Vocalists, violinists, pianists oh my!

Muhlenberg's student recital located in Egner Chapel!

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On the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 27, families, students and music lovers gathered in the Egner Memorial Chapel to enjoy musical performances by a variety of Muhlenberg music students. The music beautifully filled the chapel with its fantastic acoustics.

Each semester, the music department typically presents four or five of these student recitals. Performers have weekly one-on-one lessons with their studio instructor and then perform in a recital.

“The concert provides an opportunity for students to ‘try out’ the music that they are studying, i.e., to perform live before their colleagues, their instructors and the campus community.  We record all of these concerts; students and teachers can access, study and copy these recordings as they perfect their artistry,” said music department chair Dr. Paul Murphy. “The recitals provide an excellent, real-time experience for our performers.  The more opportunity they have for this, the more skilled they become.  For those listening, the recitals offer a broad array of repertoire of vocal instrumental music, and are a wonderful way to end the week!”

The performers were students of faculty members Paul Windt, Christopher Jackson, Brian Chu, Maja Lisa FritzHuspen, Vincent Trovato, Dan Boring, Fiona Jackson, Lauren Madigan and Trisha Budlong. Some of the performances were accompanied by Vincent Trovato.

This semester’s 3rd Student Recital included both classical music, music in Italian and even musical theater pieces. The recital began with violist Margaret Jackson ’21, who played “Adagio” composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Following her performance,  tenor Owen Yingling ‘21 sang the Italian song “Vaga luna, che inargenti” by Vincenzo Bellini.

“I felt pretty good about my performance, but more than anything I was so thrilled to see my talented classmates perform,” said Yingling.

Yingling has been playing music since he was in sixth grade and plans to major in theater, but might major in music as well. Regardless of his future career, he will definitely continue to listen to and attend music events, keeping music a part of his life. Yingling inherited his interest in music from his family.

Kennedy Maxwell ‘21 sang “Far From the Home I Love” from the musical, Fiddler on the Roof.

“There are always places in which I can improve, but overall, I thought my performance went well. Vinny plays a big part in that though. He is always amazing to work with,” said Maxwell.

Maxwell started singing in her third grade choir, but started to seriously study music in eighth grade. She is a theater major and is a double minor in music and dance. Music integrates itself into many parts of her life, such as listening to music while studying and singing in the shower.

“Most people drink coffee, but music is my energizer. The right song can flip my mood around and give me confidence. That said, music is also a comforter on the ‘not so good days.’  Music truly helps me lose and find myself at the same time,” said Maxwell.

Sophomore mezzo-soprano Sophie MacKay sang “No One Else” from the musical Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1821, and was accompanied by Ashely Hiester ’20.

MacKay has been singing longer than she can remember, but started taking voice lessons in seventh grade. She is a member of Muhlenberg’s all female a cappella group, The Girls Next Door.

“I know that music will always play an important role in my life,” said MacKay. “I hope to continue performing professionally in musicals, whether that is somewhere in New York or back in Portland where I grew up, I don’t really care, as long as I am performing and singing!”

Lella Michelson ’19 is a mezzo-soprano who sang “Meadowlark” from the musical The Baker’s Wife. She is a dancer and dance teacher, so she is always listening to music.

“I grew up listening to musicals and I have always loved to sing and that continued into my world today,” said Michelson.

Other performers included Ryan Carey ’21, Henri Reiss-NaVarre ’19 and Rebecca Grabarchuk ’21.

If you missed this student recital, you have the opportunity to attend the 4th Student Recital on Friday, Nov. 17 at 2:00 in the afternoon!

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Arielle Moss
Arielle Moss is a senior who majors in English and minors in Creative Writing and Philosophy. In addition to being Arts and Culture Editor, she is a member of the English Honor Society, Sigma Tau Delta, and the leadership honor society, Omicron Delta Kappa. On Fridays, you can find her enjoying Shabbat dinner at either Chabad or Hillel. After Muhlenberg, she dreams of attending graduate school with a goal of becoming an author of children’s literature.

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