The Tripod

What school year would be complete without a music recital? The Recital of Chamber Ensembles, Private Lessons and Composer Seminar Students this past Saturday, April 25, was far more entertaining than the end of year recitals I was used to seeing in high school. On a beautiful 80 degree day, I was shocked to see so many people come off the crowded quad to see their friends, roommates, and teammates perform in this recital. The recital was held in the Goodwin Theater in the Austin Arts Center, which I thought was unfortunate for the performers. So many people had come out to see them, but the massive amount of seating in this theater made the attendance at the recital seem sparse.

The recital was introduced by Nancy Curran, the director of the Instrumental Ensemble Program. She gave a tribute to her colleague, Associate Professor of Music Douglas Johnson. Professor Johnson, who led this year's composition seminar, will be retiring in June after teaching at Trinity for 21 years. He created the Chamber Ensemble at Trinity and will be deeply missed for his talent for both music and teaching. All of the students who performed their own composed pieces were clearly mentored and inspired by Professor Johnson.

As the recital began, it was clear that the flute is a very popular instrument in both the ensembles and in lessons. The first act consisted for Joseph Chaeu Chan Lim '12 and Kristen Droesch '12, both on the flute. They were accompanied by Professor Curran on the harpsichord. Throughout my many years of musical theater and music classes, I had always wondered what exactly a harpsichord looked like. I could recognize the strangely eerie piano-like sound, yet I had never seen a harpsichord in real life. Because I had been automatically associating the harpsichord with an actual harp, I was shocked to see that the instrument merely resembled a wooden piano. Their piece was short but sweet and very fluid. These freshman flautists performed again, in an ensemble with their coach, Susan Allen, which was much longer and seemingly more complex. Lim was entertaining to watch as he moved enthusiastically from side to side completely absorbed in his music. Both of these first years also performed solo pieces on their flutes, which were upbeat and melodious.

I was extremely impressed by the students who sang during the recital, most likely because I would never be caught dead singing a solo in the shower, let alone in front of an audience. Cydni Kantor '11 entertained the crowd with a version of Anna Nalick's "Breathe". Though her song was different than the radio version that encumbered the radio in 2005, it was still nice to hear a song to which I?knew the words. George V. Hairston, Jr. '11 stole the show with his rendition of Brian McKnight's hit, "One Last Cry". I was unbelievably impressed that when I shut my eyes, Hairston sounded exactly like the real thing.

Even more amazing were the students who wrote their own performance pieces. Christopher Houlihan '09 played an untitled piece on the piano that was catchy and impeccably performed. His fingers were moving so fast that his hands seemed to mesh into the keys. Ali Wood '11 also performed a piece she composed entitled "I Try". She both sang and played the guitar and her piece was heartfelt and enjoyable. Nina Limbardo '11 performed two of her composed songs during the recital. She also played the guitar and sang her compositions. Both songs were original and very well performed. Her voice reminded me of songs by Corinne Bailey Rae, both soulful and easy on the ears.

Once my younger sister took up violin at a young age, I developed a strong aversion to the instrument as a whole. However, Coco Nichols' '09 performance of "Concerto no. 1 in G minor, op. 26" was enough to change my mind. Her performance was beautiful and truly showed off her amazing talent with the violin. Sophomore Christina Conti's performance of Cole Porter's song "So In Love" from the Broadway show, Kiss Me Kate, was also a very memorable piece. Though the song is one of Porter's slower songs, Conti managed to make the piece exciting and captivating.

Overall, though the concert was extremely lengthy, all of the performances proved to be worth all of the students' hard work. Every piece was clearly practiced and well performed and I was impressed to see how diligently Trinity students work to perfect their musical talents. They should be given more credit for their skills and perform more than just twice a year.

Article Tools