Music comes alive in a vibrant celebration of sound as Sterling College and Sterling High School bands join forces to bring “The Color of Music” to the stage at 7 p.m. on Oct. 20 at the Sterling High School auditorium.
The concert will be directed by Professor Larry Brownlee of Sterling College and Abby Giles of Sterling High School, as well as senior music education major Philip Starnes. All of the music performed will be focused on various colors, as Brownlee feels that “music and color are closely related. We often have emotions that can be expressed through music, and color can do the same.”
When choosing the pieces for this concert, Brownlee chose many that were closely related to emotion through different shades of color.
“One of the songs, ‘Kalos Eidos,’ means ‘Kaleidoscope’ and the music represents the ever-changing colors of a kaleidoscope.
Three of the songs, ‘Red,’ ‘Blue’ and ‘Yellow,’ are from a suite titled ‘Krisanna’s Colors.’ The piece was written in honor of a young girl who died. She felt like every day was a color. Red days were extremely energized and fierce. Blue days were sad and melancholy. Yellow days were bright and cheery. The music of the suite strives to depict Krisanna’s moods. Another song, ‘Blue and Green Music,’ is based on a painting of the same name.
The painter, Georgia O’Keeffe, tried to make a work of art that expressed music through a visual art form. The composer, Samuel Hazo, looked at the painting and re-interpreted it as a work of music.”
The Sterling College Jazz Band opens the concert with the songs “Fields of Gold” by Sting and “Cerulean Blue.” Each piece will also have a visual component, which is a new feature for the SC band.
The song “Palette” by Randall Standridge has six movements, and each movement shows photos that director Brownlee took while walking through Sterling. These photos are also displayed in the Sterling College Art/Media Center until Nov. 20 in the “Sterling Walkabouts” exhibition.
Larry Brownlee looks forward to the concert and joining forces with the Sterling High School band. It is quite an endeavor, as they are working on the music separately and only have a single rehearsal together before the show.
The concert is free, open to the public, and will be livestreamed on the Sterling College Music Facebook page.
