AUSO’s Vienna Classics Concert

On November 18, the Andrews University Symphony Orchestra (AUSO) performed “Vienna Classics,” a concert with a lovely selection of classical music. The concert featured Mailyn Iribar (sophomore, violin performance), who performed all three movements of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219. Here are some thoughts on the concert and on performing in general. from musically-involved students who participated in and watched the concert.

Students’ favorite things about the Vienna Classics concert:

Addison Randall (freshman, speech pathology, music with cello concentration, Spanish) 

My favorite thing about the concert was how Jesús [Parra (junior, viola performance)] conducted the entire Beethoven overture by memory. You could tell that he was really passionate about the music and he was making eye contact with the musicians, and it was a really exciting piece to play. Also, Beethoven is incredible, so there’s that.

Ellie Sauser (freshman, music)

I really liked playing the Egmont symphony and playing with a new conductor (Jesús Parra). Jesus is a very talented young conductor who just won a conducting competition in Denver, where he got to conduct the Denver Symphony Orchestra. It’s always an exciting experience to collaborate with up-and-coming young artists.

Jon Clough (freshman, voice performance) 

My favorite thing about the concert would probably be Mailyn’s awesome Mozart concerto. She just plays Mozart really really well. She really captures the delicate nature of Mozart’s composition and plays with such elegance, but also, when you got to the third movement, she was able to pull that off really, really well. There was just a high level of musicianship. There was Beethoven, too and I love me some Beethoven.

Mailyn Iribar (sophomore, violin performance)

My favorite part was actually sharing what I was feeling with the audience. Every time that I perform, I feel like I can share God’s presence with who is listening to me. I try to look for God through the music, and I think that sharing that with the audience so they can also feel God’s presence is my favorite part of it. 

Students’ thoughts on the difference between performing onstage and listening to a performance

Addison Randall

I think performing gives you a different point of view, and it’s way more fun to be up on stage and to hear the music coming from where you’re sitting than to be out in the audience. I personally think it’s more fun, at least. 

I think as a performer, we also tend to find all the things that went wrong in a concert, but if you’re in the audience, you don’t really hear what went wrong, unless it’s super obvious. It’s important for performers to remember that the mistakes that we make on stage that only we’re going to notice are not as important as the impact that we’re making on our audience members.

Ellie Sauser

One, you get to look at the audiences’ reactions, those are always fun. But there’s also, even in praise music and CCM (contemporary Christian music) and whatnot, I feel like you get a lot more from the music when you’re playing it. I feel like you can always sit back and listen to the music, but when you’re performing it, you are the music, you’re producing it. It’s a positive experience and everyone should join the orchestra.

Jon Clough

I think, when I am onstage, it’s very very easy for me to be very critical and pick a performance apart to shreds. I don’t think I’ve ever been fully satisfied with a performance when I’m onstage, but when I’m in the audience I’m more removed and can more fully see the artwork in it. I’m much less drawn to the mistakes and much more drawn to the overall musicality of it. As an audience member, I am much more able to just let the music speak and not pick it apart for technical errors.

Mailyn Iribar

Of course there’s a difference, because in both ways you are either sharing or receiving music. When you’re in the audience, you receive what the performer is trying to share, and when you are performing, you are sharing that. So in both parts, you gain something.

Andrews University is lucky to have so many talented music students on campus, and the Vienna Classics concert was just one of the many ways that students and community members got to appreciate them. For a full list of upcoming Andrews University music ensemble performances, visit https://howard.andrews.edu/.