Music is a big part of the culture today as much as it was centuries ago. Whether it’s country or pop, families and friends are able to connect through the medium of music. With this being such a big staple in lifestyles today, it’s no surprise that a whole department is devoted to music at the University of North Georgia. The Music Department may sing loudly for all to hear, but the university’s public concerts have not made themselves well known. On Friday, March 6, UNG’s Virtual Jazz Band Concert kicked off with the rather popular song Soul Man by Sam and Dave. The concert continued its night of jazz music with seven other songs among four different bands attending UNG. The concert ended on a graceful note after only 36 minutes with the song Hang Glide by Anomalie & Rob Araujo. The evening was eventful, unfortunately not a lot of people knew about it.
When talking to Kinesiology major Chelsea Allison, she said that she did not know that the university had public concerts. The university’s concerts are not only public but also fairly often. A typical week consists of two or three concerts. These concerts will follow a particular theme such as last week’s jazz band concert. Along with band concerts there are also choral concerts hosted by the music department. Due to the pandemic, the concerts are being held virtually until other restrictions are lifted.
Most concerts take place during the evening and are said to be roughly an hour and a half, however this is truly an estimate. When just given this information, Allison said that she would not attend it virtually but continued in saying she would stay for an hour and a half concert in person. The UNG Music Department’s webpage has a hard time conveying that all of the concerts performed are usually between 30 minutes to an hour long as well as can be seen at any point on youtube. With many of the concerts being available to rewatch on youtube, this allows students to view it at their own leisure.
Other than time, another main concern found among students is interests in genres. Sociology major, Carrie Carruth said “I don’t know if any of the music would appeal to my interests”. She is a former band member of North Hall High School which gave her an understanding of gaining the interest of the audience. Her recommendations are a focus on themes such as movies, holidays, and some popular songs. Even though the concerts have not included movie scores, they do try to encapsulate some popular songs for the viewer.
The virtual concerts are not publicly advertised enough. Not only do the events further the music education of students across all of the universities’ campuses, but also is meant to engage other students who are not experts in all things music. More details on these concerts can be found at UNG’s Music department page under Upcoming Events.
