by Max Zänker
Staff Writer
A historic-international flair filled Founders Auditorium on Tuesday, as the Student Chamber Music Recital performed in a classical concert as a final project of their class.
The students took the audience on a musical journey through time and space, as they played music by Joseph Haydn, R. Vaughan Williams and Franz Schubert.
“My favorite was the last part, Schubert’s piece. Melissa just knocked me out,” said Chris Smith, theater major, speaking of Melissa Stahly, the soprano who sang Schubert’s “Shepherd on the Rock” in German.
“It was a challenge to sing in German, because you have to put a lot more effort into expressing feelings and emotions to make the audience understand what you’re singing about,” Stahly said. “The German has more consonants and less vowels, which makes performing even harder.”
Stahly performed together with Cody Smith on the piano and Christopher Franco on the clarinet.
“I was really satisfied with the concert. Everyone did a great job,” Smith said. “I like classical music, it’s my favorite and this is also why I chose this major. I felt a calling. I can’t imagine my life without music, enjoying anything else.”
The evening opened with a Joseph Haydn piece, performed by Danielle Cummins, while Misa Kitagawa played the violin and Nicholas Pulido played the trombone.
“It was very difficult because the piece was originally composed for the cello, but as we did have not anyone for that part, we had to adjust it for the trombone,” said Pulido, who has played his instrument since the age of seven and wants to become a music teacher for elementary or high school.
“Music helps children with their reading and math skills, creativity and confidence. I experienced this myself and want to expose this to the children.”
Cummings enjoyed the concert because she was able to perform the music of her favorite composer.
“I like Haydn because I was in Hainburg, where he studied. It seemed like he was a guy that liked to have fun and you can also find this in his music.”
In the second part of the concert, Stephanie Duarte and Sarah Morales entertained the audience with their voices, performing short pieces by R. Vaughan Williams, accompanied by Nicole Sullivan’s violin. Sad songs rotated with happy songs, solo singing with violin parts and duo performance.
“I prefer the happy songs, ‘The Piper’ was my favorite,” said mezzo-soprano Morales. “I like classical music that puts a smile on your face.”
The students of chamber music have practiced all semester for this concert.
“We have class one hour a week and practice together once more for about one hour,” Smith said. “Our final grade is basically based on our preparation for the concert, not on the performance itself.”
As a singer, Morales’ training times differ from those students who played instruments in the concert.
“I cannot practice as often as they do, according to my voice,” she said. “Practice was a lot of hard work, but it is really fun to show the result of this hard work to the audience. It was a fine concert.”
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