Guitar/Percussion concert, a first of it’s kind, at MCC
Alli Cripe
MesaCC Legend
The Southern/ Dobson campus will be holding two separate concerts for Percussion and Guitar this semester featuring students of the Mesa Community College (MCC) music programs. “We have two ensembles,” said Dan Davis, guitar instructor at MCC. “One that I direct and one that’s directed by Pete Pancrazi. It’s a hodge-podge of newbies to relatively advanced and everything in between,” Davis said. Regarding the guitar concert, any students are open to performing from the MCC guitar program. It is not limited to students majoring in music. There have been Introductory students selected for the concert this semester. Students are selected based on their progress within the classes for this special opportunity.
Davis will have students specializing in general guitar whereas Pete Pancrazi, will have his ensemble focusing on jazz. “It will be a mix of acoustic and jazz,” Davis said. “There will be duets and soloists.” The range is far. From jazz, to country, to classical, to pop music. To give an idea of the kind of pop songs selected for the event, last semester, “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons was performed. Regarding the soloists, some of these students have already been accepted into the Arizona State University State (ASU) guitar program and will be holding some of their last performances here before continuing their guitar education. “The concert will have everything considered percussion, not just drums,” said Chris Reidy, director of Percussion and Percussion professor here at MCC. Instruments will range from the marimba, snare drum, kettle drums, keyboards and more. “It will be an orchestra within itself,” said Reidy.
All songs performed for Percussion have been arranged to fit the group. There will be a mixture of Jazz, Contemporary, and Classical. “We’ll be performing a Jazz arrangement called “Memphis Stomp,” Reidy said. “And a Classical piece by Moritz Moszkowski titled, “Caprice Espagnol.” Similar to guitar, all ages and all years have been selected for the percussion concert, including prospective ASU students. The guitar concert is scheduled to be performed April 30 at the Mesa Performing Arts Center. The Percussion concert is scheduled for May 2.
Both concerts are suited for all ages. Admission and parking is free.
