Leah Kohn, a facility artist, filled the Shigemi Matsumoto Recital Hall with her bassoon music on Feb. 22. Pianist Jason Stoll, clarinetist Sérgio Coelho and flutist Chang Lu accompanied Kohn’s bassoon playing.
Kohn, a faculty member at CSUN, was the main event and guest for the faculty artist performance.
She began the performance with Jason Stoll on the piano. They had started with songs by William Grant Still, which Kohn described as having their twist while also being Still’s original songs. The artists had started with Still’s song “Bayou Home” and then swiftly moved into “If You Should Go.” The final piece of Still’s music was “Song For the Lonely.”
The song Kohn and Stoll played together was “Summitless Mountains” by Reena Esmail. Then, the final song the two performed together was “Concert Piece in F Major,” Op.2 by Franz Berwald. The audience erupted in applause for the bassoonist Kohn and pianist Stoll.
“I enjoyed the beauty of the piano and bassoon mixed together,” said Kym Bough, a California State University, Long Beach student. “I thought it molded well and sounded very beautiful, but I have never been to a bassoon concert before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.”
After intermission, Kohn again came out with Coelho to combine their bassoon and clarinet. They had chosen to recreate “Duo for Clarinet and Bassoon” by Ludwig van Beethoven. The song the two decided to play was “Allegro Commodo,” then their next song was “Larghetto sostenuto,” and their final song as a duo was “Rondo.” The two had played with great talent and skill to achieve a Beethoven song. After the duo finished, the audience again roared with applause as the two walked off.
“I thought the performance was good,” said a student at CSUN, Jenifer May.“I did enjoy the mix of music instead of hearing similar songs over and over again. I also thought it was interesting how they played songs from Beethoven since he is so well known. They did a great job recreating it.”
The final set featured songs by opening artists Kohn, Lu, and Coelho, who played “Rubispheres,” composed by Valerie Coleman. This collection is described on the Coleman Page as a “series of chamber trios that depict urban life and landscapes,” effectively bringing the night to a close.
Once finished with the performance, all the artists came out to bow and thank the audience for attending. The group got a loud applause from the audience while they took their final bows for the show.
More information about future music events in the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication can be found on their website.
