(THE PICKET) – Shepherd University’s Phi Mu Alpha, Sigma Alpha Iota, National Association for Music Education and Society of Composers hosted a benefit concert for Wounded Warriors Friday night.
The music ranged from jazz to a flute ensemble. Three pieces from this concert stood out to me.
The first piece was “Come Ye Sinners,” performed by the womens’ choir. It was a complicated performance, which is one of the many reasons I was impressed with this performance. Separate groups within the choir were singing different parts at the same time, while three other women were playing instruments, which were the viola, trombone and the flute. The performance was a rousing rendition.
The second piece was the “Concerto for Audience,” written by student Walker Williams. This piece was performed by the audience. When audience members were handed a program, they were also handed a sheet with instructions on what to do and when. These instructions ranged from “After clapping for about ten seconds, add in foot stomping” to “When someone next to you starts to sing, sing something different.” After the piece was finished, everyone was laughing and happy. It was clear that everyone in the audience had fun with this piece.
The third piece that stood out to me was the American music game called “Bow, Wow, Wow.” The two women leading this asked for 10 to 15 volunteers and then taught them a simple, short song that is typically taught to young children. After the song, they taught the volunteers the short dance. The dance and song combined were fun and had everyone laughing, whether they were watching or participating.
Everything done during this benefit concert was enjoyable, but those were the three pieces that stood out to me the most.
Keegan Brewster is a staff writer for The Picket. She can be reached at kbrews01@rams.shepherd.edu and followed on Twitter @keequinnb.