Musical Conclusions was the theme for the last concert of the year performed by the ETSU concert band.
“If you want to hear perfect music, there are computer programs that can produce music that are absolutely perfect, but it doesn’t have any human element to it,” conductor Joe Moore said. “There’s no passion, no emotion, and that’s what we get the chance to do. It’s human beings making music and so it comes from their heart.”
The final concert for the spring semester was held in the Science Hill High School Auditorium. The concert consisted of pieces such as “Sea Songs,” “Amazing Grace,” “Russian Sailors’ Dance” and “Ashokan Farewell.”
“I have a lot of friends in both ensembles so I wanted to cheer them on,” audience member Ally Powell said. “My favorite piece was Ashokan Farewell. It was very musical. I liked the change in dynamics the whole time; it was a very good melody.”
Moore said that the ensemble started rehearsing for the spring concert as soon as they finished their concert in February and that they practiced for 10 class meetings to get things ready.
“Each song has different things to be mastered,” Moore said. “Different levels of difficulty. Even something that sounds slow and easy still takes a lot of work to be musical with it.”
Concert band member Julia Veltman said that one of the most challenging songs to learn was “Amazing Grace.”
“It is such a slow song,” Veltman said. “It has many different moving parts within it, and the technicality has to be spot on when you’re playing slower pieces like that.”
Despite the challenging songs, Moore says he hopes his students feel accomplished after the nights performance.
“I hope they feel satisfied with the work they put in,” Moore said. “I also hope they continue to develop a lifelong appreciation for music…Even if you reach a point where you can’t play as much anymore, you still can enjoy it, and it can still move you and stir you.”
