When he hit the stage on Monday night, the sounds of percussionist Daniel Pate banged through the auditorium well into the night during a concert. 

The concert consisted of five major songs and lasted from 7:30 until 9:00 p.m. on Monday, Mar. 14. Songs for the concert included “Unchained Melody” by David Lang, “Loops IV” by Philippe Hurel, “Asanga” by Kevin Volans, “Vignettes” by James Stephenson and “Khan Variations,” by Alejandro Viñao. During the “Vignettes,” Pate performed with accompaniment from Dr. Logan Place, a university trumpet instructor. 

Pate, who is from San Diego, California, currently pursues a doctorate in contemporary music performance. Pate is currently a student of Stony Brook University. When designing the concert, he chose songs that he felt were underrepresented. Pate also used songs that he enjoys performing, which is why he chose the songs “Unchained Melody” and “Asanga.” 

Although Pate used an extensive array of instruments, he explained he had to fit all of them into a suitcase. Because of this, he had to be creative with how he assembled the instruments he used. “Unchained Melody” used a specially designed set of drums, containing seven glockenspiel notes, as well as cowbells, wood blocks, a bass drum and a borrowed pot. “Loops IV” used a marimba. “Asanga” used two conga drums, bongo drums and Chinese copper gongs. “Vignettes” contained the marimba, vibraphone, tambourine, wood block and triangle. Pate considered the concert a major success.

“It was a joy to play here and present this music,” said Pate. “It was a joy to meet the students here and watch how excited they were about this event.” 

According to Place, he did a great deal in planning the concert. He booked the Pottle Auditorium and spent weeks preparing it aesthetically and acoustically. He first attempted to book the concert in October 2015.  

The instructor also explained why he chose to host the concert. While working at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, he had come to know Pate, and the two would play “Vignettes” together. Place and Pate wanted a chance to perform together once again, and so the idea of a concert in Pottle was born. From there, the two musicians began a long road of practice and preparation. 

According to Place, the two practiced “Vignettes” most of the day for up to an hour before the concert. A list of trumpets in the concert contained: B-flat trumpet, C-trumpet and a piccolo trumpet. 

For more information about other upcoming concerts in Pottle, visit the university home page.