Ruth Lilly springs to life with the Faculty Artist Series concert
The Faculty Artist Series concert “Bossa Rio Sextet,” a Brazilian-inspired jazz concert, was held at the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center Ruth Lilly Performance Hall at the University of Indianapolis on Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Professor Harry Midedema is accompanied by Steve Allee on the piano. Photo by Kelbi Ervin
The concert comprised seven different jazz pieces, as well as an encore presentation. The sextet consisted of two trombones, a saxophone, piano, bass and drums.
The 500-seat Viennese-style concert hall was nearly full with concert-goers as the performance began with “Let’s Hang Out,” composed by famous local trombonist J.J. Johnson.
The second arrangement, “Corcovado,” written by A.C. Jobim, included a trombone solo, piano solo and bass solo.
“All of the pieces I enjoy a lot,” said Associate Professor of Music Harry Miedema. “I look forward to finding out what each player is going to do when it’s his turn to improvise his solo.”
Miedema originally focused on Brazilian pieces by artists such as Jobim for the concert, but he also incorporated more lively and vibrant styles of music. Johnson was another composer that Miedema showcased. The pieces featured two trombone players and Johnson’s son, Kevin, on the drums.
The third song, composed by Miedema, was called “FM.” It consisted of three different solos – trombone, piano, and drums.
“I think my favorite was the drum solo,” said junior experience design major Kirstin Mindiola. “I never really thought about the drums being something you can improve and do a solo on.”
Jobim’s “Dreamer” featured the saxophone throughout the piece as well as a piano solo. Then “Say When,” composed by Johnson, featured the trombones with a bass solo.
“Triste” included a saxophone solo, piano solo and bass solo and was also composed by Jobim. In the evening’s final song, “A Day in Vienna,” composed by Slide Hampton, each trombone player performed solos. The song also featured a piano solo.
The crowd responded so well to all of the songs on the program that Miedema asked if the audience would like to hear one more song. The encore presentation combined the Brazilian influence with the upbeat music played in the concert and included a piano solo.
“One of my other favorites was the encore piece,” Mindiola said. “It made me feel like I was on the beach sipping a strawberry smoothie.”
Miedema said that his main goal was for students and other audience members to recognize the art of music in this concert and enjoy what that it has to offer.
“It would be my hope that most people in the audience find enjoyment in what we do.”
