Dr. Francisco Perez<\/a>, instructional associate professor, the students performed a mix of solos and ensemble pieces, spanning modern and older works at the Black Box Theater in the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities Building on Nov. 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPerformances featured the world premiere of \u201cHidden Universe,\u201d composed by Ben Cato; \u201cOmnes Trio\u201d by Andrea Venet; “True Lover’s Farewell” by Steve Gwin; “Flying” by Chin-Cheng Lin; “Threads\u201d by Paul Lansky; “Firefish” by Blake Tyson; and “A Light at the End” by Chad Floyd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students Grace Burton, JJ Wheeler, Pierce Lowe and Brook Taylor performed on marimbas and several nontraditional instruments including glass bottles, desk bells and flowerpots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was so happy to see these students perform in front of people, which is always one of the first challenges to explore,\u201d Perez said. \u201cThey were a little nervous, but I think they did great. I am really excited for their progress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burton, a junior Music Performance student, said she was thrilled to play pieces that show the versatility of percussion. Burton played percussion throughout her childhood and was excited to continue in college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have fallen in love with performing percussion,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen you are playing, you get locked into this moment, and you\u2019re there and present. You get to be focused on yourself and what you are making, while providing entertainment to everybody in the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nNontraditional instruments including flowerpots, desk bells and bottles were part of the performance. Photo by Jacob Svetz.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWheeler, a freshman in the College of Engineering, performed with Burton on several songs with marimba, flowerpots, plastic pipes and glass bottles. Prior to \u201cOmnia,\u201d Wheeler said he had never performed with nontraditional instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis whole experience was new for me,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201cI thought it was super-cool to use pipes as instruments, but it was also harder because it\u2019s not a traditional layout of a mallet instrument. There was a bit of a learning curve when it came to reading my sheet music. But overall, it was really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perez said he is excited to expand the new Music Performance program and showcase the work of talented students. The spring semester will include a concert with Grammy-nominated composer Ivan Trevino on April 14. Perez hopes students enjoy exploring new ways of creating music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEach concert we put on is going to look different,\u201d Perez said. \u201cBut at the end of the day, it\u2019s still pushing things forward, and it\u2019s exciting for collaborations as well. We are going to continue growing with all of the different domains that we have here on campus.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Top photo: JJ Wheeler, Grace Burton, Dr. Francisco Perez and Pierce Lowe perform during a rehearsal for ‘Omnia.’ Photo by Jacob Svetz.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Students in percussion courses in the new Music Performance program recently presented \u201cOmnia,\u201d a showcase for the work they\u2019ve learned in individual and ensemble courses this semester. With direction from Dr. Francisco Perez, instructional associate professor, the students …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251,"featured_media":23570,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[253,58],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Students Explore Percussion In Solo And Ensemble Performances During 'Omnia' Concert - Texas A&M University College of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n