Every fall, for the last ten years, the Adrian College Music Department has hosted the annual Showcase Concert. This year the concert, which is a display of talents by the different musical ensembles on campus, was held Oct. 15 in Dawson Auditorium from 3 to 5 p.m.
“It’s a concert where we show off the variety of our musical capabilities,” Marty Marks, assistant professor music, said.
Marks and Tom Hodgman, associate professor of music, directed the concert. Marks credits Hodgman with doing the majority of the work. Marks was in charge of band performances, while Hodgman was in charge of choir performances.
There were 18 different musical performances, with a total of 225 students taking part in the concert, many of whom have been preparing for this concert since the beginning of the semester, both individually, and as larger ensembles. Seven different conductors lead the performances.
The different solos and ensembles were hand picked by the conductors. Some were approached and asked to perform, while others were able to request the opportunity to perform.
The showcase concert opened with the Adrian College choir singing “Kyrie” while surrounding the audience in Dawson Auditorium (they would take the stage after intermission) and closed with the marching band coming down the aisles to the stage and playing selections from ABBA.
The performers were very proud of the concert they put on.
“I thought it went really well,” sophomore Chris Quinlan said. “I’m proud of all the performers. There was a wide variety of musical styles exhibited.”
Freshman James Campbell was also pleased with the concert.
“I was really happy with the performances,” he said.
Junior Derek Frayer thought the different performers did a nice job.
“I thought it went really well,” he said. “The band sounded good. All the groups sounded good, particularly the choirs.”
Sophomore Derek Rymill liked a performance of jazz music the most.
“My favorite performance was One-by-One,” he said. “It’s nice, easy, fun jazz music.”
Marks was pleased with the student performers overall.
“I thought the students did fantastic,” he said. “The students have worked very hard to get where they are.”
Marks was also proud of the small number of glitches in the show. Those few glitches, though, are helping him to lean in the direction of holding a dry run of the concert next year, something that they have not yet done. Those small mistakes were more noticeable to performers than spectators.
“Some of the timing was off,” said Campbell. “That made it difficult if you were in multiple groups. You really didn’t have much time to get from one group to the next.”
However, that would be the only change made, as Marks is very pleased with the structure of the event.
Marks was also pleased with the response from the audience.
“It seemed like a very positive response to me,” he said.
This was a sentiment echoed by members of the audience, as well being shown physically. During the Adrian College fight song, close to half of the audience rose to their feet.
“It was a strong representation of our music program,” said freshman Cyle Rogotzke. “The Showcase Concert entices people to go to the actual concerts.”
More information on AC concerts can be found at www.adriancollegemusic.com.