Magic, tap dancing, and the electric wind instrument: MIT’s annual Family Weekend concert
MIT Wind Ensemble, MIT Jazz Ensemble, and MIT Vocal Jazz Ensemble perform in Kresge Auditorium to parents and students
MIT Annual Family Weekend Concert
MIT Wind Ensemble, Festival Jazz Ensemble, and Vocal Jazz Ensemble
Conducted by Dr. Frederick Harris, Jr., Kenneth Amis, and Laura Grill Jaye
Kresge Auditorium
Oct. 25
As part of MIT’s annual Family Weekend festivities, the MIT Wind Ensemble (MITWE), MIT Jazz Ensemble, and MIT Vocal Jazz Ensemble performed “Where the World Ends,” a concert “celebrating music’s power to unite,” on October 25th in front of a full-to-the-brim Kresge Auditorium. Conducted by Dr. Frederick Harris, Jr., Kenneth Amis and Laura Grill Jaye, the three ensembles performed a wide array of pieces that kept the audience captivated.
Dr. Harris, director of MITWE, made a point to thank the families in the audience, stating that “these things don’t happen in a vacuum” and gave a “shoutout to all the music teachers” and “parents who have brought their students to the lessons and the festivals.” Charlotte Wickert ‘24, president of MITWE, movingly spoke about her time in the ensemble, stating that one of the best parts was the “connections you make with other people.”
What followed these speeches was “Adoration” by Florence Price. “I hope that you all can feel the joy from us in this next piece,” Wickert said. Indeed, “Adoration” featured a beautifully melancholic opening thanks to the clarinets and flutes. The rest of the piece was floaty and pensive and certainly showed off the ensemble’s emotionality and control.
The other standout piece from MITWE’s section of the concert was “We The Seven” by Derek M. Jenkins, introduced by Amelia Gagnon, a PhD candidate in MIT’s AeroAstro department. The piece is inspired by the experiences of the seven astronauts recruited for Project Mercury in the effort to send American men to space for the first time. Gagnon spoke for several minutes on Project Mercury,the ongoing research into how outer space affects humans,and the positive impact music had on the Project Mercury astronauts. John Glenn revealed that the astronauts would relax by listening to Puccini, especially “Madame Butterfly.”
With this information in mind, “We The Seven,” conducted by Kenneth Amis, had a haunting quality to it that sounded like the vast emptiness of outer space. Midway through, all the lights dimmed, leaving the audience in bewildered darkness with only the eerie prickling of the flutes to guide them through. It was an excellent piece that perfectly captured both the mystery of outer space and the bravery of the astronauts who dared to explore it for the first time.
After the intermission came the performances of the Festival Jazz Ensemble and Vocal Jazz Ensemble. The Festival Jazz Ensemble performed several pieces, including Duke Ellington’s “The Star-Crossed Lovers” and Tommy Wolf’s “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most.” Trombonist Alex Jin ‘27 put on a spectacular performance with several solos, and the back-to-back arrangement of pieces also featured special appearances from the electric wind instrument (EWI) and the South Indian flute. These instruments added texture to the performance and introduced an unexpected soundscape.
The Festival Jazz Ensemble’s set also included the performance of Sabrina Drammis (G), a tap dancer who has made appearances at other MITWE and MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble concerts. Her performance in the Wayne Shorter piece “The Big Push” had the audience clapping along, her shoes providing the perfect percussive beat for the rest of the ensemble.
The Vocal Jazz Ensemble, conducted by Laura Grill Jaye, performed two pieces as well, both of which were world premiere arrangements. “Smile,” a Charlie Chaplin piece, was shorter, while “Marmaduke,” by Charlie Parker, featured solos from many members of the ensemble, each of whom had a different vocal timbre (deep or high, smooth or rough) that contributed a particular harmony to the piece.
The last two pieces were the showstoppers of the concert, with the Festival Jazz Ensemble and Vocal Jazz Ensemble working together. First was “Qué Te Pedí” by Gabriel Luna de la Fuente, which featured some truly spectacular vocals from Vocal Jazz Ensemble member Andrea Marcano-Delgado (G). Marcano-Delgado’s vocals were rich and powerful and perfectly backed by the Festival Jazz Ensemble.
Inspired by the persuasion of Axel O Vera Sanchez (G), a percussionist in the Festival Jazz Ensemble, the concert ended with the piece “Ran Kan Kan” by musician Tito Puente. Both the Festival Jazz and Vocal Jazz Ensembles participated in the finale, but the true hero of this piece was Sanchez himself. Taking front stage, he performed a one-man magic act, with tricks including but not limited to pulling a six-foot-long stick out of a paper bag and changing his white dress shirt to a Tito Puente t-shirt. The performance was utterly unexpected yet brilliant, galvanizing the audience for the music that lay ahead.
The music was also spectacular. “Ran Kan Kan” is an electric piece with an infectious beat, one which both ensembles captured. Dr. Harris encouraged the audience to get up on their feet and dance, explaining that he wouldn’t even need to cue us in: the piece itself would be enough to get us moving. And he was right: by the end of the performance, almost the entire audience was standing, clapping along to the beat and even grooving around a little.
All in all, the concert was a rousing success that kept the audience riveted from start to finish. I never quite knew what was coming next, and neither did the students and families in the audience—a perfect way to capture the spirit of MIT.