The College’s various music majors showed off their skills and hard work this Wednesday, Oct. 16, in Mayo Concert Hall for another edition of the Afternoon Recital Series.
To begin the recital, students Justin Ploskonka, Alyssa Aiello, Andrew Unger, Paul Kady and Nick Licitra played “Two Ayres for Cornetts & Sagbuts” by John Adson, as well as “Two Pieces from Pavans, Galliards, Almaines and other Short Airs” by Anthony Holborne.
The performers played their various brass instruments with nothing short of professional skill, which created powerful and celebratory sounds for the audience to enjoy.
On the bassoon, Marlee Ernst played “Bassoon Concerto in D minor” by Antonio Vivaldi. Ernst’s piece was more melancholy than the others, but she made the concerto come alive with her passionate playing.
Moving away from instruments briefly, Agnes Kalinowski sang “The Crucifixion” by Samuel Barber as well as “My Twelve-Tone Melody” by Leonard Bernstein. Kalinowski sang with annunciation and elegance. The audience especially loved her performances, evidenced by their shouts of praise as she walked off the stage.
Next, Rebecca Hoffler performed a rendition of “Fantaisie-Ballet” by Jules Mazellier on the clarinet. Hoffler’s talent emerged as she played the quick scales of her piece smoothly and effortlessly. Also on the clarinet, Rachel Kopania then performed “Concerto No. 3” by Carl Stamitz. The delicateness of her playing made the song feel like a sweet lullaby.
“Waldesgespräch” by Robert Schumann was sung by Jessica Pierce, a soprano with a powerful voice.
Sophomore music major Cristina Villagomez was thrilled with her performance.
“The control over (Pierce’s) breathing was quite accurate,” Villagomez said.
Unlike the other students, Ellen Plattman played “Sonata for Solo Violin in G minor, BWV. 1001” by Johann Sebastian Bach without the accompaniment of a pianist, allowing the audience to focus on Plattman’s sharp and precise movements.
Finally, Zachary Berkman finished off the recital with “Drei Romanzen, op. 94” by Robert Schumann. Although he had difficulty creating sound out of his oboe during some moments, Berkman still played with incredible proficiency, and the audience applauded him with supreme energy.
“Schumann is complicated,” Villagomez said of the composer. “Things happen. However, (Berkman) still had so much energy. His sound was pure and his performance was sweet.”
