Chimbaza gets noticed now
(Dominic Gutierrez)
The Irvine Valley College Orchestra & Wind Symphony performed in the Irvine Barclay Theatre on Oct. 9 at 8 p.m..
The intensity and passion with every up and down stroke of the violinist, or the exhale of sweet melody made for a painting in the minds of the audience. Music like this allows the listener to imagine, create, and dream. It allows one’s emotions to be sad, excited, frightened and then happy, in the same piece.
The symphonies ranged from “Overture from Norma (1831)” to “Prelude to Act V of King Manfred, Op.93 (1867),” to a more recent piece, “Les Nympheas (I’Ensemble de I’Orangerie) (2007).”
“Les Nympheas” by Daniel Kessner, debuted with its world premiere with two versions of the piece done by both the string orchestra and the wind ensemble.
“I was inspired to write this piece,” said Kessner. “Because of the magnificent six by thirty-foot paintings, produced by Claude Monet.”
The fluidity and progress in the sounds were almost indescribable. The performance began calm, and then slowly moved into a flurry of notes. It was as if the mood had broken, with everything seeming brighter by the moment. Soon after, the sounds, yet again, went very calm and somber.
Luckily that night, IVC had the opportunity to play with an instrument that is very foreign to the school: the chimbaza. This instrument is very hard to find for a college, but one trombonist was lucky enough to pick it up for the night. The chimbaza is used to create deep tones and has been featured in Italian opera’s and movie soundtracks.
To see a list of other upcoming music concerts and recitals like the “Cinema Choral Classics” or the “Joyful Jingles chorale”, go to www.ivc.edu/arts.