Fourth Annual Faculty Recital Wows Attendees

Story by Broadside Correspondent Marian McLaughlin. Photos by Laura Foltz.

Every September for the past four years, the Department of Music has held a Faculty Showcase Recital, highlighting the works and performances of notable faculty figures. It is an exclusive moment when students and other instructors get a chance to view mentors or colleagues in their true nature, as performers, composers, or arrangers, sharing live music with passion and dedication. Dr. James Gardner, the Music Department Chair, summed up the showcase in one sentence by saying, “The rare variety of faculty makes the showcase a truly unique thing.”

Gardner did not perform as stated in the program, so the showcase opened up with Professor Larry Snitzler playing two movements from the piece “Castles of Spain” by Federico Moreno-Torroba. The tonality of his classical guitar carried out the movements in a graceful, dreamlike manner.
Dr. Linda Apple-Monson, the associate chair, played three pieces by Dr. Glenn Smith, who teaches composition, theory and healing arts. Each piece stood out on its own, but consisted of a swaying, dancing air. Apple-Monson’s fingertips skipped across the piano keys, creating a flittering sound as she played a variety of trilling notes.

Dr. Patricia Parker took over the piano bench afterward to accompany Dr. Kathryn Hearden, an accomplished soprano. Her voice was filled with plenty of vibrato as she went from singing softly and romantically to loud, operatic moments. Her repertoire consisted of two poems by Richard Hundley and a piece by Giacomo Puccini, dedicated to him in honor of the 150th anniversary of his birth.

Postcards for Euphonium Solo and Four Trombones was an original composition put together by performer Andy Skaggs, who took part in the trombone ensemble. Professor Roger Behrend went off into an epic euphonium solo as the trombone section provided drone notes, backup, and buildup. There were so many layers of sound since each trombone was doing something different.

During “Fantasie on an Original Theme,” Apple- Monson accompanied saxophonist Dr. Timothy Roberts through scurrying furies of notes. The piano hopped and skipped about as the saxophone lines dipped into chromatic descent, only to fly back up in a series of rapid, ascending notes, carrying on with a steady, airy theme that captured the image of a fantasy.

The same dynamics were present as Dr. Anna Balakerskaia and Professor Zino Bogachek did a piano and violin duet, performing a slow, somber piece by Robert Schumann, only to follow it with a more passionate scherzo by Johannes Brahms. Bogachek demonstrated his strong vibrato skills as he shook his wrist back and forth to create a wobbling, melancholic sound from the violin. The second piece was layered in tension from the dramatic piano progressions to the sense of urgency in the rushing violin’s voice.

Next up on the program was an improvisation by Dr. Michael Nickens. He began by puttering a few simple notes on his tuba, only to start creating crazy noises, emitting monstrous growls from his big, brass instrument. Soon, he started to beat-box through his tuba, and at certain moments, one could hear his actual voice and breaths traveling through its mechanics. His mouth moved in complex beats, giving the tuba an original sound that shocked many audience members.

Nickens was followed by another duet. Dr. Kelly Ker-Hackleman provided piano accompaniment for trumpet player, Dr. Stanley Curtis. The piece by George Enescu was yet another delicate, forlorn piece, but moved on later into a more uplifting theme. The tonality went from a taps-like sound to a triumph state, the trumpet crying with piercing loud peaks before surrendering back to a slow return.
The showcase ended with talent of tenor Richard Novak, accompanied by the gifted Apple-Monson. Novak covered pieces by Amy Beach, Arrigo Boito, and Jules Massenet, singing powerfully in English, Italian, and French. His booming voice was able to hold out long notes that resonated with an operatic ending.