By Ashlyn Armock, Arts Editor
On Friday, April 10, the Aquinas College Band and Jazz Band collaborated in order to put together a performance in honor of America’s 250 birthday. The two ensembles, under the direction of Dr. Thomas Polett, chose pieces that could fall within the American theme.
Students in the College Band waiting to enter on stage – Photo by Ashlyn Armock
The concert began with Dr. Polett introducing sophomore insignis student Eliana Mandarano. As a part of students’ Insignis program requirements, they have to take one honors class every semester, and traditional classes can be turned into honors courses with an Insignis contract. With her contract, Mandarano chose to write a paper and then turn it into a speech about the music regarding the concert.
“With the theme of America’s 250th, we often forget our own place in the country we reside in, and just how deep our own history goes when we think about our culture,” Mandarano said when introducing the concert. “From the music we consume, to the art that we see, all of it has a historical root to some foundational form of creation.”
Mandarano then went on to describe how the arts relate to every aspect of life and with that, how every aspect of life affects our country.
“Our own civil rights, our own impact, and our own exertion of democracy and advocacy for the people sitting beside you, and the people around you creates the country,” Mandarano said. “People’s art helps create the country we live in.”
The College Band’s first piece was Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland. Mandarano explains how she viewed the importance of the name and the impact that the title of the piece should have on listeners.
“To me, that made me think about how common we all think we are at times,” Mandarano said. “How we just live stagnantly at times, especially in times where polarization occurs. This song reminds us that we are all one culture, one nation; and this is a fanfare to that.”
Next, the College Band performed Cajun Folk Songs II; I. Ballad and II. Country Dance by Frank Ticheli, Better Angels by William G. Harbison and American Riversongs by Pierre La Plante.
The Band’s final piece, American Riversongs, was meant to encapsulate the map of America through rivers, as described by Mandarano.
The College Band getting ready to perform – Photo by Ashlyn Armock
After an intermission, the Jazz Ensemble took to the stage, beginning the second half of the concert with Sweet Georgia Brown by Maceo Pinkard featuring piano soloist Brennan McKinney and Just a Closer Walk by Kenneth Morris featuring a wide array of soloists.
America the Beautiful by Samuel Ward and arranged by Ray Brown featuring trombone soloist Brady Patterson was performed next, after Mandarano giving more insight into the piece.
“What makes this song unique was the way Ray Brown’s band played it,” Mandarano said. “They played it like they were quite literally playing around together, having fun like it was almost a whole performance, not just music.”
The last piece of the night was a jazz-rock fusion chart titled Engine No. 9 by Les Hooper. This piece featured trombone soloist Kyle Devine as well as many other instrumentalists.
Upcoming concerts and performances for all groups within Aquinas’ Music Department can be found in the link below:
https://www.aquinas.edu/academics/music/concerts-and-events.html
The Saint 