As the crowd took their seats in downtown Baton Rouge’s First Baptist Church last Monday night, they prepared to experience one of the LSU’s School of Music’s finest musical displays.
The LSU Philharmonia held their seasonal concert, and demonstrated that their ensemble is a reputable entity, in both the LSU community and on a national platform.
The organization, consisting of over 50 undergraduate and graduate music majors, delivered several collective performances from classical music greats such as Gioacchino Rossini and Pablo de Sarasate.
Violin solos were given by Thomas Oswald, a music junior and Mario Dimitrov, a graduate student. A piano solo was also given by Manuel Matarrita, a graduate student.
Dr. William Grimes, a professor of Jazz Studies and Director of Graduate Studies at the School of Music, said that performances such as this are highly advantageous to the students.
“They are being given a taste of professional expectations,” Grimes said. “These experiences make them eligible for professional engagements such as the recent Randy Newman concert.”
The performance drew a fairly large crowd of about sixty, and Dr. Grimes said that School of Music performances generate quite a response within the University community and surrounding areas.
“The ensembles are the most visible part of this unit, and are often some of the most visible units on campus,” Grimes said.
Dan Meyer, a first year masters student in music, was one of the many spectators of the concert. An accomplished piano and clarinet player, he was very impressed by what he heard.
“These are all my colleagues,” Meyer said. “I think they’re playing very well.”
Students in the ensembles, such as the LSU Philharmonia, acheive natonal recognition Grimes said.
“We compete with top music schools in the country with these outstanding students,” Grimes said. “Students in the ensembles often land positions in major symphony orchestras and service bands in Washington.”
Monday night’s concert was the last performance for the LSU Philharmonia for this semester, but numerous concerts are scheduled for other ensembles such as the LSU Wind and Jazz Ensembles throughout the rest of the spring.