By Edward Bannister-Holmes
Correspondent
The beautiful sounds of piano chords, string instruments and soprano voices filled Mayo Concert Hall as students and faculty of the Music Department performed in another edition of the Afternoon Recital Series on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
There were no solo performances in this recital. Instead, every performance was a duet — some involved two instruments being played simultaneously while others involved different forms of singing accompanied by an instrument.
“Each year, students of the music department are required to perform one recital,” said junior music education major, Chelsea Hogendorn, who sang a piece by French composer Francis Poulenc in a soprano voice.
Some of the musicians were very experienced and have exhibited their talents on the Mayo stage before. But for sophomore music education major Kenneth Hamilton, you would never be able to tell this was his first performance.
Hamilton, who performed on the bass, said he was nervous before playing his piece “Sonata in G minor” by Bendetto Marcello, but it was never apparent during his rendition.
“Honestly, I told myself that everyone goes through this. I had to treat it like another rehearsal,” Hamilton said.
First-time recital performers are not the only ones who become nervous for their recitals. Even the most experienced of students feel cold feet before they hit the stage.
“Everyone gets nervous,” said Hogendorn, who performed in her third recital.
Each of the performances appeared flawless, but of course, each song required a lot of practice.
“I had been working on (my) piece since the beginning of the semester,” junior music education major Ashleigh Ayers said. Leider, the genre in which she sang, was described as a “German word meaning ‘art song.’”
This recital demonstrated the amont of dedication that students of the College are willing to put into these recitals. From piano to saxophones and plenty of voices, their talents were diverse.
Ultimately, the audience was pleased with each performance and gave applause after everyone had finished playing.
“It was absolutely amazing to be able to see these students live and performing their passions.” event attendee Madelyn Morrison Lichtman said.
