Music is in the air on campus, and it more than just the carillons broadcast sporadically throughout the day.
The GCC Music Department is offering a host of musical performances this spring, including the Community Orchestra, the Jazz Band, the College Choir and Concert Singers.
The Community Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Ted Stern, will have a theme of “musical nationalism” on May 6 in the auditorium at 4 p.m. Tickets are $5 for general admission and $3 for students and seniors.
The 55-piece orchestra will perform Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” and Vaughn Williams’ “Fantasia on a Theme” along with works by the Czech composer Bedrich Smetena. Smetana was known as the “Father of Czech music” in the 19th century, and British composer Vaughn Williams incorporated his musical works with that of earlier English composers.
Stern is also musical director for the current production of “Kiss Me, Kate,” a collaboration with the theatre and dance departments. The show plays tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the auditorium. Tickets are $10 for students, and $6 for groups of 10 or more.
The Music department will also present the Concert Singers Spring Performance directed by Music department chair Glenn De Lange on May 6 in the San Marino Community Church at 4 p.m. They will be performing the music of Gabriel FaurÇ, and Carl Orff and others. Admission is $10 general admission and $5 for students and seniors.
The College Choir Concert directed by Dr. Peter Green, will perform in the Auditorium on May 13 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 general and $5 for students and seniors.
The Jazz Band will perform May 20 in the auditorium at 7:30 p.m. and will be directed by Raymond Burkhart.
The Applied Music Program will feature a recital on May 18 in the auditorium at 7:30 p.m. and admission is free. The Applied Music Program provides private lessons on most instruments and is a required class for music majors. Most of the musical performances are set in the spring semester, said Stern.
Many students enroll for music courses in the fall and stay on for the following semester. The earlier semester gives the students ample experience to bring in to their performances. While music courses are also available during summer sessions, they are limited to lecture courses such as Music Appreciation and Music Theory. “As with courses such as Math and English, a lot of music courses do not work well in a compressed format,” said Stern.
For more information, call Ext. 5621 or 5622.