Students from Cerritos College show off hours of practice at Jazz and Pop/Rock Spring Concert

Students from the Cerritos College Music Department held its annual Jazz and Pop Rock Spring Concert playing a mixture of classic and modern music.

The concert was held in the Burnight Theatre on May 14th for friends and famliys of the students.

The music students have been preparing for the concert for the entire semester and that the show was a chance to use all the skills that they learned.

Gregory Farrell was one of the main singers of the night who performed during the Jazz emsemble in the first act, and the Pop/Rock emsemble in the second.

“It’s very nervewracking, before hand you have to come to all the rehersals, you have to make sure you have your music ready.”

Click here for a slideshow of the event: http://www.talonmarks2.com/multimedia_reporting_sp14/concertslideshow2/

For me as a singer I can’t have sheet music in front of me. I have to remember everything so it’s kind of hard to just be like “Okay I have to know this song, that song, that song and just get ready, so I just have to be ready and prepared.” Said Farrell.

Krystal Munoz said that the concert required “virgourous” preparation to be ready.

On top of the hours of practice the students also had the added task of helping in selecting the music for the show.

“In other emsembles the director comes up with pieces and he’s the one who comes up with the program and chooses the songs we’re going to do, said Munoz.

“But for us we had a list of about sixteen or more and we had to slim it down to seven. It was hard but we did it.”

Dr. David Betancourt, the Director of Band and Orchestra, said that the concert tries to bring in a variety of styles.

“You’re going to hear everything. From the jazz group you’re going to hear some big band charts like from the 1940’s.” said Betancourt.

“You’re going to hear some more modern big band arrangements, some vocal charts. And from the pop group your going to hear some sort of songs from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s and some stuff that just came out.”

Jazz, Pop and Rock were chosen to give students a chance to play something different than the usual classical playlists.

“That style of music, doing stuff that is on the radio, that’s not jazz or not classical not a lot schools do that. More are starting to come around and do that, said Betancourt,

“They are seeing the value in learning what is called the general business of music. You know, what you hear on the radio, at the wedding, things you hear at functions, things like that.”

Farrell said he liked playing with both bands but both have challenges in how they have to be approached.

“The jazz band is more of a freestyle, freelance type music. I have a lot more freedom to sing how I feel, more expression. As (for) the pop/rock I have to sing what’s written, also on the other hand I get to have fun with some of the songs I’m singing.”

Overall the students feel that the music program at Cerritos helped prepare them for the challenges of the show.

“It’s a great program honestly, said Munoz, I studied privately here this semester.”

“I was in the applied program. This program compared to other schools I’ve gone to it’s a great program to be in. I’ve grown. Honestly my first semester, what I done here tonight, I couldn’t have done before. I wouldn’t have succeeded. I probably would have crashed and burned. I grew a lot here.”

Many of the students credited Dr. Betancourt for always being available to guide them.

Betancourt has been at Cerritos for fifteen years, which is the same amount of time the spring concert has been held at Cerritos.

“What I really appreciate is Dr. Betancourt, said Colin Monaco, because he’s always there to answer any questions we have.”

“He’s always there for us even if it’s just jazz theory, he’ll help us out.”

(Dr. Betancourt’s) a great director honestly. He just doesn’t involved himself in his emsembles, said Munoz, “He helps me out. He taught me a lot honestly jazz-wise. Especially jazz-wise I’ve grown because of Dr. Betancourt. The way he pushes us he’s great.”

Students enjoy caricatures, obstacle course and live music at end of journalism conference

JACCpalooza tops off journalism conference with live music and games

The Journalism Association of Community Colleges held its bi-annual conference for students interested in Journalism.

This year the organizers decided to change things up with the first annual JACCpalooza after the awards dinner.

The event was intended to help students relax after the long weekend. The event included inflatable races, jousting and a boxing ring. Students could also have their caricatures drawn by an artist or have their futures told by a tarot card reader.

The JACC holds a state conference and a regional conference every year where students compete in workshop and contests ranging from photography, newswriting and multi-media.