The Southeastern Guitar Ensemble will take the spotlight tomorrow night, Nov. 16, for its semiannual concert. Scheduled to take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Pottle Music Building Auditorium, this 17 member group will incorporate pieces from the Renaissance and modern periods, introducing different guitar techniques and welcoming two guest performers to the stage.
“It’s a very typical set up that we have for our concert in that the full ensemble will start with three pieces from the Renaissance, and then the full ensemble will come back at the end,” said instructor of guitar and Director of the Guitar Ensemble Patrick Kerber. “There will be small groups: two quartets, a guitar and saxophone piece and then the full ensemble will come back and play three modern pieces that are French by Maurice Ravel.”
Even though the ensemble exists as 17 guitarists, every musician can affect the overall quality of the performance, especially since students range from beginning freshmen to experienced seniors. For this reason, Kerber arranges some of the music himself to provide an elevation of difficulty, accommodating all members of the ensemble.
Two of the pieces in tomorrow’s performance will be his own arrangements.
“There’s always simpler parts and easier parts,” said Kerber. “So everybody gets a chance to fit in, and no one’s overburdened, no one’s under-burdened. It’s a very standard way of doing the concert, but it’s a little different this time in that we will have the percussionist, who will play with the full group on the last piece.”
This semester, the group will be accompanied by two guest musicians, percussionist Christian Thorne and saxophonist Durand Jones, who will appear throughout the concert. Another difference in tomorrow’s ensemble, compared to previous semesters, is that some students will be using different guitar techniques.
“The ensemble, in the final piece, will be doing something technically different in playing with ‘prepared’ guitars,” said Kerber.
In playing with prepared guitars, students will attach capo clips to their guitar strings to imitate the plucked guitar sound of Chinese music.
The guitar ensemble has been working hard this semester to prepare for their concert. It is a class that students register for at the beginning of the semester. They meet twice a week for an hour and 45 minutes to rehearse. The students are responsible for practicing on their own time, especially those who will be performing in small groups.
“Very typically in music productions, you don’t get by on what’s just done in class,” said Kerber. “There always has to be outside work, and that includes me as well, not only in arranging the music for the group, but in supervising the small rehearsals.”
With the performance date drawing near, Kerber reflected on this semester’s rehearsals and how far his students have progressed.
“There are frustrating moments, and there are exciting moments when things get accomplished,” said Kerber. “It is always a building process because very typically when you hear the group at the end of September, you would just say, ‘I’m not going to that concert,’ but then by the time two or three weeks—and that’s where we are right now—we’re polishing things up, we’re getting things together, and I would say that the rehearsals are pretty much on schedule to put forth a pretty good concert.”
For more information about the Southeastern Guitar Ensemble or how to get involved, contact Patrick Kerber by phone at 985-549-2886 or email at [email protected].