By Julia Duggan
Correspondent
Even through the most frigid weather conditions, the show must go on — and it did on Feb. 12 for the Tuesday Afternoon Recital Series in Mayo Concert Hall. Four students performed at the recital and they brought their own distinctive talent to the stage.
“I believe that an important component of intense music study is the opportunity to share one’s music with others,” said Eric Laprade, a music professor who helped organize the recital. “The Tuesday afternoon recitals provide the perfect opportunity for our students to share their hard work, and to develop performance skills and confidence in a beautiful performance space.”
Lana Holgado, a junior voice and piano double major, gorgeously sang “A Long Time Ago” by Aaron Copland. She explained that the song forced her to use her upper register, or the higher part of her voice range, which proved to be a challenge. Her voice rang in the concert hall and blended beautifully with the piano accompaniment, which was ultimately met with a thunderous applause.
“It is reminiscing on the past and it is about this beautiful girl who is in the forest and you are with her and it is like a summer romance,” she said. “When it turned to autumn she faded away, but it is really pretty.”
Next up was Sarah Sardoni, a freshman music major, who showcased her flute skills with the piece, “Sonata for Flute in C Minor,” by Gaetano Donizetti.
“I think it has all the elements you would probably want in a piece,” she said. “It has the slower section to it in the beginning where you hear the story developing and then it goes into the allegro (faster section) where you have this hop-skip feel where it is a little bit faster and gets more upbeat.”
David DiGiacobbe, a flute professor and Sardoni’s private flute instructor, was eager to praise his student’s performance.
“She was really spectacular especially because she is a freshman and the Donizetti Sonata she played is a good 7 to 8 minutes long,” he said. “She played beautifully in tune, with gorgeous musicianship, an understanding of the musical line and genre of the Sonata. I could have not been more pleased.”
Ryan Haupt, a freshman music education major, followed Sardoni and took the stage with his trombone, performing “Prelude and Fanfaronade” by Paul Koepke.
“None of it sounds like a fanfare, but it is has two contrasting parts where one is the slow more melodic part,” he said. “It bumps up tempo in the allegro section, and so it gets faster, but it’s the contrast between those two sections that makes the piece what it is.”
Haupt’s sound surrounded the audience members and kept them in awe throughout his performance. The cheers echoed in the hall after he was finished.
Ian Walden, a junior music education major, closed the recital with a trumpet performance of “Supremacy of Right” by Herbert L. Clarke. Waldman described his piece as a celebration and described how it felt to perform in Mayo Concert Hall.
“The sound is the best sound you will ever hear coming out of your instrument here at TCNJ,” he said. “The whole ambiance it’s amazing.”
After the recital, the audience left the concert hall and proceeded to the lobby where they waited to greet the performers, whom were met with praise.
“It is interesting to hear the different levels from the freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors,” DiGiacobbe said. “It is incredible to hear the talent that we are getting now at TCNJ that the freshmen can play a full Sonata like that. It just shows the kind of talent we are attracting to the music department here at TCNJ, and that is always exciting. What I love to see is the family aspect of the students — the way they react to their peers onstage and the warmth and applause they give them.”
Laprade echoed DiGiacobbe’s pride and love for teaching in such a supportive community full of talented young musicians.
“One of the things I love most about Tuesday recitals, and all department of music events for that matter, is the sense of community and peer support that are present at TCNJ,” he said. “The audience is always filled with TCNJ students and faculty members who are there to support the performing students. I always look forward to seeing our department come together to celebrate the accomplishments of our students.”
