For this assignment, you will attend a local musical concert, preferably not one you would automatically attend given your musical tastes. The music may be classified as either classical, jazz, folk, or ethnic (bluegrass, Celtic, reggae, etc.). The concert should be performed by a professional company, not a local church or community group. Take extensive notes before and after the concert and include in your observations:
Name of the event
Name of performers, especially soloists
Specific classification of music
Name and description of venue
Description of audience
Specific compositions performed
Next, do some research on the music you heard and the performers who delivered it to gain the broadest possible understanding of your experience.
Reflect on how your own musical tastes aligned with the music. What are your musical tastes and why do you hold them? Were you primarily responding to the music or were you responding more to the setting or the performers? How much of your reaction was a response to taste versus a critical judgment?
Compose a 500-700 word newspaper-style review of the concert you attended. Incorporate in your review the detailed information that you compiled in your notes, but weave this information into a coherent essay with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Conclude with a critical judgment of the quality of the event which addresses your own tastes but responds principally to the music itself.
It will be prudent to look over a few professional reviews to get some ideas for an appropriate style for your review. Look at online reviews from other concerts, not yours, that were printed in The New York Times or some other major newspaper.
