The Online Reflector

The University of Indianapolis music department held a Percussion Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 5 in Ruth Lilly Performance Hall in the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center.

The ensemble featured students performing on a variety of percussion instruments, including the marimba, xylophone, vibraphone and bayan.

The concert began with “The Swords of Moda Ling,” which was composed by Gordon Peters, followed by “O’Sacred Head” by J.S. Bach and Jim Moore.

The next composition, “Nola, A Silhouette” featured a xylophone solo by Tyler Shields.

After a marimba solo by freshman music composition major Josh Flynn in “Variations on Marimba” and a bayan solo by freshman music performance major Bojan Cubra in  “Log Cabin Blues,” senior music performance and composition major Mack LaMont performed “Ethereal Boundaries,” a composition of his own.

One instrument used in the composition “Four Movements,” by Michael W. Udow, was an empty wine bottle during the movement “Strike.”

“In percussion, there are an infinite number of instruments,” said Music Faculty Adjunct Paul Berns, who directed the Percussion Ensemble. “No one could possibly own them all, and no one can really play all of them well. But through Percussion Ensemble, I’m able to teach everyone in my group how to play some instruments that they don’t get a chance [to play] in the university Symphonic Wind  Ensemble and orchestra. But in the real world, when they’re out there making a living, they will need to play these instruments.”

The next composition, “Triplets,” featured a xylophone solo by  Cathedral High School sophomore Madison Shake, who is a student of Berns.

In addition to LaMont’s composition, another student composition was performed at the ensemble.

Junior piano performance major with a concentration in composition Jake Emch performed his work “Duo Dichotomy” on the marimba.

“[It feels] good [to play my own composition] because people don’t listen to necessarily how well you played. They just listen to the actual music,” Emch said.

Berns said that the reason for using student compositions during the performance is to benefit the students.

“This [concert] is for them. I mean, here these kids are going to college, to universities, and that education is very expensive,” Berns said. “Having a chance to play their own compositions, which are professionally recorded—our concert was professionally recorded—this gives them that playing experience, gives them the opportunity to have their pieces heard by the public.”

The next composition was Udow’s “African Welcome Piece.”

The last song, “Back Talk,” was sophomore English education major Samantha De Tar’s favorite song to play.

“I just like to play music, and it’s a lot of fun to play with other people who share that same love of music,” she said.

Berns said that they tried to gain publicity for the show by performing “Back Talk,” during a flash mob earlier in the day.

According to Berns, the students performed the song in the UIndy cafeteria.

“My goal is to have a full house at all of our concerts,” he said. “I think the student body would just learn from it and really enjoy the concert.”

A percussion ensemble is performed every semester.

“I urge people to watch for our concerts, usually at the end of each semester,” Berns said. “And I hope they’ll be able to attend.”