Julia Guidi
Equinox Staff
Practice makes perfect. Keene State College music students know this all too well. It’s recital season at KSC.
Students all over campus are getting ready for upcoming recitals in the month of November.
Students are spending countless hours rehearsing music in preparation. From German to Italian, students are expanding their musicality and their knowledge of other languages. The first-year and sophomore recital takes place on Saturday, November 3. Juniors and seniors have their recital on Sunday, November 18.
Junior Tyler Martin is a double major in vocal performance and composition. Martin certainly has had his fair share of experience with learning and preparing music. Martin describes the first thing he does when he gets a new piece of music: “My first step is I lock myself in a practice room for several hours. I try to learn both my part and the piano part to become better connected to the music,” Martin explains.
Another important part of preparing for a recital is how long one spends on learning and perfecting their pieces. Cassidy Doherty, first year student and theatre major, “tries to practice 30 to 45 minutes a day.” As necessary as practicing is, it is also important to find a balance. Martin expresses how he practices 6 days a week but gives himself one day off. He does this in order to give himself a break, and to keep his voice healthy.
Performing is both a personal and public experience. Some people perform for the happiness it gives other people, and others perform because of personal enjoyment. Doherty talked about how performing affects her: “My favorite thing about performing is making other people feel joy. It makes me happy to make other people happy. I also like how it makes me feel free and I have a lot of confidence. Sometimes, I can get really nervous but once I get up there and get into it, I really enjoy it,” Doherty states. On the other hand, Martin enjoys the personal development and growth he can gain from performing. “Really, it’s not about performing for people. It’s more about performing for myself. I get this awesome music and it’s great just to be able to perform that for myself,” Martin remarks.
First year Colette Rinker, is completing a BA in music. Joy radiates off of Rinker when she talks about music — you can see it in her face. Rinker explained the reason why performing resonates with her so much: “Sharing what I’m passionate about with my community is the best part. The minute or two before you go on stage you get so scared, but after you walk in you feel all the worry melt onto the floor. Just knowing that there is people there to support you, and combining that with my passion and sharing the beauty that is classical music. There’s a big rainbow somewhere when that happens. It’s great.” No matter what reason students have for performing, it always comes back to the music which was a common theme between all 3 interviews.
Preparing for a recital can be tough. It requires long hours and never-ending dedication. However, the end product is clearly worth the effort and the wait.
Julia Guidi can be contacted at
jguidi@kscequinox.com
