IAA’s First All-Go a Success

Written by Jad Ibrahim & Alexander Zampedri

On Sept. 19, multiple ensembles performed in Corson Auditorium for the first “all-go” (where all boarding students attend) concert. The goal of this concert was to represent American music and show the growth of the music division in only three weeks. 

The wind ensemble performed a variety of pieces such as “Bright Shadow Fanfare” by Nicole Piunno; “Masque” by Kenneth Hesketh; “Irish Tune from County Derry,” by Percy Grainger; and “A Midnight Dance…through a poison garden.” These pieces contained various different traits such as lyrical slow passages to fast paced passages, making the concert interesting. 

Each piece contained a different emotion that varied dramatically to the piece before it. For example, “Irish Tune from County Derry” is a slow, melodic piece that feels sad and overbearing for many listeners. After that, “A Midnight Dance…through a poison garden.” was fast and wild, with a sense of excitement. The overarching theme of the performance was that life can have its exciting moments accompanied by  sad and difficult moments.  

The jazz ensemble performed “Top of My Head” by Roy Hargrove. One thing Hargrove was known for was his improvisational skills. It was one of the many characteristics of his playing that made him famous. This style is replicated in this song, showing off similar improvisational skills that Hargrove had. 

Following that, singer-songwriter Tobi Lacroix performed his new song “Taste the Sky.” In Tobi’s words, “This song is about Icarus [from Greek mythology]. I like it because I find the story of Icarus very compelling and I haven’t been able to write a song about it until now.” 

The pop ensemble followed by performing “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae. According to bassist Malik Joseph, this song is about “the relief of stress itself and the willingness to put down burdens.” The preparation for this concert was different from the preparation for other concerts, however, it was just as much fun. 

Its major difference was that the location for the sound check and band position were different from the usual pop concert spot. Malik said, “The preparation was a lot of fun because the instrumentation wasn’t as difficult, so every time we rehearsed the song it was all smiles.”

The Orchestra performed Charles Ives “Variations on America,” a work that is a good-natured parody of patriotic music that integrates serious, patriotic themes with Ives’s sense of humor. For concertmaster Jad Ibrahim, this was his favorite piece, saying, “I like its character and it was the most moving piece on the program because it had a lot of different styles within the same piece, other than the exciting character which made it very special and unique.” 

Afterwards, they performed “Ellis Island” by Peter Boyer, which talks about seven immigrants who came to the United States through Ellis Island from less successful nations between 1910-1940. 

The Orchestra continued the program by playing “Caravan” next; the story is one that evokes imagery through an exotic journey, with desert lands and a distinctive Latin and Middle Eastern style. 

The orchestra ended the concert with “Solitude,” a piece composed by Duke Ellington and arranged by Morton Gould, which is based on a poem about a lost love and the loneliness that comes with the heartbreak. 

The concert was exciting and full of passion, inspiration, and joy that the students delivered to the audience. After each performance, they erupted into applause, and after each ensemble, the audience immediately broke into a standing ovation. As Dr. Dunner said, “It was exhilarating to open our academic year with an all-American program as we go into the 250th anniversary of this country.”

The concert was unique for returning and new students. It was a chance to see the skills of the different ensembles, and see some different performances some students may not usually see. All around, the all-go concert was a true show of the art produced at IAA. 

For more information on this concert, you can visit the IAA archived webcast to see the performance, and find the program notes.