Lexington Porter Senior Show

Posted by Alison Gamache in Music

The Contemporary Music Program at Santa Fe University of Art and Design has no shortage of incredible talent performing numerous styles of music and a diverse number of instruments. As the semester draws to a close many of those students are channeling that talent into this semesters senior performances.

On Dec 4., CMP major Lexington Porter hosted his senior show at SFUAD. The O’Shaughnessy Performance Space was completely full of supporters and peers as Porter took the stage with five other CMP majors with a set list of four songs and an improvisation piece.

In most cases, senior shows are made up of students that do not necessarily play music together on a regular basis. In Porter’s senior show, the group happened to be comprised of students that often rehearsed with one another, so the chemistry within the group was already present and it was very apparent.

Porter performed on two different instruments, violin and mandolin, and also contributed vocals for the pieces. He was accompanied by Dennis Brumback on guitar, Max Espinosa on bass, Josh Buchignani on drums, D-Lou on keyboard and NJ Bingana on trumpet.

O’Shaughnessy was dark with the exception of a single strand of colorful Christmas lights stretched across the floor of the space, adding a groovy splash of color that matched the feeling in the room, as the group’s performance started with a mellow sound.

As the show progressed, the music’s tempo increased and the crowd was noticeably more attentive. The musicians took turns switching back and forth between solos on their respective instruments, showcasing their talents as Porter was front man with his own.

People were still filing into O’Shaughnessy as the show was underway. For the third song, the group performed the song “Forever” by Little Dragon and did an incredible job. By the end of the song, the whole audience was smiling and clearly enjoying themselves.

The rich, silky smooth melodies vibrated through the space as a few students whispered “this is so chill,” to one another. Every song Porter had selected for the performance was getting a great reaction with the audience.

As the group started its improvised piece, the musicians were taking subtle queues from Porter, using head nods and hardly noticeable gestures to communicate with one another.

When the final song was announced, the audience booed, only out of frustration that there wasn’t more planned. “Binky” by Snarky Puppy was the last song of the night and it was flawless.

Porter obviously knew what he was doing when he chose the songs for his Senior Show. The night ended on a high energy, upbeat song selection that left the audience wanting more.