ELLIE SKJERSAA / ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

This last Saturday, Nov. 2, audience members heard the magical and rich melodies of the USD Wind Ensemble in collaboration with hip-hop and classical artist, BLKBOK. He is a neo-classical artist who has been influential in carving the path toward a new approach to musical expression. With two tools — the piano and  his fingers — he intertwines rap and hip-hop beats with the elegant sounds of classical pieces. Having performed with well-known artists such as Rihanna and John Mayer, he has become an esteemed piano player and composer. for the first time.

After countless hours of preparation, wind, brass and percussion students came together to perform at the Conrad Prebys concert hall in La Jolla.

Jeff Malecki, USD professor, music department chair and lead director, shared insight into BLKBOK’s style.

“He’s writing these very colorful, classical style pieces with more of this modern relevance that I think is meant to capture this audience in a different way,” Malecki  said. “My favorite is called ‘Michelle’s First Day in the White House.’ It really  captures Michelle Obama entering the White House in the first term, being the first African American first lady, entering a house that was built by slaves and here she is as first lady which is such a lofty topic — how do you write a three-minute piece about that? It’s really tender and contemplative and sometimes a little bit more turbulent and it captures [that moment].”

With compositions such as this one and “George Floyd and the Struggle for Equality,” the performance echoed the messages behind BLKBOK’s work. His compositions speak to race equality and of hatred in the world by telling stories of his own struggles and those experienced historically. In an on-stage interview with Malecki during the performance, BLKBOK shared that the murder of George Floyd took place the day after he finished  his second album. He then decided to postpone the album release and spent 21 extra days composing “George Floyd and the Struggle for Equality.”

“Everything was kind of happening  in real  time, and I didn’t have the time to really process the emotion,” BLKBOK said. “Or I had to process the emotions faster than I had ever done in any other piece. So that’s why it seems a little bit more raw, like the anger is a little bit more broad.”

New   to  USD  and   the  ensemble this semester is Co-Director Dr. Long Tao Tang. He explained the ways in which rehearsing this piece specifically reflected the message of the piece itself. 

“The last movement of the four section piece is related to George Floyd and the struggle with inequality,” Tang said. “So when we’re rehearsing it, there is this kind of complicated rhythm that is not very intuitive, and it’s very difficult for a bunch of musicians to play it at the same time, and it kind of was a struggle to play it equally, in a way that it kind of even carries a rhetorical meaning. To me, that is powerful, because the efforts that  we put into making sure that this comes out sounding good, doesn’t only have a technical function of sounding good, but [it] also has a deeper meaning.”

For some students, BLKBOK’s mode of storytelling is powerful in its own way. Lauren Wilson, USD junior and flute player in the ensemble, shared why she thought this collaboration was important.

“I think at a time like this, music is definitely what brings people together,” Wilson said. “I think a lot of people are more willing to learn about certain issues when it’s tied to a musical artist. [For BLKBOK, his music is] piano pieces, so you’re mostly interpreting the message through the emotions conveyed rather than words, which I think is super unique, too.”

The USD Wind Ensemble hosts  around  two  to three concerts per semester. The ensemble includes students from a range of musical backgrounds including some from prestigious musical highschools and others who have decided to pick up an instrument again in college. Many students appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with BLKBOK because he is such an advocate for change. 

“[The students] want to be playing new music, they want to be playing music they enjoy, they want to be playing music by diverse composers, so this is a way for them to realize that in a meaningful way,” Malecki said. 

On top of this, the ensemble consists of students from a wide range of disciplines. Most are not music majors, and, to some students, this makes this group of performers even more special. 

“We’re not like SDSU, where we have a huge, full sound,” USD junior Lauren O’Donnell said. “We’re small but mighty, and I think we give heart. There’s only two music majors I think, maybe three, who are in the whole wind ensemble,  so it’s  even  more  special  when you have  majors from all over campus coming together.”

This performance was the world premiere of the BLKBOK arrangement, meaning that the songs and the sounds produced had never been heard before by an audience, making for a momentous night for spectators who attended the show.

“There are some really special pieces that the audience sitting in the Conrad get to hear [for the first time],” Malecki said. “It’s something that no one in the history of human life has ever heard and that’s really exciting. We don’t get that very often, and I think there’s something very special and very cool about being the first ones.”

For the students who graced the stage, this was a moment they would never forget. With their instruments in hand, they got to be a part of something that not many universities can offer to their students.

“His work is really awesome,” O’Donnell said. “[He’s] up and coming, and we’re premiering [his] music. It’s something special, because we’re making a step in history for his career and I think that kind of gives you chills. I think it [was] really special and really cool.”

This night was one for  USD’s  history  books.  Students, staff and local San Diegans joined together in the concert hall to listen to the intricate sounds of these performers and the stories they had to  tell. 

BLKBOK performs his neo-classical tunes with the USD Wind Ensemble. Jackie Marquez/The USD Vista