Claire Oliver
The Linfield Concert Band lit up the stage once again with its annual spring concert April 21, featuring a mix of traditional pieces and original student compositions.
The ensemble, directed by Joan Haaland Paddock, professor of music and director of instrumental activities, performed selections from a variety of genres ranging from “Seventeen Come Sunday,” an English folk song, to an “Italian Polka” and selections from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” score.
The group, which comprises Linfield students and faculty as well as community members, also showcased the work of senior member Hans Ogren with its performance of his original composition “Hero and Martyr.”
Student members said they owed the concert’s success not only to their personal efforts, but to the group’s commitment to working as an ensemble.
“While individual practice is good for keeping musically in shape, the ensemble rehearsals are essential to the end performance,” Vicki Smallwood, a senior trumpeter, said.
For seniors such as Smallwood, Ogren and Tyler Ramm-Gramenz, the concert provided a venue to display life-long passions, as well as their experiences not only in the Concert Band, but also in Linfield’s music department as a whole.
A music minor, Ramm-Gramenz has been playing trumpet since the fifth grade. During his four years at Linfield, he has participated in the concert and jazz bands and has received private instruction from Paddock and Steve Kravitz, adjunct professor of music.
Ramm-Gramenz said his love of music stems from his capacity to reinvent it.
“Musical expression is something completely original,” he said. “No matter how many times you play something, it will always be different and new.”
For Ramm-Gramenz, who said that jazz improvisation is where he finds the most enjoyment, his creativity is challenged as a member of the ensemble.
“The hardest part about playing music for me, especially in the realm if jazz, has been mastering and adopting the technical building blocks,” he said. “I have always been more of an instinctive player.”
Still, Ramm-Gramenz said he found satisfaction as a musician in the more conventional pieces performed in April 21’s Concert Band.
“An American Elegy,” composed by Frank Ticheli, particularly resonated with him.
The arrangement is a tribute to the victims of the Columbine shootings and was financed by the Columbine Commissioning Fund after the 1999 tragedy.
“It was a beautiful piece, and I was privileged to represent and honor those students who are no longer with us,” Ramm-Gramenz said.
He said his involvement with music will carry on after Linfield.
“I hope to continue my playing after I graduate, at least in some capacity,” he said. “I would regret it if I put my trumpet down and lose all that I have worked for.”