This weekend, The Hartt School saw several performances from The Hartt Orchestra, The Symphony Band, and the Wind Ensemble.
The Hartt Orchestra performed this Saturday with a standout piece Regards by Julio Racine. Assistant conductor Brittany Alcine chose this piece specifically because of the ties it had to her roots. The piece itself features a heavy focus on rhythmic motifs and melodies. Racine speaks on his work in the notes, citing the rhythmic style as inspired by Haitian music. Since most instruments from Haitian culture only have one note, most Haitian music ends up being so rhythmic.
The Hartt School Symphony Band and Wind Ensemble took the stage in the Lincoln Theater to perform. The standout piece of the night was Fast Track, a percussion concerto written by composer Joseph Schwantner, and conducted by John “Rusty” Koeing. This piece comes from a project originally initiated by former band director Professor Glen Adsit for percussion professor Benjamin Toth. The piece featured a plethora of percussive instruments, including a marimba, vibraphone, multiple drum kits, and sets of cymbals. Schwantner himself was in attendance, and at the end of the night, a reception was held.
Schwantner’s piece wasn’t the only one featured this Saturday. Leading the night off was Jodie Blackshaw’s Vulnerable Joy. The composer of this piece adds in her notes how it was inspired by the life of a mother humpback whale. Her piece comments on the enormity of their lives, from the distances they travel without food, to the large quantities of milk they must produce to care for their young. Blackshaw intends for this piece to touch on the lives of these whales and display their love, prosperity, and beautiful, vulnerable joy.
