The Annual Music Celebration Concert brings together ensembles and student groups in the School of Music. Credit: Courtesy of Tamara Morris and the School of Music
Thirty years ago, Ohio State’s School of Music was readying for its first-ever Annual Music Celebration Concert — a chance for ensembles and student groups to provide a one-shot view of the school through 75 minutes of uninterrupted performances.
This year’s concert will take place Dec. 4 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. in the Mershon Auditorium, Casey Cook, principal pianist for the choral studies department, said. Featured student groups will include the Trombone Studio, Clarinet Studio and Horn Studio, as well as band, orchestra, choir and jazz ensembles.
The concert idea, hatched three decades ago by Ohio State professor of flute Katherine Borst Jones and Professor Emeritus Jim Gallagher, arose from Gallagher’s 18 years teaching in public schools — and 18 years of annual holiday concerts — before becoming the director of choral studies at Ohio State, Gallagher said.
“When I got to [Ohio State], on the quarter system, we were done earlier in December, but thought we ought to do something to celebrate the holiday, and so decided what better way than to try to get all of the instrumental and choral groups together?” Gallagher said.
Jones said there’s something transcendent about live music.
“Have you ever experienced, all of a sudden, feeling tears listening to some piece that you were surprised by? There’s something about it that just brought you to tears or brought you to laughter,” Jones said. “And so that’s really special that we can do that for an audience, not just with this concert, but with what we do. And I think that’s very different when you’re listening to the radio in the car or live-streaming.”
Over the years, Cook said the concert has become a yearly opportunity to spotlight the school’s students through a variety of genres.
“This is not touted as a holiday concert,” Cook said. “It’s really just a celebration concert. So many of the pieces that we do aren’t necessarily true to the holidays.”
Robert Ward, director of choral studies and current concert organizer, said this year’s event will be in its usual “collage” style.
“The whole concept is 75 minutes with no applause,” Ward said. “So, there’s an act on stage, and then there’s an act up in the balcony, and then there’s something down on the floor, and then there’s something under the balcony and then we go back up [to the balcony].”
Jones said the concert typically ends with a surprise.
“The closing piece is always exciting,” Jones said. “It used to be the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ from [Gregor Handel’s] ‘Messiah’ — that happened many years. I’m not sure what they’re planning this year, but it’s always a kind of a goosebump moment at the end.”
Jones said the concert has become a community staple.
“It’s just such a community-building event among everybody in the School of Music,” Jones said. “And then I think that spreads to the audience; people see that, and I think alums come back, people who have been part of it, they come back to witness it again.”
Even the performers look forward to hearing their peers each year, Gallagher said.
“The Men’s Glee Club, about 70 to 80% of those men are not music majors,” Gallagher said. “So, their only real connection with the School of Music is the three hours a week that they rehearse. So, for them, especially the young people who haven’t been involved in this before, for them to see how many different groups there are and how many really fine groups, it’s pretty overwhelming, I think, to see what all is happening.”
David Ricci, a fourth-year in data analytics and member of the Men’s Glee Club, said he agreed.
“It’s a great chance for all the other ensembles in [the School of Music] to hear each other, which we usually don’t,” Ricci said.
Ricci said his favorite part of the concert experience is the morning rendition the school puts on for local public schools.
“These are very, very young, enthusiastic kids who just love to make and hear music,” Ricci said. “So, it’s our most energetic concert of the year by far.”
Kevin Campbell II, a fourth-year in theater and member of the Men’s Glee Club, said his favorite memory is kids mistaking him for former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.
“Most of the kids have been very respectful,” Campbell said. “They enjoyed the experience, really nice. And I guess I had my hair in a certain style that particular day that [Stroud] also had, and they just thought I was Stroud. They asked me to take pictures with them.”
Jones said the concert offers an emotional experience for audiences of all ages.
“One of the great things about music is that really every human emotion is expressed in some piece or other,” Jones said. “And so if we’ve programmed it well, you’re going to experience a lot of different emotions, and different pieces are going to strike different people depending on the mood.”
Tickets can be purchased online or in person at the Wexner Center for the Arts. They are $10 for Ohio State students, faculty and staff, and $20 for the general public. More details can be found here.
