The Fresno City College music department held a Gala Concert on Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Old Administration Building auditorium as a grand reopening of the building. The afternoon’s event followed the theme it was named after, “Past, Present and Future,” by honoring previous generations of now-retired, full-time music faculty, as well as by celebrating the current music faculty and their students.
The OAB auditorium was not just the perfect setting for the gala concert; it was the reason for having the concert in the first place. During the past 30 years that the auditorium had been out of use, audiences were deprived of the opportunity to attend music events in a building that was originally used for music.
“We always wanted a grand opening for the auditorium,” said music department chair, Larry Honda, “a grand celebration featuring the department’s largest groups.”
The groups that participated from the music department were: Jazz Ensemble, Intermediate/Advanced Guitar Class, City Singers, Concert Band, and A Cappella Choir. A set was also performed by members of the music faculty with the Faculty Jazz Some-tet. The concert also featured Gary Deeter and Dr. LeGrand Andersen as guest conductors for sets by the Concert Band and the City Singers respectively.
Having the concert on a Sunday afternoon not only eliminated issues with parking, but also gave many people the opportunity to see all of the music groups perform together.
“This is the first time all the groups perform together,” said Honda, “it provided students the opportunity to hear each other.”
Honda said he didn’t predict it would happen, but thought it was great that by having the previous generation of music instructors involved, the students had the unique opportunity to hear the history behind the OAB auditorium and the music department.
In doing so, those same instructors also had the chance to hear the present students and recognize the effort the current music faculty put into the concert.
“It was a cross-generational thing,” Honda said of having the three generations come together for the Gala Concert.
The concert was a meaningful event for everyone involved, and for Julie Dana, Choral Ensembles director, it was also emotional, as some of the previous instructors present were her own teachers when she was studying music as a young girl in college.
Current music faculty members were able to show their appreciation for the previous generation of music instructors by presenting them with plaques certifying their achievement and dedication.
Former full-time faculty members who were honored with plaques were Dr. Vincent Moats, Dr. LeGrand Andersen, Eiji Maruko, Robert Nielsen and Gary Deeter.
“We just invited them and it was a surprise,” said Honda, “It was a way of passing on the torch.”
Adding that special touch to the event was a way of tying everything full-circle, as well as having Nielsen MC the event, as he took the opportunity to share the history with everyone every time he was at the microphone.
“What a great event, aren’t you glad you came!” Nielsen said to everyone in the auditorium.
Putting this event together required a dedicated effort from the collective collaboration of many.
“Larry Honda has been the driving force behind this event,” said Dana.
Honda acted as the producer for the event, organizing everything from set times to fliers and everything in between. Many others, such as other non-music departments on campus, also helped in some way. Even students pitched in to help.
As the performers of the concert, as well as the previous instructors who were honored, all received standing ovations from the audience, it was clear that in the end everyone was pleased.
“Now that it’s over I feel it was a really great event on so many levels,” said Honda.
Many audience members went up to performers and instructors to congratulate them after the concert.
“We’re pretty proud of all the kids,” said Dana, “It was a really amazing showcase of what our students are doing in music at our school.”