Moorpark College kicked off the fall concert season with the tenth annual Faculty Artists Showcase on Sept. 26. This year’s showcase, produced by Joan Thompson, saw both teachers and students perform pieces from a variety of musical genres.
The professors not only performed for entertainment, but to help assist music students. Since the Ventura County Community College District has gone through so many budget cuts in the past year, music professors at Moorpark are giving students the assistance they need financially and educationally.
“We put on these Faculty Artists performances because they benefit our students,” said Professor Song of the music department. “All proceeds from these concerts go towards giving scholarships to our deserving music students.”
The concert consisted of jazz, folk, modern, classical, and other styles of contemporary music.
John Paton and Marilyn Anderson crooned excellent vocals in French accompanied by Joan Thompson on piano. This year, the Faculty Artists Showcase’s program provided translations to the songs sung to provide the audience with more insight to the music.
In addition, many gifted professors showed their musical talent through their instruments. From guitars and flutes, to violins, cellos and even computers, each sound had an inspiring passion behind it.
Nathan Bowen projected visuals from two laptops accompanied with music to explore the dream state and what people distinguish from it. It was very different from what most would expect from a musical showcase. Although the performance was unique and unusual, many audience members did not understand it.
“It was confusing,” a Moorpark student, Elliot Jackson, pointed out.
To end the night, a jazz quartet featuring Professor Brendan McMullin, Charlie Michener, Mark Kamradt and Juan Padilla gave a special thank you to the audience by playing songs by Miles Davis and John “Dizzy” Gillespie.
This year’s Faculty Artists Showcase was a good reminder to teachers as well as music students that they are all performers in the end.
“We are still performing artists even though we are teachers,” stated Marilyn Anderson. “Performance is a lifelong thing”.
The music department continues the season with the fall 2009 Choir Debut Concert on Oct. 2 as well as a concert by the Moorpark College Symphony Orchestra featuring Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 and the Piano Concerto No. 2 of Camille Saint-Saens, featuring Esther Keel on piano on Oct. 3. Both concerts will begin at 8 p.m. on their respective dates. For tickets, contact the Moorpark College Performing Arts Center Box Office at 805-378-1485 or go online at www.moorparkcollege.edu/pac.
