May 8, 2008
BY CHRIS ROBINETTE
Staff Writer
Cowley sophomore Sarah Davidson walks out onto the Brown Theatre stage and quietly sits down in front of the piano.She is about to play five pieces of music, starting with Chopin Op 66, No. 2. This performance is a culmination of the past two years of her work at Cowley.
“Well, I guess you could say that I have been working on it for the past couple years with my instructor Steve Butler,” said Davidson.
“The recital is very important to me because I am a music major and I need the experience performing so that I am well prepared when I transfer to WSU,” Davidson said.
Davidson is followed by fellow sophomore Sarah Richardson, who goes through the same ritual except that her talent is a voice she has cultivated for the past four semesters. She’s accompanied by her vocal instructor, Connie Donatelli, on the piano.
“A lot happened over the last two years here [at Cowley], but I think all of it involved growing - growing up, growing musically, growing mentally, and growing as a person,” said Richardson.
For both of these students this is their last solo performance at Cowley; Sophomore Recital. It’s designed to exhibit the talent that each student has worked for four semesters to refine and build.
Davidson chose some of her songs with Butler, as well as other pieces that she has grown to enjoy.
“Some of the music was music that I had looked at before and . . . I also looked at some stuff with Steve to decide what to play,” she said. “We tried to have a variety of music from different style periods ranging from the Baroque period of music to the Romantic period.”
A sophomore recital requires a student have spent four semesters at the college, be a music major and have taken weekly applied lessons with their instructor.
“We have these lessons every week,” Donatelli said. “And to really see it all come together in their performance is thrilling to me, as their teacher.”
The recital does not count for a grade, and unlike larger four year schools, the recitals are not required of music majors. The help the student gain experience that will help them in their future endeavors.
“I do it for the experience students can have to perform, individually,” said Donatelli. “It’s an amazing thing as their teacher.”
Both Davidson and Richardson plan to continue music beyond Cowley. Davidson said she is looking at continuing music as an instructor.
“I definitely plan to continue with a career in music, as I plan to teach music some day. Music is a great passion of mine that I will always incorporate in my life,” she said.
Richardson is taking a different path where she will get much more experience on stage.
“I’ll be a music performance major at Friends next year,” Richardson said. “I plan on continuing that and eventually finding] a job doing operas.”
Both Richardson and Davidson have said they have fond memories of their time here at the college, but for Davidson the recital crowned it all.
“Some of my best memories would have to be performing in Greeley Colorado for the UNC Jazz Festival and my best memory would have to be performing for Sarah Richardson and I’s recital.”
Richardson enjoyed some of the more theatrical aspects, but she remembers those she spent her time with too. Among her most favorite memories, she lists: “Being backstage during the musicals and theatre productions; taking pictures in the snow with friends; chatting with Connie about vocal resonance during lessons; going to Florida and Denver; learning how to dance.”
The Cowley Press is produced by the Newspaper Production students. The primary goal of The Cowley Press is to serve the college community in a fair and accurate manner. Editorials, columns,and letters reflect the opinions of the writers. The staff reserves the right to edit letters for taste and length. Letters must be signed by the author.
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