Music Quartet Demonstrates Performance without a Conductor

At the 2 p.m. URCA session in the Trustees Room, Chanel Bluntschly, Michael Byndas, Joshua Thompson and Jason Wolf (Environmental Science, Actuarial Science, Music Education and Geology majors, respectively) will explain and demonstrate through a music quartet performance the communication skills needed to perform without a conductor. 

With Dr. Thomas Reed as their faculty sponsor, the students play as a saxophone quartet without a conductor and must take on the responsibilities of changes in tempo, stops and starts, volume, and every other aspect of a piece. As the players move with each other, listening to the other musician’s parts, a circuit is completed which allows music to be made. To help demonstrate the skills that their ensemble has developed, there will an explanation of techniques to watch for followed by a presentation of a few excerpts to illustrate these skills.