Three of Long Beach City College’s musical ensembles will join together for a unique performance, being dubbed a “musical switcharoo” by the Musical Performing Arts department on Friday the 13th.
“What we decided to do is that each ensemble is gonna play a piece of music that’s maybe more characteristically found in another ensemble,” said Brian Hamilton, director of bands.
Three of Long Beach City College’s musical groups will be performing: the Jazz band, the wind ensemble and the orchestra.
According to Hamilton, this is the first time since pre-pandemic that students are majoring in music again, and the ensembles are strong this semester.
“The idea is to make the concert as polished and as clean as we can…and (make) it something that the audience will enjoy and the students will enjoy performing,” Hamilton said.
One song that the wind ensemble will be playing is “Fracas” by Randall Standridge. This piece is usually played by jazz bands, but in the spirit of a musical switcharoo, the wind ensemble will be playing it.
The jazz band will also perform songs that they never have before. One song they will perform is called “The Bugle Call Rag” by Jack Pettis. The song is upbeat and something that jazz and rhythm enthusiasts will enjoy.
The jazz ensemble set will also feature many solos from different students and various instruments such as trumpet, upward bass, saxophone and more.
“You’ll be able to hear a lot of types of music in one approach,” said Patrick Sheng, the director of instrumental jazz studies and conductor of the jazz band.
One of the things that Hamilton believes is that many students and people have lost out on the ability to listen to music live. At this concert the audience will be able to listen to different types of music in a not so long period of time.
“The good part about coming is if you don’t like one set in 20 minutes you’ll hear something new,” Sheng states.
The final piece that all three groups will be performing together is “Time Warp” by Richard O’Brien and arranged by Johnnie Vinson. This piece is a fast-paced and funky piece that will have the audience bumping to the beat.
People can find tickets online to the Freaky Friday Musical Switcharoo by going to the LBCC website and looking at upcoming events.
Entrance is free for students with a current ASB sticker and without tickets are $10. This event is also welcome to the public for $15 a ticket.