From left (front row): San Jacinto College choir students rehearsing for upcoming concerts include Karly Hutchins, Jaszmine Mitchell, Anaisa Villanueva, Rebekah Currie, Dina Alvarado, and Sarah Gomez; (back row): Justin Cepeda, Henry Thompson, Eduardo Soliz, Khris Upton, Jordan Phillips, and Gustavo Velasco. The choir is under the direction of Dr. Edgar Moore, right. Photo credit: Rob Vanya, San Jacinto College marketing department.

 December concerts to feature something for all music lovers

Rob Vanya, November 13, 2012

PASADENA, Texas – San Jacinto College will host music concerts during December that will feature big band tunes, orchestra selections, jazz, original student compositions, a flute ensemble, chamber music, pop songs, and holiday favorites. All events are free and open to the public, and will be staged at the North, Central, and South campuses.

North Campus concerts will be held at the Dr. Charles Grant Fine Arts Center, 5800 Uvalde Rd., in the North Channel area. Central Campus events will take place at the Dr. Monte Blue Music Building, 8060 Spencer Hwy., in Pasadena. South Campus concerts will take place at the Marie Flickinger Fine Arts Center, 13735 Beamer in Houston.

South Campus events

• Sunday, Dec. 2, 2:30 p.m. – A flute ensemble concert will feature the jazz arrangement “Pop,” as well as an arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee.” Other selections will include “How Can I Keep From Singing?” and “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” Soloists will include Christine Alexander, Victor Rodriguez, and Stephan Alexander. The concert will conclude with a selection of holiday songs. “Sleigh Ride” will feature Rodriguez and Michael Kyle Hoskins on percussion. “The Night Before Christmas” will feature Christa Mayfield as the narrator, and students Darwin Farlough, Michael Kyle Hoskins, Claudia Rodriguez, Rodriguez, and Sarah Walker on a variety of real and “improvised” percussion instruments.

• Monday Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m. – A jazz ensemble concert will feature selections from big band greats such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Stan Kenton. Songs will include “Satin Doll,” “88 Basie Street,” “I Remember Clifford,” “In the Mood,” and “In a Mellow Tone.” Soloists will include Mike Casas on valve trombone, Arlen Actkinson on tenor saxophone, and Hayden Dodson on guitar.

• Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2:30 p.m. – Student recitals will provide music students opportunities to perform solo and chamber works they have learned in private lessons.

• Tuesday, Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m. – The San Jacinto College Community Band will present traditional Christmas favorites, as well as “In The Miller Mood,” a 10-minute arrangement featuring “In The Mood,” “Moonlight Serenade,” “I’ve Got a Gal In Kalamazoo,” “Serenade in Blue,” “Little Brown Jug,” “At Last,” and “Anvil Chorus.” 

North Campus events    

• Tuesday, Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m. – A wind ensemble will perform “The Big Cage” to celebrate recent events. In recognition of the USA’s achievements at the Summer Olympics, the ensemble will perform “Bugler’s Dream” and “Olympic Fanfare” as a medley. In honor of NASA’s Curiosity Rover mission, they will perform “Mars” from Holst’s “The Planets.” To commemorate Mexico’s gold medals in soccer and diving, the group will play “Tres Danzas De Mexico,” a performance that will feature dancers.

• Wednesday, Dec. 5, 7 p.m. – A choral concert will include Christmas music featuring traditional carols, as well as various carol arrangements. Composers featured will be Martin Shaw, David Willcocks, Benjamin Britten, and Robert Shaw. Highlights will include “The Holly and the Ivy,” and “Five Christmas Carols” for chorus, organ, and brass.

Central Campus events

• Tuesday, Dec. 4, 3 p.m. – The Central Campus orchestra, under the direction of music professor Aaron Bielish, will present classic selections by Mendelssohn, Haydn and Mills.

• Thursday, Dec. 6, 7 p.m. – The Orpheus Society for Student Composers, under the direction of music professor Joseph Schenck, will present a concert of chamber music. Selections will include “Droplets,” a string quartet by Mark Klinger, a string quartet based on “Dante’s Inferno” by Thomas Grove, “Orpheus Rising,” a string quartet by Steven Cobo, “Orpheus Fanfare of Death” for two trumpets, trombone, and percussion by Frank Gomez, “Katabasis: Decent to the Underworld,” a brass quintet by Cobo, “Hollowolloh,” a selection for saxophone and computer by Cody Gibson, “Newness of Life,” for solo cello by Amanda Lyssy, “Verstehen,” for solo cello by Elijah Reed, “Manipulation,” for solo flute by Cindy Vasquez, “Telemachus” and “Midnight,” songs by Rett Lee, and “Aesop’s Fables Suite,” for woodwind quintet by Vanessa Vallejo. Other student works will include selections by Yvonne Guerrero, Chris Ortiz, Robert Killingsworth, Amanda Bosworth, and Michael Biggs.

San Jacinto College offers a wide range of music courses and degree options, as well as private music lessons at all three campuses. For more information about fine arts programs at San Jacinto College, please visit arts.sanjac.edu.

About San Jacinto College

Surrounded by monuments of history, industries and maritime enterprises of today, and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto College has been serving the citizens of East Harris County, Texas, for more than 50 years. The Achieving the Dream Leader College is committed to the goals and aspirations of a diverse population of 30,000 students in more than 200 degree and certificate options, including university transfer and career preparation. Students also benefit from the College’s job training programs, renowned for meeting the needs of growing industries in the region. San Jacinto College graduates contribute nearly $630 million each year to the Texas workforce. San Jacinto College. Your Goals. Your College.

For more information about San Jacinto College, please call 281-998-6150, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.