The end of the semester is upon us and showcases for ensembles are here.

Loyola’s Fall Montage  series, which serves to promote the arts, started off with the Jazz Band Concert, followed by a showing from the Symphonic Orchestra, and has had numerous small ensemble recitals, including the Flutist Ensemble Recital.

The Jazz Band Concert showcased new faces from Loyola on Nov. 9. John A. Mahoney, professor and coordinator of jazz studies, directed the concert and played several original pieces.

The song, “I Want a Little Girl,” was a group of conversations with sultry topics. The first trumpet solo was powerful and the second was just as masculine, but more talkative. The trombones and saxes together sang feminine, compassionate songs. The drummer, however, was the guidance throughout the song with control and a unique voice.

Graduate student and pianist Vadim Neselovskyi wrote “Prosti Zdenck”, which he described as having strategic “mathematical errors.” The piano, vibraphone and horns defined and repeated the melody. A build up with captivating pauses ended, and everybody played together in a soft re-entrance. The piano was technical while the drums were strong.

The bass and vibraphone duet was a beautiful co-existence: the vibraphones, played by jazz senior James Westfall, were speedy and skilled while the bass, played by music education senior Josh Gouzy, was simpler with a deep, honest tone. The piano re-entered with a darker, more sorrowful solo. The piece was moving and started with a lackadaisical character, but as the musicians made mistakes, the character progressed more and more towards distress. In the end, however, realization came that although the musicians made mistakes, they had to continue past them with a positive step. Suddenly the upbeat melody came in from the horns, vibraphone and drums for a happy ending.

The Loyola Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jean Montes, was performed on Nov. 14 and featured “A Midsummers Night’s Dream op. 21: Overture” by Felix Mendelssohn and “A Trumpet Concert” written by Aleksandr Grigory Arutiunian, that featured Nicholas Volz on trumpet before the intermission.

The orchestra then played Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor, which he wrote in four movements. The first movement told a serious and intense story full of downward spirals and firm fortes. The violins were strong but stopped short, whereas the violas were soft and long-winded. The cellos produced a deeper tone and blunt notes. The second movement was an amusing walk through the park with a range from playful melodies of the flutes to dramatic pushing from the timpanis. The strings were verbose and surprising as they ran to distant sounds, then tinkered with force and encouraged a build up to the argument in the third movement. The third movement is a huge piece in the fugue form as it presents an argument that is repeated in counterpoint, and then expanded and disagreed upon. The piece then ends with a powerful, triumphant build up, filled with great pauses and stops.

The Loyola University Flutist Recital was held on Nov. 17 and featured the Flute Ensemble, led by Patti Adams, and jazz senior Jesse Reeks on piano. The recital included two songs played by all ten flutists, solo songs and a duet. The duet was talkative and bland; however, Paul Hindemith’s composition “Acht Stucke,” played by music theory senior Keisha Slaughter without the piano, was dramatic. The notes were eerie and the melodies experimental. Hilary Jones, music theory sophomore, and Reeks played a merry song written by Aaron Copland entitled “Lively, with Bounce.” The song was a “Camp Town Race” with complex competitions between the two.

The series continues with the Loyola Ballet’s Holiday Concert on Nov. 21 and 22.

Garrett Cleland can be reached at [email protected].