Karina Rodriguez
Arts Editor
The Scripps Friday Noon Concert Series at the Balch Auditorium at Scripps College featured violinists Andrew Krastins and Rachel Huang and pianists Luis Rosalebrom and Tatiana Thibodeaux performing the music of Rosalebron on April 18.
The songs performed were “Bomba” from Sonata Trágica, “Poema No.1,” “Poema No. 4: Añoranzas de Boquerón,” “Poema Melódico, solo piano version” and “Bomba Revealed.”
The concert lasted less than an hour before a full house.
Huang and Thibodeaux began the concert with “Bomba.” Both played seamlessly without overpowering each other.
Cheryl Simpliss of Pomona, who attended the concert, said that she liked the dynamic of the musicians.
“You could see the story playing out between them and how well they were working together,” Simpliss said.
Simpliss also expressed her love of the modern music played at the Scripps Concert Series.
“It helps me soothe my brain. I love the interactions with the audience when they were telling the stories and listening to modern music, it was really great,” Simpliss said.
Later for “Poemas” for violin and piano, Krastins and Rosalebrom played together with Rosalebrom taking over for “Poema Melódico, solo piano version.”
Rosalebrom told the audience how he felt playing his music for an audience.
“Thank you for taking a risk for listening to something from what we know, Beethoven or Chopin or anything like that,” Rosalebrom said.
He also told the audience to encourage aspiring musicians around them.
“If you know somebody in your family or your students that do want to compose, I beg you to encourage them, to support them,” Rosalebrom said.
Rosalebrom said he felt humbled at the presence of the audience listening to his compositions.
“Thank you very much, I am humbled by your presence,” Rosalebrom said.
Rosalebrom explained to the audience that while “Poema Melódico” is a solo piano composition, originally it was written for both piano and violin but he simply did not like it and decided to make it a piano only composition. Rosalebrom himself played Poema Melódico and Krastins stepped off stage.
Later, Rosalebrom stepped off stage and Huang and Thibodeaux played the final piece of the concert, “Bomba, Revealed.”
Huang explained many key parts of the song. Sonata Tragica, is about the Puerto Rican sugar mill business and slavery. Certain parts of the sonata were meant to convey despair and crying from the slaves.
“The serenade is comfort and respite and joy,” Huang said.
At certain points of the song, the sugar mill is given a voice through the violin and the piano.
“The voice of the sugar mill becomes specific and shows remorse then asks for forgiveness,” Huang said.
Later, at the end of the song, the instruments represent the dissolving of slavery at the sugar mill.
“The machinery, the chains, begin to slip, begin to come undone,” Huang said.
Freshman psychology Scripps student Kea Nakayama said that she enjoyed the performance and appreciated the explanation Huang gave.
“Yeah, I really liked it. I think I was caught off guard a little bit by the first song, but then after, like the explanation, I realized how much this story was telling,” Nakayama said.
Karina Rodriguez can be reached at karina.rodriguez3@laverne.edu.
Karina Rodriguez is a senior journalism major with a concentration in broadcast journalism, and editor-in-chief of the Campus Times. She has previously served as sports editor, social media editor, arts editor and a staff writer.
