“Cantos y Danzas” performs
The University of Indianapolis held a Faculty Artist Series performance on March 18. The concert, entitled Cantos y Danzas, featured faculty musicians Elisabeth Hoegberg, Mitzi Westra and Cale Hoeflicker. The event was held in the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center in Ruth Lilly Performance Hall.
The concert included Spanish- influenced pieces written by Spanish and French composers. Hoegberg played piano and Hoeflicker played guitar, while Westra added vocals to both instruments.
“I came up with the idea for Cantos y Danzas,” Hoegberg said. “A couple of years ago, I sang a lot of Spanish-influenced music and became interested in the Spanish culture.”
The concert included pieces made solely for piano and guitar, as well as pieces that were mixed in with Westra’s vocals.
“I like singing any kind of music. A lot of concentrations are very eclectic, but in concentrating on one type of music I can highlight it and focus on it,” Westra said.
Mitzi Westra performs a song during the “Cantos y Danzas” concert. Photo by Kaitlyn Kopetski
The concert opens the minds of the listener to new kinds of genres and music styles they would not normally hear.
“It’s important for everyone to hear music; you can learn so much. It’s an important learning experience to be exposed to different kinds of music,” Hoegberg said.
Sophomore psychology major Samantha Blazak attended the concert to broaden her musical repertoire.
“I was especially impressed by the pianist, because she didn’t have any music and played by memory,” Blazak said.
The music had the ability to get the audience and performers moving.
“It’s a lot of fun music, very-dance inspired. Spanish and South American cultures have a lot of dance in them. It’s very exciting music- you sit there and you tap your toes,” Westra said.
Blazak added that the number of attendees was something to note.
“It was very impressive. I was surprised to see how many people showed up for the concert. I’m glad to see that people are supporting the arts here at UIndy,” she said.
The goal of the concert was for students to gain knowledge in an unfamiliar area, while still having fun listening to the music.
“I hope they’ll come away interested in what may be an unfamiliar repertoire, but mostly I hope that they have fun,” Hoegberg said.
