impression was extended by the new aesthetic experiences that the listeners could acquire during the performance of both bands. The combination of modern music and pieces of the classical compositions adapted to the modern musical styles was another positive feature of the concert. On the whole, this concert in Penn State allowed the author of this paper and all other listeners to become more aware of classical symphonic music and its today’s state.