Starwar Concert

On Wednesday, May 4, 2016, I went to the University Band Concert at Meng Concert Hall. The venue for the concert was the Meng concert Hall. There were almost a thousand seats, including balcony seats with an aerial view. The seats were packed with many people. I think because it was a day to celebrate Star Wars, many people were looking forward to enjoying star wars based music. There were many volunteers, some manning the front desk, some managing the snack counter, and many patrolling the seats to make sure no one was on any kind of recording electronics. There was a large white archway over the stage with many hanging spotlights and speakers. Stephen Mahpar was the composer and conductor of this concert event. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Horn Performance and a Master’s Degree in Composition at California State University, Fullerton. He has performed with many famous musicians such as Frank Sinatra Jr. and Josh Groban. The majority of the performances were music from Star Wars movies.

Throughout the performances, I was able to recognize many instruments. I recognized flutes and trumpets, trombones, tubas, bass, a harp, guitars, and drums. The flutes played the majority of the melody for some songs, providing a light and quick melody for the rest of the ensemble to accompany. The trumpets were loud and clear and the trombones were quite melancholy for the majority of the songs. The Tubas and bass were able to provide ominous undertones to the music, as if to signal impending doom. The drums had a similar effect, while the guitar was able to provide a variety of melodies and chords.

The Music played by the university Band included the Klaxon, by Henry Fillmore, Amazing Grace, by Frank Ticheli, The Mask of Zorro, by James Horner, and Yoda’s theme by John Williams. My favorite part of the concert was Steven Mahpar’s original music, Journey’s End. Apparently he was commissioned by someone to help commemorate their arrival at Carnegie hall. It sounded like it was inspired by Star Wars and you could really envision a sort of journey when you listened to it. The music would rise and fall and switch from ominous music to cheerful music many times. When I listened to it, I could picture myself exploring a frontier of sorts on some perilous adventure.