Post 3: Music Faculty Concert

In celebration of the 40^th anniversary of campus history, the UTD music faculty held “An Evening of Latin Music.” The concert was performed at the UTD Conference Center on Friday, January 29, 2010. As various ensembles, the faculty themselves performed every pieces of the repertoire, which included six Latino-inspired works composed during the 20^th century. The audience composed of students, generally affiliated with music classes, and other music-appreciating guests alike, filled the seats almost completely. The audience was generally enthusiastic throughout the entire concert. The particular performance of How Insensitive and Lamento, composed by Latin American composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, seemed to captivate the audience, especially. The two pieces, which were deeply ingrained in Brazilian tradition, included a piano by Kelly Durbin, an electric guitar by Chris DeRose, a string bass by James Gilyard, and a drum set by Ted Wasser. Together, they presented catchy, samba-like collaboration of beats and rhythms that could urge a listener to move along with the music. In the middle of Lamento, the impressed audience applauded after a drum solo, and a short guitar solo ended the piece with an ovation. Before the intermission, however, the faculty musicians treated the audience with another work of Jobim as an encore performance. This time, two more musicians joined the stage: Winston Stone with his clarinet and Kathryn Evans, a soprano. This piece as well depicted a Brazilian style embedded with clarinet and guitar solos along with the singing voice. All in all, the whole concert was a delight for experiencing an array of Latin American taste of music. I hope their attempt of collecting donations for music scholarship funding turn out to be a success.