By Christie Shields
Self-expression was exemplified at the Music Recital Hall on
Thursday as seven student performers displayed their musical forte
in the second Spring Showcase Music Hour presented by Director
Nadia Shpachenko.
The Spring Showcase is an opportunity for students of the Music
Department to perform personally selected pieces for an
audience.
Many of the performers have important concerts in the near
future, and this recital provided a stepping stone to help them
become more comfortable in the spotlight, according to
Shpachenko.
Varieties of instrumental and vocal talents were unveiled to an
intimate crowd, beginning with a piano and violin duet and followed
by asoothing Spanish guitar piece played by Hsiaowen Shih, a
senior music education student.
Shih, took advantage of the showcase to perfect her performance
before her senior recital next Friday, and to gain experience since
she will be attending graduate school to study guitar.
Before coming to Cal Poly, Shih was born and raised in Taiwan
and chose to play the guitar in order to attend a music high
school.
She decided on the stringed instrument because of its lack of
popularity in Taiwan.
The next performer, pianist Vanessa Estrada, a senior music
education student, let her hands loose over the black and white
piano keys to a classical song by Beethoven.
Her performance provided a glimpse of her senior recital, in
which she will be performing an hour of memorized music.
Students Jeff Collins and Nate Haessly, accompanied by pianist
Janet Noll, played a piece by composer Antonio Vivaldi with
miniature trumpets known as piccolo trumpets.
EdCarlo Arafiles received a few laughs for his parts during the
second of the two songs performed.
After the tenor sang his way through “Romance” by Claude
Debussy, Arafiles performed the Broadway musical “Follies” by
singing “Buddy’s Blues” as Buddy, as well as his female
counterpart.
The crowd reacted with laughter and amusement as Arafiles
changed pitch voices many times throughout the song to accommodate
the two genders.
Moving to the upbeat blues style piano performance of Nolan
Yard, a third-year commercial piano student, the crowd tuned in to
his selection of “Chicago Breakup,” by composer Mark Harrison,
which combines styles of Chicago blues and boogie woogie.
Nolan liked the baseline and major key components of this
particular piece. The jazzy blues notes that resonated from the
piano made this piece enjoyable for Yard to perform.
Reach Shields and Teteris at
lifestyle@thepolypost.com
Paul Rosales/Poly Post
Students showcase personality, talent
