While many students will be cracking open books and spending quality time in the library preparing for final exams, students from two musical performance groups, UCLA Chorale and UCLA Symphony, will be reviewing their notes ““ their musical notes, that is, in preparation for their upcoming winter concerts this week.
UCLA Chorale
The holiday season is often a cause for celebration, and that celebration is exemplified in the music of Handel’s “Messiah.” The famous “Hallelujah” chorus has long been used as an expression of jubilation. This Saturday, the UCLA Chorale, Philharmonia and University Chorus will present “Messiah” in all its glory in Royce Hall.
The concert will be under the direction of one of the most renowned choral conductors in the music world, UCLA’s own Professor Donald Neuen.
“Neuen’s effect on the choir is earth-shattering,” said Rebecca Lord, choral conducting graduate student who sings in the UCLA Chorale. “He knows the heart of every song he conducts, and he just pulls that all out of the singers. It’s an inspiring thing to be a part of.”
Part of Neuen’s knowledge comes from studying with two of the world’s experts on Handel’s music, Jens Peter Larsen and Alfred Mann, both of whom are now deceased.
“(Larsen and Mann) knew more about how “˜Messiah’ should be performed than anyone since Handel wrote it,” Neuen said. “I think I was about the only guy able to study with both of these men, so I’m able to bring to the UCLA “˜Messiah’ the knowledge of the absolute experts of the field.”
Neuen must also use his directional talent to coordinate the rehearsals of many different groups. To top it off, many of the students performing are not UCLA music students, and they must add practicing to their list of non-musical school work.
“(The performers) are coming from all over the UCLA campus. They are preparing a performance in a very professional manner and a professional level; that’s an incredible thing. People come thinking it’s a university thing, and then they get blown away,” said Daniel Suk, choral conducting graduate student and teaching assistant for the chorale.
The power of all those students singing together adds to the clout of “Messiah.”
“Imagine 200 people singing that, and an orchestra playing and just the spectacle of the whole thing,” Lord said. “It’s greater than a sporting event. It’s electrifying to be in a room when that’s happening.”
UCLA Symphony
In the UCLA Symphony, undergraduates and graduates of all majors come together to perform classical hits, as well as some hidden treasures. This Tuesday, the symphony will perform songs by Beethoven, Chopin and Russian composer Balakirev.
Balakirev’s music is extremely popular in the Russian classical scene, yet has not been performed often in the United States. Because it is not well known, the Balakirev piece the symphony is performing, “Symphony No. 1 in C-Major,” requires more effort from both the players and the graduate conductors.
“It’s kind of an experiment almost. We’re treating it kind of like a new work. It’s not a famous tune that everyone knows, so we’re really just trying to figure it out,” said Henry Shin, a conducting graduate student.
Shin is one of the graduate students who will be conducting at the concert. Because the directors are gaining instruction alongside the players, the final production is the result of a much more collaborative effort from both sides.
“It’s not just that you have a conductor up there who’s … 30 or 40 years older than everyone sitting in the orchestra saying, “˜This is the way it’s going to be,'” said Ryan Sandell, a european studies graduate student and a first clarinetist. “There’s a bit more give and take. In some ways it does drive you to think more about what you’re doing.”
Though many of the performers are not in majoring in music, this doesn’t hinder the quality of their music.
“The quality of the string players at UCLA who are non-music majors matches up to the quality of string players who are performance (students) elsewhere,” Sandell said.
The fact that many of the players aren’t within music students allows the atmosphere to be less competitive.
“The ensemble strikes a really good balance between trying to get the notes and being musical and having fun,” said Alyssa Van Thoen, ethnomusicology graduate student and principal cellist. “I’ve done other orchestras before where people are pretty competitive and don’t really talk to each other, but in this orchestra … we still talk to each other and are friends, and it’s a fun ensemble.”