The university’s annual Rock Collegium took place Saturday Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Schroeder Hall of the Green Music Center. After not being able to perform live for some time due to COVID-19, the Rock Collegium performers were eager to step back on the stage. 

The Rock Collegium is an ensemble made up of Sonoma State University music majors who can choose to audition for the event at the beginning of the semester. 

Dr. John Palmer directed the event and is part of the Musicology and Musicianship Programs of the Music Department. 

“The ensemble originated in a seminar for music majors on Rock I gave in 2011, and in which I asked the students to write new songs trying to copy some of the styles we had studied,” Palmer wrote in an email. “The next year it became an ensemble independent of the seminar course, and has been ever since. The scope of the concerts has grown immensely,” he continued.

This event has taken place at Sonoma State for about nine years, and no two concerts of every semester are exactly the same. Each semester new students join, new songs are chosen, students compose their own music and even faculty members participate each time. 

Palmer wrote, “My favorite aspect of the ensemble is probably the working out of the music, hearing it progress from rough to polished, at which point it becomes fun to play. However, as we have not performed live in quite some time, the concert itself will be the primary thrill. Few things in life are as fulfilling as making music happen.”

Students attend events at the Green Music center to discover new music and overall try new things. Danielle Reyes, a third year nursing major student at SSU attended Saturday nights Rock Collegium and said “This was my first time going to an event at the Green Music Center and it was a very unique experience. My favorite performance hands down was the rendition of the song ‘Doctor Doctor’, their energy was so lively that you could feel it throughout the entire hall.”

Several were pleasantly surprised with this year’s program and hope to be able to attend future events. English major at Sonoma State, Xavier Ravella said “I had a really good time and was just vibing with the music the entire time. This is definitely something I would want to come out to again.”