Report on My Visit of "Second Sunday Concert"

On April 14, 2019, I went to Pasadena Public Library which had a “Second Sunday Concert” free concert. The concert on that day was classical music, especially trumpet, tuba, and piano. There were totally five musicians performed three melodies. It was my first time to go to Pasadena Public Library. The location of the concert was held in a room in the corner of the library, so it was a hard time for me to find this location. Performers are excellent young musicians from the University of California, Los Angeles and Biola Univesity. They wear black, not showy costumes to show their professionalism. I was a little nervous when I went to the concert alone when I was under pressure that I was doing a concert report later.

However, I was looking forward to finding some surprises at the same time. One of the great things about this concert series is that it combines classical music with music composed in recent times. Therefore, their performances exceeded my expectations. It was an interesting concept and it also gave me a lot of information that I could recall from the knowledge that I had learned from the class. This is a great opportunity to enjoy music from classical times.

The pieces of music they chose to perform today were: “Sonata for Trumpet in D(G.1) by Trevor Johnson”, composed by Giuseppe Torelli; Richard Peaslee’s “Andante Nightsongs”, performed by Hosanna Anjiki; “Romance for Tuba by Clayton Dungey”, composed by Elizabeth Raum; “The Carnival of Venice by Hosanna Anjiki”, composed by Jean-Baptiste Arban arr. Richard Domek. Sonata for Trumpet in D(G.1) is a great piece, emotional and complex. It is composed by one of the greatest composers of the Baroque style. Giuseppe Torelli learned to compose in Bologna before becoming a string player, he was known as a painter. He is an Italian composer with many works composed for trumpets. His works are widely popular as sonatas, sinfonias, and concerto. The first performance that stood out to me was the piece called “Sonata for Trumpet in D(G.1) by Trevor Johnson”. This piece was a minor scale that creates a feeling of anxiety for me at first. When the variations of this music changed, it made this song more interesting. It also reflects the prominence of pianists, Hosanna Anjiki's piano playing skills.

The overall music was in the form of Themes and Variations has the main melody. However, there were several differences, it may also feel that they are different enough. Although there are nine variations, some they have similar and some are different. The timbre of this music has changed a lot when it has shifted from a slightly sad tone to a gradually feathered melody but there is also the tension involved. Finally, it got more active; it started with theme A, then it switched to A-like melody, but it played in a descending melody, gradually turning to a softer piano. When tune A is played twice, it is like a consolidation of tune A to remind the audience of the theme. Then, it introduces a whole new theme of B. This melody had another idea with tone A. It played with dis-combinations, mostly increase and decrease. The tempo of this piece played like in an allegro, fast tempo. Then, it returned to another variant of A at a faster pace. After that, it added a whole new theme, the melody became more intense with the tempo. It starts with the jump and then plays with the running scale.

Later, it played different variations of melody A. Finally, it ended with the fastest-paced impressive tempo of this track and the running scales increase the vibe of this song. The next performance was Clayton Dungey for Tuba and Hosanna Anijki for piano. In the beginning, piano played a smooth homophonic, the melody was conjunct, slow and it was major. It played in acceleration when the tempo of the music moves to allegro, fast-paced with running octaves and other intervals. The form of this work was most likely the form of Rondo, ABACA. However, themes were repeated many times after different parts of the melody, so the melody was clearly. The timbre of the B section was more cheerful and comforting. However, the timbre of the section C becomes more dramatic with different motivations. In addition, the high range of the C section has been widely played.

In part C, the bass line in the left hand is played only in simple notes and the right-hand plays the melody as I noticed. Also, when I heard this piece, the tempo was sometimes getting faster. In short, I learned a lot through this concert experience. It helped me to experience knowledge when I was in class. After this class, I feel more excited about classical music, it is not as boring or outdated as I thought. I have gained a lot of knowledge about classical music and have a better understanding of the sounds of different instruments through this class. Attending this concert will be an unforgettable experience in my life.