Hundreds of local kids enjoy concert
Excited chatter filled Charlene Powers Lange Performing Arts Theatre on Thursday morning as children filled the theater for the annual Lodi Community Concert Association outreach performance.
Fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade students from Heritage, Julia Morgan, Lockeford, Needham, Reese and Parklane elementary schools were on hand to enjoy the sounds of the Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass band.
For many of the students, the outreach concert is their first time experiencing the theater and seeing a live performance.
“Oh my God, it’s so big in here,” Luis Sandoval whispered to his friend after finding his seat.
The concert association hosts five musical performances a year and directs much of the proceeds from ticket sales to hosting a concert for students and paying for the buses to bring them to Hutchins Street Square.
According to concert association volunteers, they paid for nine buses to transport 800 students to the theater to revel in the sounds of New Orleans jazz and the famed musical “West Side Story.”
Conner Winterhalter, a fifthgrader at Reese Elementary, was thrilled to experience the theater and spend his morning listening to the melodious sound of the band.
“I like listening to music, it relaxes your brain,” Winterhalter said. “It’s great that we get to come to the theater because it is not something you do every day.”
When Lodi Community Concert Association Vice President Lessie Bond introduced the band, the students erupted in cheers and applause.
Students leaped out of their seats to get greater views of the brass instruments and the band members.
The brass band kicked off their performance by introducing a jazz funeral — a funeral procession accompanied by a brass band, in the tradition of New Orleans. The band played through the somber hymn of “Nearer my God to Thee,” before switching the tenor into a bright upbeat tune.
Following the first song, Marsalis introduced himself to the students and explained the harmonious strain of New Orleans jazz.
“When we first came out here the music was slow and somber and then it got faster and happier, that’s because music is a trip through sound,” Marsalis said.
The brass band was made up of musicians; Natalie Higgins who played French horn, Joshua Reed on trumpet, Steven Vogel on trombone, and Joe Ready on tuba.
The band provided an interactive musical experience that required a lot of call and response, engaging the students and encouraging them to focus on the riffs.
“I liked all the clapping, and when they would point at us to say things back to them (the musicians),” said Kianni Cherry, a fourth-grade student at Julia Morgan.
The brass band also performed three musical numbers from “Westside Story” — “Tonight,” “Maria,” and “America” — composed by Leonard Bernstein.
To conclude the performance, the brass band played a medley of “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Hallelujah” as they walked through the theater and played through the aisles.
Children raced to high-five the musicians and shake their hands as they cruised through the crowd, before making their way back to the stage.
Ryan Khaur, a fourthgrader at Julia Morgan Elementary, was enthralled by the performance and said he felt inspired to learn how to play an instrument after watching the concert.
Khaur also expressed that his experience at the theater deepened his desire to see more concerts in the future and attend the theater when he gets older.
The concert association is dedicated to promoting cultural arts through planning and sponsoring concerts in Lodi. For more information, visit