Orchestra Performance Review

I attended the Concerto Aria concert that featured various soloists and were accompanied by the American River College orchestra on March 10, 2017. Many attended and were excited and anxious to hear the performances of the night, including myself inside the American River College theater. The soloists that night were students at ARC and to my understanding had to audition for a spot in the concerto which is super exciting for a performer knowing one got the part. The soloists performed with their instrument of choice and the composers featured in this Concerto Aria included Mozart, Puccini, Tchaikovsky and others and two special works which were composed by ARC students themselves. A lot goes on in a live performance but the most important
In this concerto, I felt that all singers had the ability to have the audience feel comfortable as they sang. Jaz and Phillip’s performance of “La’ci darem la mano”, from Don Giovanni by Mozart, was very nice because as they sang together they interacted with one another or sang to each other while at the same time not forgetting that they had an audience in front of them. Another piece composed by a member of the ARC orchestra by the name of Alia Martin is called Cogitation. I felt this piece could be in a movie. I really liked the parts the piano and flutes had in this. I loved how the piece grew bigger in sound and momentum in the end. I noticed that the violins played softly and there was a super high note coming from a flute in the orchestra which was beautiful. My most favorite performance of the night came from Betty Karamatova playing the piano. She played the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Rachmaninoff. This is another performer who moves along with her instrument. Her movement reflects the music she is playing. She gave it her all. She really put emphasis on the keys when she needed to and just went for it and lost herself for us to feel what the music or the message of the piece was about. It was awesome that she could do that and for me as an audience member feel that without there being words in the piece.
The biggest lesson I learned in this concerto aria is that there does not need to be words in a work of music to get something out of it or feel connected and moved by it. I learned that everyone including that performer is moved by the music if prepared to experience that and that there had to be vulnerability to have meaningful moments like