Thursday, March 1, 2018
Philadelphia Orchestra Rehearsal Madison Molnar, Sophomore All music majors had the opportunity to attend a Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra rehearsal and open forum by the principal bass player. It was a required for freshman and sophomore music majors as a part of the aural skills curriculum. The principal bass player discussed a method of teaching that is prominent in Europe. The orchestra, directed by conductor Cristian Macelaru, performed Beethoven’s Symphony Number 5 in F major, they rehearsed a low brass concerto written by Jennifer Higdon, as well as Dances of Marossezek by Zoltan Kodaly, and Brahms Hungarian dances. Soloists Nitzon Haroz, Matthew Vaughn, both on trombone, Blair Bollinger, on bass trombone, and Carol Jantsch as the tuba soloist, were showcased in Jennifer Higdon’s newly released Concerto for Low Brass. Nitzon hails from Israel, and after holding a variety of positions as principal and assistant principal at a variety of the world’s top orchestras. Carol Jantsch is the principal tuba player for the Philadelphia symphony orchestra and has been since 2006. She won this position during her senior year in college becoming the world’s first female tuba player in a major symphony orchestra. The low brass was in the spotlight during this performance. A section that typically provides the foundation for the orchestra, became the main melodic focus. It opened with a beautiful melodic passage that showed the softer side of the low brass. The allegro section highlighted articulation you wouldn’t think possible from a tuba player. It was a spectacular thing to experience as a trombone player. This trip is open to all Immaculata students, so don’t miss out next year. For ticket information contact Sister Kathleen.
Adjunct Spotlight Paige Gale, Senior This month’s adjunct faculty spotlight goes to Mr. Stephen Campitelli. Mr. Campitelli received his Bachelor of Music from Penn State and his Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance from the Boyer College of Music at Temple University. Here at IU, Mr. Campitelli teaches private piano lessons to students of various skill levels and is the director of Immaculata’s Piano Ensemble. He also accompanies the instrumental performances during student recitals and he accompanies all of the incoming freshmen’s auditions. In the Fall of 2016, he was the featured soloist with the Immaculata Symphony Orchestra, performing Saint-Saens “Piano Concerto No. 5.” It really exemplified his technical and expressive talents. All of the students and staff really appreciate his dedication to this department.