By Lauren Zazzara
Features Editor
The SBU Piano and Vocal Studios and Chamber Singers beautifully serenaded their friends, family and community who filled the Rigas Family Theater in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Sunday.
The recital featured both pianists and vocalists who performed a wide variety of pieces from different time periods and genres.
Troy DeWeever, a senior marketing major and music minor, kicked off the recital with Beethoven’s Sonata in C# Minor, Op. 27, otherwise known as “Moonlight Sonata.” It’s a dark and somber piece that DeWeever put much emotion into as he swayed back and forth on the piano bench.
Next, senior biochemistry major and music minor Kevin Sidoran played “Clair de Lune,” from the Impressionist composer Claude-Achilles Debussy. Sidoran artistically pulled and pushed the tempo throughout, a signature of Impressionist musical compositions.
The final pianist, Jory Olson, a junior music major, performed his own impressive, upbeat and ragtime-y arrangement of themes from the Super Mario video games, titled “Super Mario Medley. “
Next, the SBU Chamber Singers took the stage under the direction of artist-in-residence Kathryn Black. They sang three pieces, but they really stood out with their rendition of “Say Something,” a popular hit from the band A Great Big World.
For this performance, the singers stood in a clump with one sitting on the piano and a couple sitting on platforms, with senior English major Azarius Perez as a soloist.
The singers’ facial expressions showed longing and heartbreak that matched the emotion of their vocals as Daniel Cowan, a junior journalism and mass communication major, played guitar.
After the SBU Chamber Singers, the vocal studio soloist performances commenced.
Rachel Harris, Ph.D, an opera coach and instructor of music from Louisiana State University, led vocal master classes in early November that included incorporating acting into singing, of which the vocalists clearly took advantage.
The soloists began with senior journalism and mass communication and theater double major Cher Miller. She held a wrapped-up baby’s blanket as she sang “Your Daddy’s Son” from the musical Ragtime, and by the end of the song she was on her knees near tears as she tried to explain why she had deserted the baby in a garden.
In another great acting performance, Cher Miller and Azarius Perez sang “On the Wheels of a Dream,” also from Ragtime, using the baby’s blanket again as they told the “baby” that America will give him a good life.
Erin Ament, one of Black’s private students, wore a pink evening gown and sang “Ach, ich fühl’s” from Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute to her actual husband seated on stage, who avoided her gaze. This created an intensity that matched the darkness of the piece.
In addition to “Ach, ich fühl’s,” three other pieces chosen by soloists featured non-English lyrics, which added a cultural aspect to the recital.
Laura Peterson, a music lecturer, accompanied all of the vocalists on piano.
It was refreshing to see Bonaventure’s musical talent showcased in such a diverse span of entertaining performances. All of the applause was well-deserved.
zazzarlm13@bonaventure.edu
