On March 27, the Ondrick Music Room in the Howe Center was transformed into a performance studio. Approximately 17 students of the Voice Studio of Bethany Reeves performed pieces of music they have been working on for several weeks to months. All levels of students performed, from those just beginning voice lessons, to graduating seniors who have been in the studio and the Stevens choirs for a number of years. The voice studio has two graduate students (myself included), one of whom performed on Friday night. Musical selections also ranged from Broadway selections, to English art-songs, to Italian opera arias.
I, myself, did not perfrom on Friday night because I performed on Opera Night in February. It was a different experiece sitting in the audience watching the performers, and not having to think about my upcoming performance. I was very impressed with the talent of the students. The majority of the performers are also in choir with me, but I never get to hear them sing solo. I hope these students continue taking voice lessons... voice helps you not only become a better vocalist, but helps you develop your musicianship and learn about various composers and eras of musical development throughout history.
On Saturday night, my voice teacher, Bethany Reeves, performed in the Artist-in-Residence concert in the Stevens Library, as part of the Library and Concert Series. The concert also featured the artist-in-residence for piano, Phillip Diekow, and the artist-in-residence for viola and violin, Martin Anderson. Each artist-in-residence performed approximately three pieces of music. Phillip Diekow opened the program with the Amazing Grace Fantasy composed by Christian McLeer (b. 1978) who composed the piece when he was only 21 years old. This fantasy was based on the hymn "Amazing Grace," and was absolutely beautiful. Martin Anderson on viola was unbelieveable. Mr. Anderson was accompanied on the piano by Yi-Fang Huang. I think violin and viola are my favorite instruments to listen to. The sound is so fluid, eloquent, and soothing... I just closed my eyes and listened to the music resonate throughout the library. Simply beautiful. And finally, Bethany Reeves performed three settings of Ophelias's Songs from Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Bethany performed these pieces on her doctoral recital at Rutgers University. My favorite of the three pieces was Ophelia's Lament, which opens with the piano playing a version of the children's song "Rockabye Baby." This is used to foreshadow her death when she falls out of a willow tree into a stream. The concert was phenominal... and the Stevens Library is a great location for the concert.
The Samuel C. Williams Library has a wealth of art, artifacts, and historic collections. The original construction drawings for the U.S.S. Monitor are in the collection, along with a wealth of manuscripts and drawings pertaining to Leonardo da Vinci. In addition, the Frederick Winslow Taylor collection, the Father of Scientific Management, is quite unique and is the only collection of its type in the world. Thanks to a gift by Karen Kalajian and the family of Antonin Dostal, a concert grand piano was added to the collection at the Library. Because of this gift, concerts, recitals, and special receptions have been in the Great Hall for decades. Open to the third floor, the acoustics allow the listener to enjoy the full breadth and depth of the music, while enjoying the art and beauty of the space. Since a recent resoration of the instrument, a concert series was re-established to bring music to the Great Hall, the Stevens community, and the public at large on a regular basis, featuring Stevens' students, faculty, and staff.
