In the Seymour St. John Chapel on Sunday, April 24, 23 of Choate’s voice and piano students from all forms performed in the last Voice and Piano Student Music Recital of the year.
Voice recitals have been occurring on campus for a long time. “To my knowledge, the private lessons programs at Choate have held recitals for performers throughout the history of both the Choate School and Rosemary Hall,” said Choral Director Ms. Alysoun Kegel. Last year, however, the event was moved to the Chapel, and piano and organ performances were added to the program. This year’s performance consisted of two pianists and 21 singers, including bass, tenor, baritone, mezzo-soprano, and soprano voices. “This term, no one played the organ at the recital, but in the winter, we had two organ pieces,” said Ms. Kegel.
Such recitals are vital to Choate’s musical scene. “They are an integral part of our music lesson program, which serves about 230 students through more than 30 adjunct music faculty,” said Ms. Kalya Yannatos, Director of the Arts. “We are lucky to have such a wonderful faculty – the recitals really represent their excellent work with our students.”
A lot happens behind the scenes to make such recitals possible. Ms. Yannatos explained, “Ms. Kegel sets the order and makes sure that the students are ready in collaboration with their lesson teachers, and Ms. [Carol] Jones manages other details, like receiving recital forms from interested students and making the program and flyers.”
This year, the recital was held earlier than usual, “which certainly put some stress on the performers, compromised some of their performances, and necessitated some of them learning shorter, easier pieces than they would have otherwise,” said Ms. Kegel.
Will May ’18, who performed “Apres un reve” by Gabriel Faure, noted that “the recital was the best platform for me to display my skills and what I’ve learned this year.”
For Graysen Airth ’18, who sang “Sento in seno ch’io pioggia di lagrime from Tieteberga” by Antonio Vivaldi, this recital was different from ones in the past. “There were fewer people than usual … I’ve noticed that the music program is really starting to veer towards classical music, and thus fewer people are performing musical theater.”
After the show, Catherine Toms ’17, who sang “Le Charme” by Amedee-Ernest Chausson, noted, “You have to put a lot of work into singing, but the reward at the end is so great, especially in an ensemble where you’re always working together.”
Two pianists performed in the concert: Vincenzo DiNatale ’19 opened the performance with “Bagatalles: Lento con Tristezza and Allegro Marziale” by Alaxander Tcherepnin, and Kevin Auman ’17 closed with “Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 3, No. 2,” by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Pianist Mr. Thomas Martin accompanied many students as well.
The audience was extremely impressed: Polina Ermoshkina ’19 commented, “It was interesting hearing people who I’ve heard speak before but never heard sing.” Marja van Mierlo ’18 noted, “Seeing people who sing so well is always great.” Ms. Yannatos enjoyed “seeing how many our students are growing from term to term and hearing them perform,” while Ms. Kegel loved seeing students “‘leap” in terms of their ability as technicians, expressive artists, or performers.” In conclusion, the recital was a great way for students to showcase skills they otherwise have not had a chance to convey out loud.
