Thursday, Feb. 18, the department of music and art’s University Orchestra performed. The performance was held in the Bryan Fine Arts building located on Tech’s campus at 7:30 p.m. Dan Allcott, professor of music, was the orchestra’s conductor. This performance was the orchestra’s first performance of the spring semester.
The performance was composed of three pieces that included Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber’s “Battalia,” Frederick Delius’ “Air and Dance” and Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 in B flat major.
Biber’s piece “Battalia” was comprised of eight short movements. Most of these movements contained different keys and rhythms, which made each movement individual and unique.
The second piece that was played, “Air and Dance,” had one medium long movement that was a slower piece than the first one played.
The last piece, Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, was the longest of the three pieces. Having four medium long movements each, this piece was a combination of the other two and seemed to be the most popular.
“One of the reasons for choosing the piece “Battalia” is because it is a good piece to explore the way composers followed the basic music rules of their time, and how they brought in new and sometimes controversial ideas,” said Allcott.
Katie White, senior violinist who is majoring in music performance, along with Jeff Gantt, freshman bassist majoring in music education, presented the solos at this performance.
The University Orchestra is comprised of mostly music majors, however the orchestra is open to any student in any major who attends Tech. The orchestra has two types of musical instruments being played, string instruments and wind instruments. Musicians who play the string instruments do not have to try out to be in the orchestra, but musicians who play the wind instruments have a tryout.
Samantha Hood, clarinet player for The Golden Eagle Marching Band, attended the event Thursday. Hood said, “I thought that the orchestra did a great job. My favorite part of the performance was Symphony No. 5 in B flat major.”
The University Orchestra performs multiple times a semester so be on the lookout for their next performance.
