Personal Narrative: Worthwhile Experiences

The best thing about life is the experiences we gain as we go out and explore the world for ourselves. There are extravagant experiences that we may brag about to others, and then there are worthwhile experiences, the little, yet personal, experiences that are deeply meaningful to us that others may not enjoy the same way we do. Worthwhile experiences allow us to connect with people we may or may not know in an intimate way, and to me, these experiences need to be shared with others and not taken for granted. I was lucky, because I was able to experience my first Western Art concert with my grandmother by my side, and it was a day that I will never forget. On October 1st, 2015 I attended my first ever Western Art concert with …show more content…
La Belle at le Capitane, by Frank Ticheli, published in 1991, which was the first piece played of the night. The composer gave a brief historical background of the music, and then began to conduct the piece. The tempo of the piece was Larghetto, meaning very slow, and the dynamics were mezzo-forte, meaning moderately loud. Performed in D minor, with an alto saxophone solo towards the beginning of the piece, this piece was magnificent, and was definitely a great opener for the concert. The student who performed the alto saxophone solo did an exquisite job. My grandmother and I, and the rest of the audience, was blown away by the alto saxophone solo, as well as by the entire orchestra as a …show more content…
While the concert was going on, we (the audience) were listening very attentively. I met many other students, all from Indiana State University, that were there for their music class like I was, however we did not treat the event like we were just there because we “had to be,” so we had something to write about for a grade. The entire audience was very respectful to the performers and the conductors. I noticed that during each performance, people in the orchestra would switch instruments, and the instruments that were the most important were towards the front if possible. During the performance of Cajun Folk Songs: I. La Belle at le Capitane, the saxophones were in the front, and after the performance, the alto saxophone soloist stood up and bowed in recognition of his excellent playing, as did the flute players who played the theme from Sunayama, by Keiko Yamada after the performance of Fantasy on a Japanese Folk Song. Even though these pieces were different and had no connection to one another in any way whatsoever, they were my favorites because they appealed to me more than the others in a musical, and more personal way. Cajun Folk Songs: I. La Belle at le Capitane appealed to me because of the alto saxophone solo in the piece;