Student musicians span styles from jazz to steel pan to gamelan to tech
The Steel Pan Orchestra. (Michael Bradley/Bates College)
Student musical ensembles at Bates mark the end of the winter semester with six concerts in five days.
All but the gamelan concert (see next paragraph) take place in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St.
The Bates Gamelan Ensemble offers an end-of-term program, featuring traditional music from Central Java and traditional and contemporary music for the West Javanese gamelan degung, at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, in the Benjamin Mays Center, 95 Russell St. PLEASE NOTE: The concert time was changed after some event listings were published. 4:30 is correct.
Voice students studying with Luette Saul offer a recital at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 2. At 7 p.m. that same day in Olin, Thomas Snow directs the Bates Jazz Band and Bates Jazz Combo.
Erica Butler directs the Bates Steel Pan Orchestra at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3.
Jazz Band director Tom Snow.
In a program featuring digital video and electronic music combined with live instruments, 12 students in William Matthews’ computer music course present their compositions at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 4.
And at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, April 5, piano students of Bridget Convey and Chiharu Naruse offer a recital.
All these concerts are open to the public at no charge, but tickets are required for the jazz and steel pan events, available at bit.ly/oacbates. For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu.
The Jazz Band program spans a wide range of repertoire and musical history from traditional New Orleans (“Little Liza Jane”) to big band swing “88 Basie Street” to the bebop of “Billie’s Bounce.” Contemporary pop songs are also on the menu, and adding a lighter touch is the theme from television’s “The Flintstones.”
The Jazz Combo portion includes music originated or popularized by Hall and Oates, Etta James, Cole Porter and others.
Lord Obstinate’s “Got a Little Something” and arrangements by Maine’s well-known Chase family, of Flash in the Pan steel band fame, are featured in the steel pan concert.
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