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EMMA SCHAIBLE
Special to The Leader
It was a cold and snowy evening outside, but inside the cozy theatre of Rosch Recital Hall the audience was embraced in the warm and musical sounds of percussion and flute. On Feb. 12, the duet ensemble A/B Duo came to Fredonia and was hosted by the Ethos New Music Society. Jared Yackiw, who is a graduate student in music composition, is the president of Ethos New Music Society.
When describing A/B Duo, Yackiw said, “Their music and their performances are just riveting, fun, electric and exciting.” Yackiw hoped that at the performance, the audience would “have a fun time, [and] that they liked what they heard and would want to hear more.”
A/B Duo is an ensemble of two music performers. In the concert, Chris Jones played percussion and Meerenai Shim played flute. A/B Duo has been a music group “officially since 2013,” according to Shim.
Shim said she hopes that the audience will understand that there is “no end to creativity.” She hopes the audience will know that there is “a lot of good music [and a] lot of good people making new art.”
The pieces that Jones and Shim performed during the concert were all commissioned works by their friends.
The sound from A/B Duo electrified the stage in Rosch. At the concert, A/B Duo performed four pieces, each ranging from 12 to 30-plus minutes long. The audience was greeted by the mesmerizing sound of the contrabass flute, quickly followed by powerful beats of the drum. The two instruments sounded as if they were in an animated conversation, alternating in time. The second piece was mystical in sound.
The sounds of the flute danced throughout the hall in an airy, carefree, spirited way. The percussion was there to anchor the piece. The third piece was energetic and lively. Audience members bobbed their heads and tapped their toes to the beat. The fourth piece consisted of focus and determination as well as a theatrical aspect.
Throughout this over 30-minute, seven-movement piece, each performer remained in character. The silence during instrument transitions added to the dramatic effect. Throughout the piece, Jones and Shim each played at least three different instruments. The last piece was unique in that it told a story.
During the concert, some of the music pieces involved a vocal aspect as well. Shim would play the flute and would also add beatboxing or humming to really enhance the creativity of the piece. The collaboration of flute, percussion and vocals made the piece all the more innovative and engaging for the audience to listen to.
Applause erupted throughout Rosch Recital Hall once the last piece was completed.
“It was very interesting,” said Abigail Ring, a sophomore music performance and music industry double major. “It’s contemporary, so it’s definitely not like the classical music that you frequently hear [or] that you might expect to hear. I think it’s good because it represents all of the different things that our school does in music.” Throughout its concert, A/B Duo remained focused and determined, but had fun.
“It was different,” said sophomore Brittany Sanford, who majors in music education with a percussion concentration. “It was a very unique group [and] very cool how they were able to incorporate everything together [and the] parts at the end where they were able to switch roles … by using different parts of the instrument. Their dynamic was incredible. It was just very good overall.”
Yackiw said that a good selection of music artists with “different types of genres of the same community” will be coming into Fredonia to expose students to different types of music. A/B Duo did a remarkable performance and Decho Ensemble is the next Ethos New Music Society event, being held today. Decho Ensemble is a saxophone quartet that Yackiw is a member of. Admission to the Decho Ensemble is free and and will be held at Rosch Recital Hall at 8 p.m.