Spring Break
Wind Ensemble Demonstrates Virtuosity
Joshua Denenberg
Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: Focus
The UConn Wind Ensemble gave an exciting performance in front of a modest-sized audience in von der Mehden recital hall Thursday.
While the other school ensembles emphasize standard repertoire music, the Wind Ensemble performs both more modern and experimental music that sometimes delves into the bizarre.
Thursday's concert was no exception. The first piece played, entitled "…and the mountains rising from nowhere" was a clear example of the type of music that makes the Wind Ensemble exciting to listen to. It was conducted by UConn's head of conducting, Jeffery Renshaw. The piece opened with a piano solo accompanied by most of the wind section playing on glass crystals - like when you draw your finger around the rim of a crystal glass filled partially with water. The ensemble whistled parts of the music rather than playing them on instruments, which further added to the experimentation, and even sang at a low volume creating bizarre echo effects. The piece's composer, Joseph Schwantner, stated that one of the primary goals was to have performers engage in "extra performance activities." The piece also boasted a monstrous percussion section which took center-stage, even over most of the wind instruments. Single percussionists took command of miniature percussion sections, frantically switching back and forth between instruments.
The second piece preformed was "Divertissment d'Ete." A three movement wind suite, with movements entitled "La Plage," "Peche Sus Marine" and "Marche," the piece was far more classical, making it slightly easier to listen to. However, this did not make it a normal piece of music. The piece boasted a strange instrumentation that included two alto flutes, which are instruments not often seen in ensembles. Conducted by doctoral candidate Norman Wika, this was a crowd pleaser. It primarily gave center stage to instruments that usually are not often heard, like the contrabassoon in the beginning of the third movement and the bass clarinet during the beginning of the second movement.
The second half of the performance included a multi-movement suite entitled "Les Couleurs Fauves," with two movements titled "Persistant Bells" and "Ritual Dance Masks." Influenced by composer Karel Husa's interpretation of impressionist paintings, the way the piece had a colorful sound that was almost reminiscent of romantic music, and was full of instrumentation that made it well written. Conducted by William Halpin, the piece also showed the broad spectrum and range that the UConn Wind Ensemble can play.
While the other school ensembles emphasize standard repertoire music, the Wind Ensemble performs both more modern and experimental music that sometimes delves into the bizarre.
Thursday's concert was no exception. The first piece played, entitled "…and the mountains rising from nowhere" was a clear example of the type of music that makes the Wind Ensemble exciting to listen to. It was conducted by UConn's head of conducting, Jeffery Renshaw. The piece opened with a piano solo accompanied by most of the wind section playing on glass crystals - like when you draw your finger around the rim of a crystal glass filled partially with water. The ensemble whistled parts of the music rather than playing them on instruments, which further added to the experimentation, and even sang at a low volume creating bizarre echo effects. The piece's composer, Joseph Schwantner, stated that one of the primary goals was to have performers engage in "extra performance activities." The piece also boasted a monstrous percussion section which took center-stage, even over most of the wind instruments. Single percussionists took command of miniature percussion sections, frantically switching back and forth between instruments.
The second piece preformed was "Divertissment d'Ete." A three movement wind suite, with movements entitled "La Plage," "Peche Sus Marine" and "Marche," the piece was far more classical, making it slightly easier to listen to. However, this did not make it a normal piece of music. The piece boasted a strange instrumentation that included two alto flutes, which are instruments not often seen in ensembles. Conducted by doctoral candidate Norman Wika, this was a crowd pleaser. It primarily gave center stage to instruments that usually are not often heard, like the contrabassoon in the beginning of the third movement and the bass clarinet during the beginning of the second movement.
The second half of the performance included a multi-movement suite entitled "Les Couleurs Fauves," with two movements titled "Persistant Bells" and "Ritual Dance Masks." Influenced by composer Karel Husa's interpretation of impressionist paintings, the way the piece had a colorful sound that was almost reminiscent of romantic music, and was full of instrumentation that made it well written. Conducted by William Halpin, the piece also showed the broad spectrum and range that the UConn Wind Ensemble can play.
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