Spring music is in the air

Student music groups are once again heralding the arrival of spring with their annual concerts. All performances are free and open to the public.

The Caltech Jazz and Concert Bands are pleased to present the 26th annual Bandorama concert on Saturday, May 8, at 8 p.m. in Beckman Auditorium. Directed by William Bing, the performance will feature “Metropolis Dawn” by Chris Renk, winner of the first Caltech competition for new music for concert band. Bing calls Renk’s composition “very interesting,” noting it is “descriptive of the construction of the Empire State Building. So, as you can imagine, it’s a very dramatic work.”

The concert band will also play a medley of songs from Puccini’s opera La Bohème, and the jazz bands will perform such memory-evoking big band classics as “String of Pearls,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” and “My Romance.”

Chamber-music fans will have several chances to hear student ensembles, starting on Sunday, May 9—Mother’s Day—at 3:30 p.m. in Ramo Auditorium. Highlighting the concert will be the Octet for Strings, composed by Felix Mendelssohn at age 16, which chamber music director Delores Bing terms “magnificent.”

She says, “His mother must have been very proud of him, and we’re honored that some proud mothers of our Caltech student musicians will be in the audience!” Music by Telemann and Brahms will round out the performance.

The chamber-music season will conclude with concerts on Friday, May 14, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 16, at 3:30 p.m., both in Ramo Auditorium. Friday’s event will feature works by Schubert, Dohnányi, and Martinu for various combinations of piano, strings, and flute. The Sunday program, marking the end of 25 seasons of Caltech student chamber music, will center around Fauré’s Piano Quartet no. 1. A reception will follow each concert.

For more information, contact Public Events at 1 (888) 2CALTECH, (626) 395-4652, or events@caltech.edu, or visit http://events.caltech.edu. Individuals with a disability can call 395-4688 (voice) or 395-3700 (TDD).
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