The Cal Poly Music Department is offering at least nine free student recitals in May and June. According to the University Communications and Marketing page, all events are open to the public and the recitals will be held in locations on and off campus.
“I’m looking forward to it. I think the music that we’re playing this time is pretty exciting,” political science freshman Hannah Archacharean said. “There’s a good selection of music and it’s a bit different from the sort of music that we’ve played in the past.”
According to Director of Bands Christopher Woodruff, the department tries to host recitals and performances that are free as much as possible to allow the best and easiest access for students and the community to attend.
“We do have a lot of folks who live in town who enjoy music at Cal Poly, but maybe paying $15 or $20 a ticket might be a bit much,” Woodruff said. “So whenever possible, if we can afford to produce a concert that is free and open to the public, we’ll do it.”
Woodruff said the funding for these recitals and other instructional-related activities comes from the College of Liberal Arts (CLA). The funding they receive goes to certain programs within the music department as well as paying for halls, such as the Performing Arts Center (PAC).
Three of the recitals will be held at the San Luis Obispo United Methodist Church as well as one recital scheduled to be held at the PAC on May 16.
According to Woodruff, some recitals are held off-campus is due certain spaces working well for certain types of performances, availability of venues – such as the PAC – and affordability of off-campus spaces.
“There are other acoustic environments that are still close, like the Methodist Church, which is very resonant, it’s a bigger space and it’s open,” Woodruff said. “It’s also beautiful because they have that window that opens up and you can see Bishop Peak in the background.”
Woodruff said that they will be featuring a guest student brass quintet from CSU Fresno to play a short set of their own. Guests can then witness the two groups join forces as both Cal Poly and Fresno State will play together.
“The music that we choose is music that’s worth the students spending the time, and they get something out of it educationally as well as musically,” Woodruff said. “We try to provide the variety that would be of interest to the seasoned music veteran or to just a casual concert-goer, so anyone would definitely enjoy it.”
More information about when to watch these concerts is available on the University Communications and Marketing.