The Honors Music Recital took place in the Bradley Theatre on Tuesday, Nov. 19, and featured a healthy array of string, band instrument and vocal performers. The Bradley Theatre emanated excitement from both audience members and performers.
The recital began and ended with Fabian Qamar, senior viola and vocal performance and pedagogy major. For his first performance, Qamar played the viola and the first movement from “Märchenbilder (Fairy Tale Pictures),” Op. 113, entitled “Nicht Schnell” from memory. After a mesmerizing performance, a silence fell over the auditorium before someone broke the suspension of disbelief with infectious applause.
This performance was followed by Stephanie Wasmer, senior choral and general music education major, who sang a French song entitled: “Chacun le sait” from the opera “La Fille du regiment.” A trained soprano, Wasmer exhibited not only an impressive range, but also a vocal agility that captured the audience’s attention.
The third performer for the morning was sophomore Malcolm Blakely, who played a smooth alto saxophone solo by Eugene Bozza, simply entitled “Aria”.
The first three performers certainly set the bar high for the other recital participants, and they did not disappoint. Audience members were given the opportunity to listen and appreciate pieces from various time periods ranging from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries, as well as experience a number of different languages put to music.
Qamar ended the recital by singing the French piece “Che gelida manina” from the renowned opera, “La Bohème.” Qamar’s ending performance captured the audience’s attention, despite the language barrier, with his expressive body language, which mirrored the piece’s overall tone.
“I thought it was probably the best recital since I’ve been here,” said Katie Christensen, sophomore piano performance and pedagogy major. “It went very well.” Christensen performed a riveting piano solo of “Étude Op. 25 No. 11,” better known as “Winter Wind” by Frederic Chopin.
The Music Departmental Recital was held at the Bradley center on Tuesday, Nov. 26. The audience was very engaged. The Bradley Theatre was brimming with anticipation from performers and audience members alike.
Unlike the Honors Recital, the Departmental recital featured a plethora of young male and female vocalists, which easily outnumbered the amount of instrumentalists. During this recital, some audience members may have been surprised to look at the program and see a title of song that they have probably heard on the radio. Lindsay Kleckner, junior criminal justice major, performed the contemporary song “My Immortal,” originally done by the band Evanescence.
Another irregular recital quirk was provided by Matthew Troyer, instrumental and general music education major, who utilized two instruments for his performance of “Nightsongs” by Richard Peaslee. For the first part of the piece, Troyer played the flugelhorn before switching to the trumpet.
Lakeland College is home to many gifted performers, so the campus community is regularly treated to impressive shows like the Honors and Departmental Recitals. Overall, the performances went very smoothly, and both audiences appeared well pleased.