05/2/08
Six Baker University music students are drumming up their percussion skills to prepare for an upcoming performance.
The percussion ensemble concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday at McKibbin Recital Hall. Seniors Jessica Lenhart and Christy Taylor, juniors Sarah Shipley and Kyle Jones, sophomore Annie Parr and freshman Eric Loux will be playing under the direction of Instructor of Music Steve Riley.
“You can see what’s being played rather than just hearing the music,” Shipley said about the distinctiveness of the upcoming percussion ensemble concert.
Action is a staple trait for any percussion performance, and during the eight-piece concert, the six members will be playing about 40 different percussion instruments.
“It’s visually interesting to look at,” Riley said. “The performers move around a lot.”
Lenhart said this performance is not a formal concert; the performance is set up differently than most musical and orchestral performances at Baker, which creates a different atmosphere and feel for the audience members.
“It’s a little bit theatrical,” Jones said about the visual effects of the performance. “I’m pretty sure they will enjoy it.”
Riley also said percussion instruments are versatile, which yields a variety of texture and sound during a performance.
“When it comes to percussion, you’ve got everything there,” he said.
In addition to a visually appeasing performance, the musical selections, from Latin to American patriotic music, will be played to entertain many audience members.
“There are always a wide variety of songs during a percussion performance,” Lenhart said. “The pieces you will hear are not as traditional, and there will be a good variety of sounds.”
Most pieces in this performance will feature “small ensemble work,” Lenhart said. The group was split into two trios, which provided the performers a chance to get to work with a smaller musical group.
A lot of instruments with different tone colors will also be featured in the performance, Jones said.
“This time, we use more mallet-keyed, more pitched instruments,” Lenhart said. “It provided a different challenge to learn new techniques.”
But that wasn’t the only challenge for the six ensemble members.
Riley said many of the members in this ensemble do not play percussion as their instrument of expertise. Voice, cello and euphonium are a few of the primary instruments that the ensemble members are familiar with playing on stage.
“This will be the first time ever that anyone will hear me play percussion,” Jones said.
He decided to take up an additional instrument because, as a future band teacher, he felt it is important to learn how to play a variety of instruments.
While Shipley has had prior percussion experience in band, she admits that the ensemble experience has been different for her.
“I learned the proper way to play percussion instruments,” she said.
Riley is looking forward to the performance and is really impressed with the cohesion of the small group.
“I’m really proud of them. They’ve stepped up to the plate and are doing a fine job,” Riley said.