Morgan Kiehl

1109.01 TUTH 10:30

Mike Lohre

November 9, 2015

                                                Unconventional Voices

Like a bad soap opera, my sisters and I knew what emotion was when it came to music. Uniquely enough, my sisters and I all played classical stringed instruments. The cello to be exact. It's said to be easy to fall in love with an instrument and the music it can create. With such complexity, and passion waiting to be created with the strokes of our bows on the strings, powered by our hands and the created vibrato, you can see why we have each fallen in love.

            My sisters and I all began our musical journeys in our early elementary years. This brought a commonality amongst my sisters and I, thus bringing us closer as a family. We all enjoyed attending each other's recitals and supporting one another during our many auditions. Often, we even performed pieces together at one another's recitals. The Baroque era of classical music quickly became our favorite style of music to play, as Baroque music has a sense of contrast within itself it quickly became a style of music that appealed to all of us.

            Dmitri Shostakovich, a Russian composer and pianist from the years 1906 until 1975, is one of my favorite composers. I am particularly fond of Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1. The low, deep tones and high tones coming from the cello are brought out throughout the movements of the Concerto. I can hear the many voices of the cello within the piece. There is a mysterious resonance being delivered by the arrangement. The resonance is being created by the dissonance of the chords as well as the edge of your seat feeling created by the unknown created by Shostakovich's melodies and accompaniment.

My older sister far right; This picture although, not of me and my sisters
really shows the ways music can bring joy and friendship.