Hi Olivia,

I also felt like the preparation we received in class was really beneficial to my experience of the performance. Knowing the back-story of not only Brahms, but of the Requiem itself, and of one of the soloists helped me to feel more involved in the production. Plus, we found out how much time it took to put all of this together! Makes you really appreciate all that performers do to make a great performance. Glad that you enjoyed it too!

Hill auditorium has over 3000 seats, and I think the music of the orchestra, soloists, and choral union filled the space enough to be heard perfectly by each and every one of them. It was really impressive to hear so many people singing together in German, and staying together with the conductor and orchestra through such an extensive piece. I’m sure a huge production like this takes a lot of careful planning and coordination and I was never bored while watching all the different parts interacting at once. But what I think what I like the most was actually Brahms music. He made a song for the dead into something beautiful, magical, and serene. Instead of ruminating on death we are supposed to celebrate life and take full advantage of it. That was a meaning I could relate to and take understanding from. The tasteful rendition of this piece by the choir and soloists made it well worth attending.

I thought both bands had very talented musicians, and the performances both engaged me at different times and in different ways. But I think the length of some of the pieces led me to disconnect from the performance and almost stop paying attention.

It was interesting to hear latin jazz being played; it was a genre that I had never heard much of before, and I liked seeing how they went about creating music in a way that was different from any other the bands I had seen. But sometimes it was only when the music changed that I started to feel involved. I was almost lost in the sea of repetitive rhythms under the improvisation. I guess I need more experience before I can be a true judge of the merit of these bands.

I came here specifically looking to see if anyone knew the piece that The Alfredo Rodriguez Trio played as an encore. Thank you so much for posting this!

This is actually what I was thinking too! The show itself was impressive and full of amazing tricks and dance and such. And the way they moved to the music was obviously very carefully calculated so that it worked out just right. The only problem was that sometimes I didn’t really know why they did a certain dance in a certain way. I got the running and the water, but all of the other details were pretty lost on me. Still, I agree that it was probably one of the most impressive examples of strength and talent that I’ve seen in a while.

Watching someone dance is sort of like listening to a foreign language. It can be difficult to get all of the nuances and details involved in each carefully choreographed movement, but overall you can get the gist of the message. I felt like there were times that I didn’t understand the full reason for the individual parts of Campagnie Kafig’s pieces, but overall I was blown away by the intricate movements and masterful synchronism. Especially at the end, when they were all in unison dancing around those cups of water using their hands and feet and bodies in ways that I didn’t ever expect. It was really cool, and I honestly wanted more when they had finished performing. Well worth the standing ovation that they received.

I had never heard Kronos in concert before but overall, the night was note-worthy. Not only for my new experience with this style of music and for the freedom of unpredictability, but also for the pleasure that the musicians of the quartet experienced through their concert. It was wonderful to see how much fun these people were having, just playing the music they love to play, and feeling the joy of hard work paying off. The performers were truly engaged in their performance, ultimately engaging the rest of us as well; and that was well worth the trek through the bitter cold to experience.