November 19th Concert of the Guitar Ensemble, Jazz Combo, and Wind Ensemble

By Colin Warren

Though outside it was a bleak Sunday night in late November, it was a warm and friendly evening inside the Davis Concert Hall.

As I arrived, several guitars were being tuned up, as were several percussionist instruments on the rear of the stage. Groups of friends and family chatted until the theater lights went down and the stage cleared. Three men, two younger with long black hair and one older and completely bald save his goatee, strode across the stage and each took a seat, picked up guitars, and began playing. Immediately, I felt transported to a Renaissance Fair. 

In actuality, they were playing Handel from the early 1700s. It felt like a knight might still show up, though. The goateed man was Nathan Arnold, the director of the guitar ensemble, who joined his students, Aaron Franich and Raymond Tamez, for the first song. Arnold left the stage after the opener and Frainch and Raymond spent the rest of their thirty minute show trading off the spotlight and joining forces once again as they played a series of classical guitar tunes to a rapt audience. They progressed chronologically through the centuries until they ended up in the 20th, finishing with “Castles of Spain Vol. 1” by Moreno-Torroba. 

Photo by Colin Warren: Aaron Franich and Raymond Tamez play guitar

Next up was the jazz combo led by director Liesl Wietgrefe on piano. The combo consisted of Zachary Keith on alto saxophone, Chase Laro on tenor saxophone, Adlee Demientieff on bass, and Mason O’Neil on drums. For their show, each member of the combo chose a classic jazz song and arranged it themselves. I found “Ornithology” by Charlie Parker and arranged by Keith particularly moving. Keith also wrote a spoken-word poem for the song “Footprints.” While there was some strife with the reed on the tenor sax initially, they managed to fix it and recover the show marvelously. The bass player was so adept that he could practically play his instrument like a lead electric guitar; I only wished he had more pedals to use. After they finished, the audience greeted them with cheers and the theater took an intermission. 

Photo by Colin Warren: Zachary Keith on alto saxophone, Chase Laro on tenor saxophone, Adlee Demientieff on bass, and Mason O’Neil on drums

Upon return, the sixteen-member wind ensemble took the stage led by the director, Jay Million. With a few strong swings of the wand, the entire ensemble was driving hard into a rendition of “Chorale and Shaker Dance” by John Zdechlik. They followed it with a lighter and more playful song, “Cajun Folk Songs 2,” which seemed like a crowd favorite judging by applause. The wind ensemble ended the evening with a powerful version of “Polka and Fugue.” In the end, the crowd was pleased and so was the stage full of talented musicians, all of them glowing from the performance.