A melting pot of classical, samba, jazz and gospel music resounded in the Hammer Theater Center, on Saturday.
About 350 San Jose State students and faculty were featured in the School of Music and Dance “Kaleidoscope!” program at the Hammer Theatre Center on Saturday.
The program, sponsored by the 2022-2023 Artistic Excellence Programing Grants, is a non-stop artistic freight train that pushes music and dance for all students, faculty and staff.
With 13 consecutive programs, “Kaleidoscope!” gave the audience no time to applaud after each performance.
Instead, theater lights are cast towards another corner of the stage, bringing the audience's eyes and ears to a new harmonic story while other performers prepare for their coming act in the shadows.
Among the others, the show included a saxophone ensemble titled “Diversions in Denim,” where four men playfully fought for the attention of the crowd with solos and runs, all while supporting the other.
“Drop, Drop Slow Tears” was a brass performance of great gravity performed by a trombone choir and directed by Brass Area coordinator Tom Hornig who joined the SJSU faculty in 2003.
A worship song by the Zulu culture and written in isiZulu, the celestial piece “Mangisondele Nkosi Yam,” which translates to “Let Me Be Nearer My Lord,” was performed by SJSU artists.
Choraliers, who surrounded the center audience by surprise, delivered waves of harmonies led by soloists Kaelyn Howard and Ivan Vielma.
Music education sophomore Ivan Vielma said he suffered an accident during rehearsal the day prior, causing him to rely on crutches during the performance.
“We made it work,” he said. “I made a different entrance and I wanted to make sure to be here.”
Vielma said he has performed in churches and on campus, but Saturday night was his debut at the Hammer Theatre.
“It’s very lively,” he said. “The participation – I can feel the energy from the crowd.”
While the crowd’s energy was feeding the performers, Ray Furuta, SJSU flute professor, led an artistic passion of bringing students and people together to one of the program’s most exciting performances,“Tutti Flutti.”
Furuta was named “The Rockstar of the Flute,” by the El Informador de Guadalajara in Mexico.
El Informador is a newspaper published and headquartered in Guadalajara and founded by Jesús Álvarez del Castillo in 1917.
“We put it together at the very last minute,” Furuta said. “We met for the first time yesterday to put that piece together.”
Sasha is a student at Cupertino High School and, along with other students in the area, was invited by Furuta through Orange Music Studios in Cupertino.
“It was a little stressful at first, but as we ran through it a couple times,” Sasha said. “It got a lot looser and it was really fun.”
Furuta said the goal of the program as a whole was to bring students from different institutions to perform together.
“The most rewarding feeling was being able to play with college level musicians,” Sasha said. “I’m still in high school so it was a really good experience.”
Accompanied by a fellow flute soloist, Furuta and his partner conversed with melodies that resembled feelings of a first love, frustration and rejoicement.
“I think that music in general has an effect of bringing people together,” Vielma said. “Whether we have different beliefs or mindsets, I want people to be moved.”
An ensemble of brass, woodwind and percussion set the scene for these two flutes to dance.
“I was thrilled because it was accomplished,” Furuta said. “We were able to do it and have fun.”
He said the School of Music and Dance gave an open invitation to the SJSU faculty involving student performances.
Furuta said although the program had no clear path of which pieces went where, the purpose of “Kaleidoscope!” was to showcase the talents of students.
“It was really a showcase of the breath and broadness that our students do and study and perform here at the School of Music and Dance,” Furuta said.
