“The concert was amazing. It was fun, serious at the same time, [while] being exposed to contemporary music, I learned to appreciate it,” music major Oscar Franco said about the concert hosted by the Dr. Christine Lopez and the music department.

The concert was held on Friday, Sept. 23 at the Burnight Center.

“We know [Dr. Christine Lopez] from the piano world,” explained piano instructor Mark Uranker after the concert he gave alongside fellow piano instructor Althea Waites.

Waites said, “We both are friends and colleagues of Lopez, who is the director of keyboard studies here so we have a little bit of a history with Cerritos College.

“The musical world, in one sense, is very small. She came to a lot of our concerts. Uranker and I have an association with her. I’ve given recitals here, master classes. That’s basically how it started. We’ve had many many conversations back and forth and that’s how we met.”

Lopez wanted to have students become more familiar with contemporary music, which is what was the focus of the concert that showcased Uranker and Waites put on.

The two pianists also expressed an interest in introducing new music and living composers to the public and to students especially.

Uranker expressed, “I think here in this venue and in this series, the difference [between performing for a college audience and a regular one] is that we talk and explain the music.

“Everything would be in the notes and we would just play and go off stage but as far as the repretory pick, I think that there wouldn’t be any difference. We picked this […] because Dr. Lopez wanted to have some modern music in the program.”

There was a piece titled “Bristol Cone and Pitch”, in which the pianists are expected to clap and stop on the offbeat. Uranker explained that it adds a special affect and a visual element for people to see, so the composition becomes more that what is heard.

He continued, “It is unexpected so I think that’s also part of it. I think that’s why we should not bring [conventionalism and perfectionism into] music.”

Waites added that oftentimes composers do that to insert whatever they feel would enhance the performance. She has seen clapping, sides of the fists or clusters inside the piano. There’s all kinds of ways to interpret that.

“I’ve had to do a lot of unorthodox pieces on the piano, where you actually walk out and you’re play acting while you’re playing. There’s one piece by a Michigan composer where the page turner is supposed to forget to turn your page and you really get involved in the drama but it’s a lot of fun.

“There’s all kinds of things. Of course you have to be open to do that to make the piece affective. If that’s what the composer wants then […] you have to respond to that. You can’t say I don’t want to do that. It’s about being open and trying to create in the best possible way, whatever is needed to make that piece happen.”

Uranker expressed his gratitude in giving a concert on a Friday afternoon, explaining that he hopes the audience left being interested in new pieces or ideas of possibility.

Waites added, “I think you have to be willing to grow and never feel like you’ve arrived. I’m 77 years old and I still feel like I’m evolving and learning as an artist and as a musician.

“I like to feel like there’s always more to discover and there’s more to learn. It doesn’t mean we don’t know anything. My teachers used to always say, ‘serve to be the best you can be.’ If you get 80-85 percent on any given night or performance, thats okay.

She continued, “If you get 90 percent then [don’t] bank on that because we aren’t perfection.”

Uranker concluded, “It’s not a good concept for art.”