Recently I attended a concert organized by our Bienen School of Music. The concert was put on through the combined efforts of the Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble and an internationally acclaimed Renaissance band called Piffaro. I personally have no special expertise in Renaissance music but the band used traditional instruments from that time period. It was something I had never seen before.

To set the scene, the performance was held in Alice Millar Chapel on campus, which is an impressive building to say the least. The entire back wall is stained glass and there is a gigantic organ. Essentially, it is exactly where you would want to listen to a Renaissance music concert. The chapel has about 700 seats and it seemed pretty full (of both students and community members). The band sat surrounded by the choral ensemble, which was entirely made up of School of Music students.

The performance itself was mostly the band and the singers together, although there were some purely instrumental parts. I was incredibly impressed with their performance, as I always am when I hear Bienen students perform. My favorite part was at the end; when the singers finished they all burst into huge smiles. It was neat to see their pure joy.  Having classmates with that level of talent is a great asset to the Northwestern experience. Whenever I walk past any of the music buildings I always hear some unbelievable music coming from the windows. Whether it’s someone singing opera, playing the piano, or practicing their tuba, there is a great array of talent.

It has been a wonderful gift to have access to our student performances (as an added bonus, it was free!).

–Jason Smith

photo source: Bienen School of Music.