Music

A very intimate performance in Rollins Chapel, which I enjoyed from the front row.

A particularly beautiful piece was the 3rd movement of “Voces Intimae”  by Sibelius.

The Fantazia by Saxton was a modern jangly piece.

The last piece, a quintet by Frank Bridge, was modern but beautiful.  This was the only piece with Sally Pinkas.  At the end, she graciously acknowledged the donation of the new Petrof piano, and thanked the donor who was in the audience.

Of particular note was the violist Carmen Flores, a ’00 from Dartmouth.  She has gone on to considerable success in England with the Villiers Quartet. She is also principal violist of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.  She spoke in the first half about how she enjoyed being back at Dartmouth, meeting her old teachers and working with students.  She was travelling with her 9-month old son, but fortunately grandparents were in tow to help with babysitting.  From San Diego, Carmen has a Filipino heritage.

While at Dartmouth, the quartet did a musical residency, and were kept quite busy.

Program Notes

Villiers Study Guide

Wonderful concert with a lot of classic jazz and blues songs

Program Notes

There were were three singers in the class, but there was no program, and I didn’t take notes.   I remember in particular two of the songs:

• Summertime
• I Didn’t Know What Time It Was

Tyné Freeman was one of the singers, and she sang beautifully, but perhaps needed more volume.  Here is a short clip:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKrDDHhBsQF/

Cécile advised listening to lots of classic jazz, and the famous singers.  She also suggested make the song their own: they can play with the rhythm, within limits.

A sell out crowd in Spaulding led to a late start for the Chick Corea Trio.  Chick is a very relaxed and congenial performer, and a master at the piano.  The bassist Christian McBride was excellent, and so was enthusiastic drummer Brian Blade.

Somehow, the music just didn’t appeal to me.  Maybe at a bar, or maybe some more recognizable music, and too many drum solos.  I loved the bass solos though.

Chick Corea Trio X16 playbill

This lovely choral piece was held in Rollins Chapel on a rainy afternoon.  It was a late addition to the program, and I got tickets at the last minute.  The group was very formal – the women all in long black dresses, the men all in black suits.  But it suited the piece.  It was sung in Russian, which was interesting – on the fringe of understanding.

The bass was very powerful, providing the melody in a couple of the different sections.  The mezzo solo in the second section, but Nikhil’s solos in section IX were very good – I still think he should have won Dartmouth Idol.

The piece was not what I would have expected – nothing like the piano works.  Instead, very traditional, like the Baltic choir I heard a few years ago.  The piece was written in 1915, and Rachmaninov wanted it played at his funeral.

I’m not sure if it was connected, but it happened to be Easter Sunday in the Orthodox calendar.

Glee Club Progam Notes