by Cheyanne Warner
cwarner8@uwsuper.edu
The famous Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rites of Spring” piece known for its ballet interpretation was performed at the Thorpe Langley Auditorium 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30 by faculty members Hector Landa, pianist, Brett Jones, percussionist, and Vincent Osborn, double bass, and guest performers Lina Lee, pianist, and Ryan Loken, percussionist.
Music majors and minors bobbed their heads and swayed to the sound of the Claude Bolling’s routine, “Sonata for Two Pianists, Percussion, and Bass No. 1.” The crowd gave a standing ovation, clapping until every performer left the stage.
Emma Jones proud daughter of percussionist Brett Jones explains why the jazz routine was her favorite performance, “…just because I like the jazz influence and the more tonal stuff,” Jones continues, “I will say that the first half I think they performed really well… I know that’s so difficult. Seeing them all perform together was like, woah.”
The audience settled into a relaxed atmosphere after the exhilaration of “The Rites of Spring”. The interpretive performance was filled with deep base and xylophone trills.
Pianist Hector Landa said, “…that purpose of the piece is to accompany a ballet company, so you need to watch the entire thing,” Landa continues on with respect to the piece, “I’ve seen it so many times that I don’t think I can make up another story because it’s very specific. It’s a story about Russian Pagan myth, in the advent of spring, that people (similarly to us and our harsh winters), when they had a spring, felt they had to thank the gods for that. So, they had to sacrifice a virgin maiden every year to guarantee that they would have the spring come back.” The applause after each performance juxtaposed the silence of the auditorium as each piece was performed.
Lee said, “My favorite part of The Rite of Spring was ‘The Glorification of the Chosen One,’ especially when we get to 5/4 meter—it felt like we were all dancing together. I believe we should collaborate more often to bring something special to the community. I had a lot of fun working with the other professors, especially as we created multiple rehearsals between the two universities.”
