Silvia Ibara and Mya Sanchez performed on March 4 inside the Burnight Center as part of the Applied Music Program of Cerritos College.

Ibarra took the stage first, and was joined by accompanist Kyoungee Kim on the piano. Ibarra’s main instrument is the alto sax but on that day her instrument of choice was the soprano, famously used by jazz saxophonist, Kenny G.

The songs in her selection were all written by American composer Steve Cohen. The Sonata for Soprano saxophone includes three movements: “Allegro Assai,” “Blues” and “Allegro Giocoso.”

According to Ibarra, Steve Cohen decided to write the Sonata for Soprano because there aren’t many non-classical composers that do. She said, “Most modern sax compositions are written for the alto and the tenor, when the soprano doesn’t really get anything new.”

She mentioned this sonata was deliberately chosen by her because she wanted to demonstrate her proficiency with the soprano sax.

“I wanted to learn the soprano because I study classical music, and lot of classical saxophonists, like Harvey Patel and Christopher Creviston, say learning the soprano sax is mandatory,” Ibarra said.

It is Ibarra’s last semester at Cerritos, and the applied music program requires that exiting students have an eight-minute recital instead of the typical five.

The second performance was Mya Sanchez. She played a large brass horn called a Euphonium and was accompanied by Nadia Aponte on piano.

Sanchez played the song “A Walk in the Woods” written by Jiro Censhu.

The program cites a quote in Censhu’s notes regarding the song: “In our minds, each of us has our own peaceful forest… In that oasis, calmness reigns as our mind contemplates the good times that have passed.”

The purpose of these recitals is to prepare students for the 10-30 minute live auditions required to apply to music school. All performances are video and audio recorded so that the students may playback and mix their own recordings. Its also used to critique by the instructor.

Ibarra has already auditioned to Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State.

Bassist, Aaron Robinson Almanzan said he thought the performance was “beautiful.”

Dr. Christine Lopez, Director of the Applied Music Program, announced after the recital that they are opening sign-ups for the Student Showcase concert. This show features students within the Applied Music Program and is set for Saturday, Apr. 4 in the Burnight Center Theater. They have to audition to be selected.

Several students were passing around a clipboard to sign up after the performance.