By Elizabeth Stitt
The HFAC, which is usually a haven for classical music by Bach and Beethoven, was replaced last night with a more contemporary beat as several rock bands performed in the Madsen Recital Hall.
This week marked the first time that BYU?s School of Music has offered its own rock concert.
Students in the school of music wanted to produce their own rock concert, not sponsored by BYUSA. This past Thursday several school of music students and their rock bands were a part of the ?Show-Off Gallery,? a free production that organizers hope will become a tradition.
?This [concert] is different for us because we?re in the school of music,? said Rob Whalen, who performed Thursday. ?This is what we do. This is what we?re banking the rest of our lives on. We want to show the school, campus and friends what we?re really trying to put out there in the world.?
Jason Graham, a senior sound recording technology major, organized the production. Whalen?s perform in a recital last year inspired Graham to do the production.
?I was mixing his recital and listening to it over and over and I just realized how good it was,? Graham said. Graham felt it would be a good experience for more students to hear some of the school of music?s talent.
Graham found a faculty member to sponsor him and scheduled the Madsen Recital Hall in the HFAC for the production. He asked Whalen to perform and the band Maxfield?s, as well as a few others. They made a live recording of the concert.
?Jason devised this concert as a workshop where they can record the music and give others a chance to perform,? said Andrew Maxfield, a member of the Maxfield?s band. ?It?s a rare opportunity to hear pop music in the HFAC.?
Graham said the music steers away from typical BYU rock band themes about breakups.
Three different groups played at the concert. The Maxfield?s played indie music with a country influence. Dan Cahoon performed a vocal and piano performance and Whalen performed with a blues edge sound.
?Rob?s music really moves you to somewhere else,? Graham said. ?It defines for me what music is.?
Whalen said having an audience helps the performers enjoy the music more.
?Art doesn?t exist without people to respond to it,? Whalen said. ?We want people moved to dance or sing or be moved in an emotional way.?
The first rock concert was Thursday from 8 to 10 p.m. Graham is scheduling another performance in December.
