As the clock ticked closer to the 1:10 p.m. start time, students and fans filled the seats of Knuth Hall on Friday to await the kickoff of the afternoon concert series, a collection of free performances put on by the School of Music & Dance.

The first show of the season on September 7th, highlighted the talents of Roget Chahayed from the SF Music Conservatory and Alison Lee, a high school student from Fremont, who both recently won awards at the 25th Annual San Francisco Young Pianists’ Competition.

The talented pianists played works by Beethoven and Chopin, their fingers elegantly gliding across the keys.

Chahayed and Lee are two of over 35 students, faculty and artists outside of SF State scheduled to perform the free concerts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1:10 p.m. in Knuth Hall.

The performances give audiences a “nice sample” of what the School of Music & Dance is all about, according to Mary Ford, who is in charge of special events in the School of Music and Dance.

“Every season is different,” said Ford, “But the series always represents all of our disciplines.”

Dr. George DeGraffenreid, the director of the school, called it “a mix of faculty, student, student ensemble courses,” presented in a recital hour.

“Students, not just music majors, should check out the concerts,” said Jordan Samuels, a 22-year-old music composition major, mentioning the hard work that goes into preparing for a concert.

“As a music major we’re required to go see shows, (but) there are definitely shows I would go see even if I was not required to,” said Samuels, a senior who will also be performing in a jazz ensemble concert later this semester.

One SF State show in the series he has highlighted is the “Fall Into Jazz” concert in November, which features the more explosive Afro-Cuban and Big Band styles of jazz.
At 50 minutes, the afternoon concerts are considerably shorter than the two-plus hours classical concerts usually run for, pointed out another Music Performance senior, Chelsea Hollow.

“I think for most people it can be hard to enjoy classical concerts in their entirety due to their length,” Hollow, 21, said. “But these are great starter concerts.”

There should be at least one concert that appeals to almost every SF State student, Hollow said. The concert on Halloween is one that usually engages the audience, she added.

Many performers are professionals. Returning for this season is the Alexander String Quartet, which has gained recognition from the New York Times among others.
The next concert, a trombone quartet featuring faculty member Tony Collins, will take place on October 1. Knuth Hall is in the Creative Arts Building on campus. For more information contact Mary Ford at (415) 405-3959 or for a calendar of events visit www.creativearts.sfsu.edu/events/.