Musicians tune their instruments and “warm up” before the performance.
In their first concert of the semester, the Kent State University Orchestra presented "Afternoon with the Orchestra," and performed compositions created in a student composers workshop.
Kent State student musicians in a studio class with Adam Roberts, Ph.D., participated in a one-week in which they created original musical compositions.
Jacob Schnitzer invites the student musicians to take a bow at the conclusion of each composition.
Roberts is an assistant professor teaching composition and music theory in Kent State’s Hugh A. Glauser School of Music who said that to succeed, “composers need friends and collaborators.”
Distinctive university programs like these offer students hands-on, experiential learning opportunities that prepare them to excel in their careers after graduation.
Jacob Schnitzer leads the Kent State University Orchestra.
An important friend to student composers is Jacob Schnitzer, Ph.D., interim director of orchestras at Kent State. He conducted the concert with the Kent State University Orchestra that featured four of the student compositions created in this workshop exercise.
"The project was initiated by Dr. Schnitzer, who invited my studio to write for the orchestra," said Roberts. "The idea of the afternoon concert was Dr. Schnitzer's as well and was a welcome and novel idea. It's rare and an excellent learning experience for students to hear orchestra music performed; they can discover closeup what does and does not work and how rehearsal time functions." Roberts added "Orchestra rehearsal time is precious."
The student compositions performed at the concert were:
"Hybrid Echoes" - by Angel Barat de Llanos, a graduate student studying musical composition.
"Angel Falls" - by Nicholas Mateos, a senior music major.
"As the Starlight Fades" by Alison Joyce, a first-year student
"Even in the Pitch Dark, You Can See the Outlines of the Walls of the House" by Theo Lovinski, a junior music major
In this exciting excerpt (video below) from Theo Lovinski's original composition, it appears as if the conductor gradually “invites” different instruments to add their sounds as the composition builds.