Many hidden gems are on campus if you know where to look, and many students walk by a handful every day. The School of Music and Dance of San Diego State posts its events on the outside of the Music building in a glass viewing case for all to see. It’s easy to walk right past, but taken the time to look, one can see events such as the Concert on the Plaza this last Sunday, Oct. 12.
When the sun was just beginning to go down, the sound of the SDSU Wind Symphony began to echo off the building around campus. It started as a soft sound of the musicians tuning their instruments. People laid out blankets and set up lawn chairs, relaxing and chatting with each other about the musicians on the stage. It was a peaceful atmosphere full of students, alumni and community members to show their support.
As the musicians began to play, the crowd got quiet and paid close attention to the beautiful music. The conductor introduced the pieces and talked about historical information about Gustav Holst, an English composer best known for his suite “The Planets.”
Concert on the Plaza was truly a community event. A combination of music and lessons on music history brought a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere for the young and old. By intermission, you hadn’t even realized an hour had gone by. Once the musicians resumed playing, time seemed to stand still as the golden sunlight poured across the crowd and made the scene tranquil.
An exciting part of the evening included the students from the San Diego Summer Music Institute program, who came to SDSU from around the world. The students joined the music and gave a new feel to the evening as the audience learned about this amazing program held for the last five years on campus. The students in the program get world-class instruction not only from the programs partner San Diego Winds, a local professional wind symphony, but also musicians from all over the U.S. to help with the program.
The combination of students and community members made the event a memorable one especially with the ending as the audience sang “America the Beautiful” together. The companionship was felt as we enjoyed not only good music together but good company as well.
There will be more events by the Music and Dance departments in the near future. On Saturday, Oct.18, the Fall Colors event takes place, which includes the choirs of both SDSU and Grossmont Community College. Following that is the Jazz ensemble performance, held Nov. 6. All of these events are worth the time, and the few bucks of admission go to support the SDSU music department.
