By Edgar Uriostegui
Staff Writer
The College of Arts & Humanities, the Music Department and Mu Phi Epsilon Gamma Sigma Chapter presented the fourth Annual Halloween Concert on Oct. 27.
The event put a unique spin on classic, operatic, pop and punk music – all interpreted by trained musicians.
Mary Au and Kathy Bailey Cunningham hosted the musical celebration at Marvin Laser Recital Hall (LCH A103).
“This is the craziest concert you will attend all year,” Cunningham told attendees, who were invited to come dressed in costume.
Students were urged to fill in empty seats closer to the stage as the concert was starting.
Cunningham joked how everyone in attendance was a student who came only at an instructor’s direction to complete an assignment. The audience responded with knowing laughter, but stayed for the remainder of the performance.
As the musicians were setting up instruments for their scheduled performances, Cunningham and Au began introductions at 7:30 p.m. sharp. They kept up the ambiance and entertained the audience while musicians did some last-minute tuning.
The first performance of the night was a piano solo by Au of Ryan Vuckovich’s “Candyland is Dead.”
Performances throughout the rest of the night included a duet with Au on piano and Chika Inoue on saxophone. They performed a section of the well known opera “Carmen.”
Ryan Vuckovich, vocalist, and Nicholas Hrboka, guitarist, played an acoustic interpretation of punk band The Misfits’ “Saturday Night.”
The PDJK Quartet (Poncho Williams on saxophone, Devin Pruden on percussion, Jose Plascencia on guitar, and Kevin Nowacki on bass) played a couple of songs that stirred up the crowd.
A guitar trio composed by Carlos Bolivar, Miguel Fernandez and Juan Garcia performed Paulo Bellinati’s, “Baiao de Gude,” a song they said they’ve been practicing for some time.
After their performance, the trio was requested to “play something” while the next group set up. Cunningham sang the Eagles’ “Hotel California,” making for a lighthearted interval.
The L.A. Orquestra Nueva Revolucion was the 15-person group who brought the concert to an end, covering hits from popular Latin American artists, such as Juan Gabriel, Selena Quintanilla and Los Bukis.
