By Andrew Arce, Dec. 12, 2023
Merry music filled the air of University Theatre when the Cal Poly Pomona music department presented Holiday Extravaganza, a festive concert Sunday, Dec. 3. The event featured a dozen of CPP’s instrumental and vocal ensembles and soloists including faculty members.
Professor Niké St. Clair, the director of the Kellogg Chamber Singers and University Concert Choir, volunteered to organize the brainchild of the entire department.
“We felt strongly about doing a concert that would showcase the entire department, and a holiday concert was an obvious choice,” St. Clair said.
She added the holiday concert was voluntary for ensemble directors to partake in, and they were allowed to select their own festive repertoire to perform.
This was the first holiday concert by the music department in many years. According to St. Clair, who came to CPP in 2007, the university has not had one in all the time she has been here.
Ernest “EJ” Harrison, director of Polytonix, one of the vocal ensembles that performed in the concert, said the group spent one month preparing their performance of “Carol of the Bells.” The Polytonix goal, according to Harrison, is to have a space where anybody can make music.
Harrison said he was impressed by the ingenuity and creativity of all the students on stage.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the concert,” Harrison said. “I’m glad to see the holiday concert tradition get started at CPP after many years without.”
One of the performances that stood out to Harrison was “Happy Song for Sad Baby” by CPP assistant music professor Isaac Schankler, a piece written for and performed on a trio of toy pianos.
“I am dedicated to decolonizing all music classrooms and opening up the discussion for who deserves to be a part of academia,” Harrison said. “These types of experimental music and extended music techniques expand the conversation on what classical music can be.”
This diversity in repertoire appealed to musicians like Lucas Lopez, a first-year music student. Lopez said he enjoys being in the department because of the opportunities and amenities they provide.
“The university advertises the concerts really well for us, which means fuller audiences,” Lopez said. “And there are plenty of practice rooms and chances to play different genres of music.”
As a trumpet player studying music composition, Lopez performed with the brass ensemble during the concert.
Gracie Thomas is also a first-year student in the CPP brass ensemble who plays the French horn. In addition to the groups’ weekly rehearsal, Thomas sought three hours a week of individual practice time to prepare for the concert.
“Music is fun,” she said. “It’s always fun. Everything about it is fun, and it’s always nice to play. That’s why I keep coming back.”
According to St. Clair, the music department sold close to 300 Holiday Extravaganza tickets. All proceeds from the concert will directly fund music scholarships for students.
Alfonso Areas, a Covina resident who came to the concert to watch a family friend perform, said he is not a fan of Christmas music and admitted he only planned to watch his friend perform.
“I really enjoyed the tiny pianos — I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Areas said. “I’m glad I stayed. It was so cool.”
Areas also enjoyed “Noel,” performed by the University Concert Choir. He recognized the song title but was not expecting what he heard. This arrangement used percussive instruments like cow bell, shakers, performers stage stomping and a djembe, a West African drum played with bare hands.
“That rhythm really got me going,” Areas said. “I was not expecting that. I think I like that better than the classic version.”
Musicians were not the only performers to receive praise during Holiday Extravaganza. Throughout the concert’s runtime of over two hours, a team of backstage crew members kept the night running smoothly.
Between each ensemble’s performance they executed vital changes to the stage’s landscape involving microphone placements, setting up risers and countless seating and instrument rearrangements.
“We are so thankful and appreciative of the backstage crew’s work,” said St. Clair. “It was a huge undertaking for them.”
Feature image courtesy of David Beale, photo credit: Andrew Arce
