Senior music performance major and trombone player Andrew Cropper performed his junior recital on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Redfern Arts Center Alumni Recital Hall. The recital consisted of repertoire from a wide range of eras.
“A lot of the pieces I play[ed] are from around the Renaissance era as well as the classical era,” Cropper said.
Cropper opened the recital with “Andante et Allegro,” which was composed by French Composer Joseph Edourd Barat. According to the program notes, “Andante et Allegro… showcases great moments of lyricism, allowing the performer to create a virtuosic performance for the listener.”
The second piece Cropper performed was titled, “Morceau Symphonique,” which featured a faster tempo.
“I would say one of the hardest challenges [was] my second piece,” Cropper said. “It’s very fast… I just [had] to make sure that it’s clear and articulate.”
Following was a five-movement piece titled “Sonata No. 1 in a minor for Trombone and Piano.”
“[These movements] were originally written for bassoon and are often played by cellists. Trombonists have ‘stolen’ these sonats and are now performed as a canonic repertoire for the instrument,” the program notes said. Cropper also performed “La Hironyma,” which he said also was not originally made for the trombone.
“[La Hironyma] was originally written for a Renaissance instrument called the sackbut,” Cropper said. “It was like the pre-trombone of the trombone.”
Cropper added, “I hope when the audience listen[ed] to that piece, it sound[ed] very, very old… it shows this beautiful range of notes and different rhythmic patterns.”
The recital concluded with “Reflective Mood” by American Composer Sammy Nestico. “The last piece of my recital is very jazzy,” Cropper said. “It’s like you sense where you’re gonna be in your seat and you understand what a jazz feels like, and you get that chill up your spine and it’s like, ‘Oh, that just happened.”’ Cropper has been playing trombone since middle school and found the passion to continue through college.
“I’ve been playing trombone since the seventh grade,” Cropper said. “If you told seventh grade me, ‘Oh, you’re gonna be playing trombone for your college career,’ I would’ve not believed him.”
Cropper described his experience playing trombone and being a music performance major at KSC as terrific.
“I’ve learned a lot of new things here at college that I would’ve never learned within my private instructors, as well as throughout my middle and high school career,” Cropper said. “I’ve learned many different ways of playing the trombone in many different situations and different atmospheres… and I know that will just continue.”
Leading up to the recital, Cropper had been working closely with music faculty Dr. John Hart.
“This is [Hart’s] fourth year teaching and this is also my fourth year as a student, so it’s great to have that teacher to student relationship [as] one of the first students he worked with,” Cropper said. “Working with Dr. Hart has been awesome and he has so much musical ability and knowledge to share.”
Cropper added, “Everyday I’m working with [Hart] through a lesson, I’m always learning something new and he always has something nice to say every time, and he also strives to push me to where I should be as a trombone player.”
In an email sent to The Equinox, Hart described Cropper as a hard working student. “Andrew has been an excellent student since I’ve known him… he came to Keene State not fully formed, but thirsty for experience and knowledge,” Hart said. “… Andrew has taken on a lot of the heavy lifting in our ensembles, and so has had to grow at a tremendous rate.” Hart said that Cropper’s recital reflected very well upon the skills they have worked on together.
“I think anyone who attended Andrew’s recital will have noticed that he’s got a firm grasp of the literature he’s studied,” Hart said. “…That delicate tone [he had], on the back of something so loud, is exceptionally challenging to make sound easy, and Andrew certainly did. I’m very proud of how much he’s grown over the years.”
Cropper saw this recital as a chance to bring his own voice to the pieces he performed and to establish his style as a musician.
“My ultimate goal [was] to bring my musical personality out there,” Cropper said. “Not only [did] I want the audience to be like, ‘That song was wow,’ but to also be like, ‘Wow, that’s Andrew Cropper right there.”’
Nicole Dumont can be contacted at
ndumont@kscequinox.com
