NCC Homecoming Concert 2022
The last time NCC had a Homecoming Concert was back in 2019. There was no Homecoming, for all intents and purposes, back in 2020 (as well as no football season since we're DIII), and while there were some activities last year, there wasn't a concert. Three years later, though, they're dipping their toes back into the concert water and I was all over that.
Avery and I had been attending the concerts for a number of years; I went by myself before then. It's been over two years since she and I saw each other, so naturally this was going to be catch-up night. Our typical MO is dinner at Chinese Kitchen, then the concert, so we met up at 5:15 at the restaurant. It was early enough that nobody else was there, which was a little weird. The restaurant itself has changed. It may have been about 4 years since I was last there; they painted, so the walls are now white, and I think updated their booths, and while there's still a TV on the one wall, it wasn't on. The staff were all masked and the menu was updated. A couple different things I noticed, we weren't automatically given a pot of tea, and at the end, we weren't automatically given a plate of almond cookies. That was fine, but it was still like, oh, that was a casualty of the situation. I have an old menu and had already decided I wanted lo mein, since I've never tried their noodles; I kept picturing more linguine-style noodles but it was more like very skinny ramen. Avery chose the egg patty, which ended being like a gigantic omelet with shrimp and vegetables. There's so much food that even the server joked we'd get another 2-3 meals out of our leftovers; I ended up sharing mine with mom for lunch. I'd originally thought to see if they had beef lo mein, which wasn't on the menu, but the updated one in house had the combination platter with beef, chicken, and shrimp. My old one had said pork, chicken, and shrimp. It was a good choice.
We left for the concert around 7. Parking was a bit special but we both managed to snag spots in a nearby lot and walked over. She's friends with one of the ushers, who mentioned that all the tickets sold--yet the house was only partially full. In fact, two rows behind us, there was a bank of 10 empty seats in a row. That was wild. What a far cry from the place being so full, we once had to sit in the choir loft. That was not an issue this year. Of course, there were only four official performing groups, so that may have played a role. There was a jazz group performing in the lobby, so once we found our seats I went down to check them out. Turns out I knew four of the students playing--P and D the trombone players (D had a solo, which I caught), E the trumpet player, and M the tuba player was on bass. The only issue was that the setup was awkward, on the far end of the lobby by the elevator, so that the piano blocked the view of much of the band on the one side, and the other side was pretty much just the ladies' bathroom and the stairs down to the little theater. But, I liked that they were there and playing because it was novel. I also spotted a friendly acquaintance whose older niece is now a grad and I think the younger one might be a current student.
It was surprising to open the program and only see four groups listed: Chamber Singers, Women's Chorale, Concert Choir, and Concert Winds. I know that covid did a number on the music program and there's only one concert band currently, which per Dr. K makes Larry happy. (Dr. K was not in attendance as the marching band, his only official college performing group, was not invited.) I know there's an orchestra since one of the college guys was talking about it, but they're in a rebuild year--not surprising since they'd only just started in 2019. I don't know if the freshmen-only choir still exists. I'm not sure if the faculty member who led the jazz combo is even still there. However, it was nice to have such a short concert; the choirs only did one or two songs, and the band did three, and it was over by 9:15. Considering it starts at 8 and would go past 10, this was a big deal. I texted Dr. K to let him know--he said he was perfectly happy to go home and get some rest, heh--and he was like, wow, already over?! Yep.
I really enjoyed the concert. It's interesting to see how things are going, given what I'd been used to. For one, every performer wore a mask. Someone behind me was shocked to see that. I know that must be hard for vocalists, but honestly I couldn't tell a difference. They sounded great. It helps that the acoustics in there pick up a lot of things. (...Eventually I'll go into Thursday's recording session. That came up a few times.) I will say that it pretty much was the D show; this would be D the flute player, and he was in three of the four groups, excluding Women's Chorale...and given that there were two people in that group who were not wearing dresses, I almost think it's too bad. He has the falsetto to be a soprano. He had a bigger role later on, but I'll get to that shortly.
The Women's Chorale included a cellist for its first piece, and the pianist for all three choirs I think was listed as "collaborative pianist" as opposed to "accompanist," which was an interesting distinction. I would see him later and the kids appear to know and like him, so I wonder if he teaches classes as well. I found it interesting that the first song for both main choirs (Chamber Singers is a selective choir) both involved music. They did not have folders, which I would've preferred because it was weird to see how people held their music, and choral music is rather floppy. Folders are more solid and would've looked better. However, as soon as they were done, Mona had them all turn their music in. Unusual. I'm guessing they just weren't far enough along in learning the music to have had it memorized, perhaps? Virtually all Mona performances involve memorized music. This makes a huge difference. In Concert Choir, I saw exactly three people not looking at their music (D included) and you're able to get more into the emotions of the lyrics that way, rather than constantly following along and making sure you're in exactly the right place all the time. Without masks, there's the visual component of watching their faces when they sing, too, and those who bury themselves in their music tend to be more expressionless than those who have it memorized. But I do want to mention the one girl in Women's Chorale who appeared to be conducting along with Mona; her right hand kept moving as she sang. I figured she was a vocal ed major. Avery wondered if she was doing that to help with her pitches. Either is possible. And in Concert Choir...as someone who used to be in that group, I can truthfully say that we sing and look like a bunch of uptight white suburban kids, because that's what most of us were. There was one Black student in the back row (one of the others who'd memorized the music) who *felt* it. He was amazing. He was so much fun to watch. Mona even mentioned that the last song they did, it should be illegal to have this much fun! And then the choir just sort of stood there and sang, aside from this guy. His enthusiasm was infectious and the other guys near him also got more into it. I wish the rest of the choir had, too, because it truly was a fun song and deserved to have that energy.
Then came Concert Winds. I was impressed that they performed three pieces, partly because the program said "to be selected from," suggesting they weren't performing everything listed, but they did and in order. The first song, I think I've done it with Regular Band. The second I did while there. E the trumpet player mentioned the other night that they were performing it ("Hobbits" from the de Meij LOTR suite) and I told him the story of how, on either this or "Gandalf" (they have a similar motif), I was on piccolo and just went to town on the 32nd note runs, to where I beat the rest of the band to the end of them and Larry had to be like, you need to take my tempo. Oopsie. I mentioned that to Avery and she went, better too fast than too slow! Tell me about it. (See: My current suite in Fancy Band.) One student had announced the band, first in Spanish, then English, so that was a twist; then, for the last song, another student came and announced that piece. It was this Japanese/Brazilian hybrid, and the student appeared to be of Japanese heritage, and she made it sound like there would be narration. As she's talking, a stagehand is setting up a music stand and a boom mic, and I'm thinking she will be the one using it. No--it was D, playing this killer solo in the middle of it, very jazzy and improv-like. Holy crap, it was amazing. Meanwhile, the rest of the band is totally getting into it. The tubas are doing this little dance involving swirling their horns around on their laps (not like a 360 turn, but like pushing it forward, then pulling it back). Some of the percussionists were doing the Macarena, and later Avery would see them playing a form of patty cake, which I totally missed. The trumpets did a kick line. Other instruments were choreographed to go up and down at the same time. It was super fun and made me go, *I* want to play that piece! That's what music should do. After that, the choirs came back out and were either in the choir loft or along the sides, and everyone performed the Alma Mater, and that was it.
We went out into the lobby for the dessert reception. I decided to forgo any treats and hung out in a corner while Avery went to get hers. I got to see L the younger (and I think her dad; they were at a standing table nearby) as well as Larry, but Avery and I were talking for a while and by the time the place thinned out, any others I knew were gone. Avery did see several people she knew, and as her birthday was Thursday, everyone wished her a happy birthday. (She was like, it's birthday weekend!) However, as we were leaving and walking back to our cars, we passed by the back hallway and I could see D and P sitting in the lounge, so we went to say hi to them for a few minutes; that's when M popped in as well, and the guys were sitting with a girl who's in choir, and the pianist came over. They joke that he's a sophomore (he's at least my and Avery's age, if not older), playing off of his last name, and they need to find a way to age him up to junior next year. Eventually I said, we're old and tired, so goodbye...but then Avery and I ended up talking by her car for another 45 minutes. It was almost 11:30 by the time I got home! Phew. Her grandmother died early last year, and she and her mom are going through all her old stuff. It sounds reminiscent of what my family went through with Papa's stuff, to be honest. She started talking genealogy, too, which of course fascinates me, and we could've kept talking but it was late and a bit chilly out. She also was under the weather and wore a mask the whole time aside from while eating; I wore a mask at the concert hall but otherwise had it off.
Tonight is the football game; I have about an hour before I'll head out that way. I've been trying to figure out what to wear so I stay warm. Not that it's going to be frigid, but without the sun it'll still be on the chilly side. I pulled out a couple pairs of socks plus long underwear just to be safe. I don't know if I want to bring my jacket or if I think my hoodie will be enough; I'll also have a long-sleeved shirt, a short-sleeved shirt, and my pep band jersey from back in the day. The boys were asking me to bring my piccolo so I could play along with them and I'm considering it.
Avery and I had been attending the concerts for a number of years; I went by myself before then. It's been over two years since she and I saw each other, so naturally this was going to be catch-up night. Our typical MO is dinner at Chinese Kitchen, then the concert, so we met up at 5:15 at the restaurant. It was early enough that nobody else was there, which was a little weird. The restaurant itself has changed. It may have been about 4 years since I was last there; they painted, so the walls are now white, and I think updated their booths, and while there's still a TV on the one wall, it wasn't on. The staff were all masked and the menu was updated. A couple different things I noticed, we weren't automatically given a pot of tea, and at the end, we weren't automatically given a plate of almond cookies. That was fine, but it was still like, oh, that was a casualty of the situation. I have an old menu and had already decided I wanted lo mein, since I've never tried their noodles; I kept picturing more linguine-style noodles but it was more like very skinny ramen. Avery chose the egg patty, which ended being like a gigantic omelet with shrimp and vegetables. There's so much food that even the server joked we'd get another 2-3 meals out of our leftovers; I ended up sharing mine with mom for lunch. I'd originally thought to see if they had beef lo mein, which wasn't on the menu, but the updated one in house had the combination platter with beef, chicken, and shrimp. My old one had said pork, chicken, and shrimp. It was a good choice.
We left for the concert around 7. Parking was a bit special but we both managed to snag spots in a nearby lot and walked over. She's friends with one of the ushers, who mentioned that all the tickets sold--yet the house was only partially full. In fact, two rows behind us, there was a bank of 10 empty seats in a row. That was wild. What a far cry from the place being so full, we once had to sit in the choir loft. That was not an issue this year. Of course, there were only four official performing groups, so that may have played a role. There was a jazz group performing in the lobby, so once we found our seats I went down to check them out. Turns out I knew four of the students playing--P and D the trombone players (D had a solo, which I caught), E the trumpet player, and M the tuba player was on bass. The only issue was that the setup was awkward, on the far end of the lobby by the elevator, so that the piano blocked the view of much of the band on the one side, and the other side was pretty much just the ladies' bathroom and the stairs down to the little theater. But, I liked that they were there and playing because it was novel. I also spotted a friendly acquaintance whose older niece is now a grad and I think the younger one might be a current student.
It was surprising to open the program and only see four groups listed: Chamber Singers, Women's Chorale, Concert Choir, and Concert Winds. I know that covid did a number on the music program and there's only one concert band currently, which per Dr. K makes Larry happy. (Dr. K was not in attendance as the marching band, his only official college performing group, was not invited.) I know there's an orchestra since one of the college guys was talking about it, but they're in a rebuild year--not surprising since they'd only just started in 2019. I don't know if the freshmen-only choir still exists. I'm not sure if the faculty member who led the jazz combo is even still there. However, it was nice to have such a short concert; the choirs only did one or two songs, and the band did three, and it was over by 9:15. Considering it starts at 8 and would go past 10, this was a big deal. I texted Dr. K to let him know--he said he was perfectly happy to go home and get some rest, heh--and he was like, wow, already over?! Yep.
I really enjoyed the concert. It's interesting to see how things are going, given what I'd been used to. For one, every performer wore a mask. Someone behind me was shocked to see that. I know that must be hard for vocalists, but honestly I couldn't tell a difference. They sounded great. It helps that the acoustics in there pick up a lot of things. (...Eventually I'll go into Thursday's recording session. That came up a few times.) I will say that it pretty much was the D show; this would be D the flute player, and he was in three of the four groups, excluding Women's Chorale...and given that there were two people in that group who were not wearing dresses, I almost think it's too bad. He has the falsetto to be a soprano. He had a bigger role later on, but I'll get to that shortly.
The Women's Chorale included a cellist for its first piece, and the pianist for all three choirs I think was listed as "collaborative pianist" as opposed to "accompanist," which was an interesting distinction. I would see him later and the kids appear to know and like him, so I wonder if he teaches classes as well. I found it interesting that the first song for both main choirs (Chamber Singers is a selective choir) both involved music. They did not have folders, which I would've preferred because it was weird to see how people held their music, and choral music is rather floppy. Folders are more solid and would've looked better. However, as soon as they were done, Mona had them all turn their music in. Unusual. I'm guessing they just weren't far enough along in learning the music to have had it memorized, perhaps? Virtually all Mona performances involve memorized music. This makes a huge difference. In Concert Choir, I saw exactly three people not looking at their music (D included) and you're able to get more into the emotions of the lyrics that way, rather than constantly following along and making sure you're in exactly the right place all the time. Without masks, there's the visual component of watching their faces when they sing, too, and those who bury themselves in their music tend to be more expressionless than those who have it memorized. But I do want to mention the one girl in Women's Chorale who appeared to be conducting along with Mona; her right hand kept moving as she sang. I figured she was a vocal ed major. Avery wondered if she was doing that to help with her pitches. Either is possible. And in Concert Choir...as someone who used to be in that group, I can truthfully say that we sing and look like a bunch of uptight white suburban kids, because that's what most of us were. There was one Black student in the back row (one of the others who'd memorized the music) who *felt* it. He was amazing. He was so much fun to watch. Mona even mentioned that the last song they did, it should be illegal to have this much fun! And then the choir just sort of stood there and sang, aside from this guy. His enthusiasm was infectious and the other guys near him also got more into it. I wish the rest of the choir had, too, because it truly was a fun song and deserved to have that energy.
Then came Concert Winds. I was impressed that they performed three pieces, partly because the program said "to be selected from," suggesting they weren't performing everything listed, but they did and in order. The first song, I think I've done it with Regular Band. The second I did while there. E the trumpet player mentioned the other night that they were performing it ("Hobbits" from the de Meij LOTR suite) and I told him the story of how, on either this or "Gandalf" (they have a similar motif), I was on piccolo and just went to town on the 32nd note runs, to where I beat the rest of the band to the end of them and Larry had to be like, you need to take my tempo. Oopsie. I mentioned that to Avery and she went, better too fast than too slow! Tell me about it. (See: My current suite in Fancy Band.) One student had announced the band, first in Spanish, then English, so that was a twist; then, for the last song, another student came and announced that piece. It was this Japanese/Brazilian hybrid, and the student appeared to be of Japanese heritage, and she made it sound like there would be narration. As she's talking, a stagehand is setting up a music stand and a boom mic, and I'm thinking she will be the one using it. No--it was D, playing this killer solo in the middle of it, very jazzy and improv-like. Holy crap, it was amazing. Meanwhile, the rest of the band is totally getting into it. The tubas are doing this little dance involving swirling their horns around on their laps (not like a 360 turn, but like pushing it forward, then pulling it back). Some of the percussionists were doing the Macarena, and later Avery would see them playing a form of patty cake, which I totally missed. The trumpets did a kick line. Other instruments were choreographed to go up and down at the same time. It was super fun and made me go, *I* want to play that piece! That's what music should do. After that, the choirs came back out and were either in the choir loft or along the sides, and everyone performed the Alma Mater, and that was it.
We went out into the lobby for the dessert reception. I decided to forgo any treats and hung out in a corner while Avery went to get hers. I got to see L the younger (and I think her dad; they were at a standing table nearby) as well as Larry, but Avery and I were talking for a while and by the time the place thinned out, any others I knew were gone. Avery did see several people she knew, and as her birthday was Thursday, everyone wished her a happy birthday. (She was like, it's birthday weekend!) However, as we were leaving and walking back to our cars, we passed by the back hallway and I could see D and P sitting in the lounge, so we went to say hi to them for a few minutes; that's when M popped in as well, and the guys were sitting with a girl who's in choir, and the pianist came over. They joke that he's a sophomore (he's at least my and Avery's age, if not older), playing off of his last name, and they need to find a way to age him up to junior next year. Eventually I said, we're old and tired, so goodbye...but then Avery and I ended up talking by her car for another 45 minutes. It was almost 11:30 by the time I got home! Phew. Her grandmother died early last year, and she and her mom are going through all her old stuff. It sounds reminiscent of what my family went through with Papa's stuff, to be honest. She started talking genealogy, too, which of course fascinates me, and we could've kept talking but it was late and a bit chilly out. She also was under the weather and wore a mask the whole time aside from while eating; I wore a mask at the concert hall but otherwise had it off.
Tonight is the football game; I have about an hour before I'll head out that way. I've been trying to figure out what to wear so I stay warm. Not that it's going to be frigid, but without the sun it'll still be on the chilly side. I pulled out a couple pairs of socks plus long underwear just to be safe. I don't know if I want to bring my jacket or if I think my hoodie will be enough; I'll also have a long-sleeved shirt, a short-sleeved shirt, and my pep band jersey from back in the day. The boys were asking me to bring my piccolo so I could play along with them and I'm considering it.