The auditorium was filled with chatter as the audience sat anticipating the beginning of the musical showcase.
The Chico State School of Arts and Student Composers Forum hosted the opening of the New Music Symposium series at the Rowland-Taylor Recital Hall Thursday night.
The event, which was the first of three, featured a variety of student composers and musicians delivering original, new music to an audience of around 100 music supporters. It served as a fundraiser for the School of Arts — donations were made to support the program and allow it to continue to put on similar events, free of charge, in the future.
The hour-long event was jam-packed with a wide array of musical genres performed by Chico State students.
The variety of instruments used throughout the night was outstanding — sounds were produced from percussion instruments, guitars, violins, pianos, horns and electronic devices.
The night started with a bang; a group percussion performance kicked off the night. A sense of harmony was felt from the performers as they worked in unity to create a beautiful mix of sounds that enticed the ears of the audience.
Students also had the opportunity to showcase electronic music between live performances as the lights dimmed to allow the listeners to be immersed in the experience.
One of the major pieces of music presented at the event was by Mitchel Davidovitz, a senior recording arts major.
Davidovitz demonstrated his interesting electronic work, “Window of Normalization,” which only used sounds recorded from a 36-hour time frame of television. The project manipulated sound clips from television programs such as Fox News, church broadcasting, QVC and other major programs.
Davidovitz said the purpose of his work was to “provide a new perspective for people on a televised mass media system and expose it as a tool used by the powerful to present values, beliefs and codes of behavior that benefit them.”
This message was conveyed as he ended his work with the sound clip, “’cause in the end, it’s the entertainment that matters.”
Carlos Rivera, a junior music industry major, put on another notable performance.
He presented his talents by playing a wonderful and enchanting ballad of classical guitar that grasped the attention of the crowd.
“There was no certain genre on my own performance,” Rivera said. “I just wanted to convey all the feelings associated with nostalgia.”
Overall, the first night of the New Music Symposium was a great night for Chico State student musicians.
The event featured the talents of many students who took advantage of the opportunity to present their musical abilities. They delivered great performances that conveyed messages through song.
Michael Quiring can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.
