Spring blooms with music from an outstanding concert conducted by music director Dean Anderson and the Fullerton College Symphony. The concert ranged from classical to pop genres, starting the spring concert series with a refreshing opening night at the Campus Theatre.

The program began with a performance led by violinist Hannah Yim and the Fullerton College Symphony Orchestra where they executed a wonderful interpretation of a piece by M. Bruch. This opening pulled in the audience and prepared them for the exciting music to follow.

The program included Zun Hin Woo, a special guest conductor who lead the orchestra through two classic pieces by O. Respighi and P. Tchaikovsky. Anderson continued to participate by joining the orchestra while Woo conducted.

After the intermission, The West Valley Guitar Quartet joined the FC symphony to begin a fun version of “Classical Gas” by Mason Williams. This was a greatly entertaining piece that moved the classic music into the pop genre.

Anderson said that although he likes to focus on traditional standards of orchestra, he also wanted to challenge his students to learn modern pop, “to learn the music from our time.” He included popular interpretations of music from Broadway and other modern music including highlights from “Wicked,” “Les Miserables,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and the theme from “Mission: Impossible.” All of the pieces mentioned was something that the audience was familiar with and it seemed like everyone enjoyed it. Anderson encouraged the crowd to sing or hum along.

This concert marks Anderson’s last concert as music director at Fullerton College, he has been appointed as the Director of Orchestra at La Sierra University in Riverside.

Anderson has been part of the Fullerton College faculty since 2008 and has contributed a lot to the department. He has helped the Fullerton College Orchestra grow throughout the years and plans to continue to support his students and the music department even though he will not be returning to FC next semester. Anderson is really proud of all his students and gave the audience a memorable night.