Audience members were treated to a spectacle of smooth jazz tunes, cultural mariachi music and funky band melodies by the LBCC music department at the Jazz and Mariachi concert on Friday.
The concert was a large collaboration between multiple LBCC music department ensembles, including the Evening Jazz choir, the “Lyrical Workers” vocal group, the LBCC Big Band and, notably, the first-ever performance in a concert ensemble of the newly formed Mariachi Ensemble.
The variety of ensembles combined their music styles and played together, such as the first performance of the night, which showcased the Evening Jazz choir and LBCC Big Band performing together a funky blues tune titled “Stuck in the Middle”.
The Evening Jazz choir is notable for being the only music ensemble in the LBCC music department to not host auditions for those looking to join, because anyone is welcome to join.
Vocal jazz studies professor and coach of the Evening Jazz choir, Andrea Calderwood, noted that the group has relatively few music majors and instead is composed of a large variety of students with different backgrounds and vocal proficiencies.
“I don’t want anyone to worry that they aren’t ‘good enough’ or their voice isn’t ‘correct’, some people’s voices are changing as they’re finding themselves. Some people are professionals with day jobs or have kids of their own. … I don’t want anyone to feel like they can’t be in the group or commit. Everyone truly is welcome,” Calderwood said.
The LBCC competition singing group, “The Lyrical Workers”, also performed selections of songs throughout the night in small groups, a large ensemble and even as a solo act performing classic blues and funk songs including a jazzy rendition of the “Sesame Street” theme.
The LBCC Big Band had a short set in this concert, but brought some loud, fast-paced and funky tunes to close off the night as they were the final act.
“It’s just fun to play loud, obnoxious, big band music,” Patrick Sheng, director of the Big Band ensemble, said. “We work a lot of hours to work on all these details, playing in concerts provides a feeling of nervous energy, some good and some bad, but tonight was full of the good kind.”
Sheng noted that many of the performers in the Big Band are multi-skilled, as the smaller nature of the group compared to some other ensembles requires different people on different instruments depending on the concert.
The most notable performers, however, were the newly formed LBCC mariachi ensemble performing for the first time. The audience was treated to a set entirely in Spanish with a large ensemble of traditional mariachi sounds, and every performer also got a chance to sing.
Angela Romero, the director of the Mariachi Ensemble, noted that this performance was a long time coming, saying “I’ve been asking for a while to create a mariachi band for about 4 to 6 semesters until finally this semester they finally decided to let me start it up.”
Performing alongside many longstanding ensembles at the concert, the Mariachi Ensemble made their mark on the LBCC Music Department.
“It was awesome, the students that were observing and participating and the faculty were all so supportive and thrilled. I’m passionate about mariachi and education and to put the two together was amazing,” Romero said.
Currently, the Mariachi Ensemble is accepting new members under the LBCC showband class for the Spring 2026 semester. They will have their own official class under the class, Mariachi Los Vikingos de LBCC in the fall of 2026.
The Jazz-Mariachi concert was the last performance of the semester for most of the musical ensembles, with feature concerts in the auditorium returning in the spring semester as early as March.
Calderwood stated that the performances by “The Lyrical Workers” also served as promotion for an ongoing fundraiser to fund their trip to the California Jazz Championships in Folsom, California in April 2026.
The goal for this fundraiser is $2000 by April to cover various expenses and cover the performers so that they “don’t pay anything”, as Caulderwood stated.
The webpage to this fundraiser can be found at https://longbeachcitycollegefoundation-bloom.kindful.com/?campaign=1390836
The LBCC big band will also be performing their monthly gig at DiPiazza’s restaurant with the LBCC Jazz Combos this Thursday with special guest saxophonist Ernie Watts.
You must be logged in to post a comment.