School of Music Convocation

New & Improved Ford Hall

The School of Music Convocation

This past Tuesday night (9/9) I attended the School of Music's Convocation. Not only was this a beautiful welcome to all music school students, it was also the welcome of the newly renovated Ford Hall. Although I hadn't seen the music hall before this performance, I was blown away with how full and wonderful the music sounded during the concert. The new renovation made this music hall unlike any other. On the walls of this amazing space there are millions of grooved panels. The special thing about these panels is that each one is different and each one emits a different frequency so that you hear the same thing anywhere you sit in the space. It was a such a pleasure to be in the audience for this wonderful performance. 

The dean of the music school came on before and after each of the four performances. He was excited to reveal the new space. The first performance was the brass band of five instruments. They did a fanfare from ballet La Péri. This piece had different textures to it because of the different brass instruments: trumpet, trombone, tuba, french horn and I believe another trumpet. To me the piece sounded a little like Star Wars music. 

After the horn performance a pianist and two, very talented, soprano singers came on stage. I was astounded to hear what they could do with their voices. It was so raw and exquisite. They sang "What Can We Poor Females Do" and "Sound of the Trumpet". These two songs were like nothing I've heard in class because we have yet to study voice and the styles singers have to their voices. 

After that stunning performance, the brass band came back on and performed "Contrapuntist IV" by Yohan Bach. During this piece, each instrument took it's turn playing the melody. I could distinctively recognize each instrument as their turn came around. This piece was full of texture and at first I thought they were performing a "round" but I realized each instrument took turns and then at the end they all played together. This song reminded me of the listening guide that my class listened to in our Understanding Music textbook from Mozart. It had the same style of classical music even though the textures were different. In class we are learning about phrases and because at first I thought this was a round, I could distinctively hear the musical phrases beginning and ending. Although I can't remember what cadence the phrases ended on I could pick out the open and closed cadences. I could also hear the cadence structure of the song.

The last performance of the night was the performance that really blew me away. This piece was composed by Sally McCune: who is a faculty member who teaches composition. The piece is called "River" and it swayed through me. The piece included a piano, violin and a cello. If I had to describe this movement in three words I would say: beautiful, intense, and riveting. There were moments of chaos in this piece where both violin and cello would be playing at fast paces. I found myself in the back row of the concert hall, with my eyes closed, swaying to the beautiful sound. In fact, it was so beautiful and captivating it almost brought me to tears. I could feel the spiral down of chaos and resolution at the end of the piece when the music faded out into nothing. This movement had such an impact on me, I had to wait at least a minute or two to get a hold of myself at the end. I could feel every sound inside of me and it's something that is unforgettable. 

I enjoyed this concert and it was awesome to witness such amazing performances in such an amazing space. I definitely plan on attending other concerts put on by the music school, they are professional and the sound is something I've never experienced before. If it was possible, I would want to be in that space every day making music. The music school means a lot to me because it's why I came to Ithaca College. I had originally auditioned to be a part the school but unfortunately was rejected from the program. I am so thankful to be in this seminar class because it means I can walk through the halls of something I was almost a part of. I still consider myself a music student at IC even though I'm not a music major. So being at these concerts impacts me in a way that is unexplainable. 

It just feels right.

"What Can We Poor Females Do"

                                       The end of "River"