The Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the NIU Steelband had a massive turnout at their Spring Pops concert Friday evening as NIU students and residents of DeKalb nearly filled all the seats.
From 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by the NIU Steelband in the second half of the show, plucked the heart strings and touched the souls of the audience during the “Spring Pops: A Tribute to Latin American Music” concert.
The concert included 13 songs including “Huapango” by José Pablo Moncayo, “Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2” by Heitor Villa-Lobos, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Encanto by Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Danzón No. 2” by Arturo Márquez and other melodies inspired by Latin American culture to name a few.
One of the standout songs of the night, “Mambo Caliente” by Arturo Sandoval, featured a lively and energetic drum solo by NIU Steelband director Liam Teague in the middle of the song which received an outstanding array of applause from the audience.
Courtney Hanna-McNamara, the general manager of the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra, said that the theme of Latin America was chosen to reflect the interests of DeKalb County.
“We’re always looking for something fun to do for spring pop that’s going to bring in a different crowd that might come to some of our classical concerts,” McNamara said. “This seemed like a really rich musical genre for us to pull from.”
Linc Smelser, the Music director and conductor of Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra, commented on how he had a hand in choosing every song in the first half of the concert.
“I chose everything that was in the first half, okay, all of that music, and it’s all South American music. And then the second half, we collaborated with the NIU steel band,” Smelser said.
Smelser also said his favorite song being performed at the concert was the “Four Dances from Estancia” by Alberto Ginastera. Each movement from the Four Dances was unique with some sounding more somber and others being more up beat and energetic.
Abram Gunn, a sophomore accountancy major, felt the show was great and attended to support his friends who were performing.
“I came out because one of my friends was in the concert and I wanted to watch her perform,” Gunn said. “I really enjoyed it and it was a great show, especially towards the end where they came out with all the drums, yeah, I really enjoyed that.”
For more Information about future Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra events you can visit their website.
