Tyler Stauffer photo
The D’Angelo Department of Music presented the last in its Faculty Recital Series Thursday.

The theme of this recital was “a celebration of collaboration,” and it featured both faculty and student performers of all different instruments.

Assistant professor of music, Albert Glinsky, Ph.D., said that he was extremely pleased with the evening’s performance. “An extraordinary collaboration. We [the music department] are bubbling over with talent and charisma. Each number brought the house down,” he said.

The first group to perform was a string chamber ensemble, consisting of Samuel Rotberg, Ph.D, and other string students. They performed “Winter,” a selection from Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto No. 4 in F minor, also known as the ‘Four Seasons.’

Rotberg made clear that it was ironic that the group chose to perform a piece titled “Winter,” when we are trying to get to spring. The piece featured dialogue between the chamber group and the concertino, which highlighted the dark, minor tone of the piece.

Next to perform was a small group consisting of Shirley Yoo, Ph.D, on piano, Geoffrey Wands on Clarinet and sophomore Brittany Barko singing. This group performed a few selections from “Ariel- Five Poems of Sylvia Plath,” by Ned Rorem.

The music for this piece had a very sparse accompaniment to the voice and was very erratic. The dark mood was instantly set for Plath’s poetry, which is full of descriptions of depression and death. It was extremely intense and emotional.

Sophomore Eric Delagrange said that he enjoys seeing a collection of performers. “This is a pretty good representation of the music department. It couldn’t have been a better choice,” he said.

After a short intermission, another small chamber group performed, consisting of Ann Bommelje on piano, Rebecca Wunch on clarinet and senior Mary Spinelli singing.

They performed Schubert’s “Der Hirt auf dem Felsen.” This was a long leid, where every verse represented a different emotion, and this was dramaticised by the dialogue between the vocalist and the clarinet.

After this, senior Isaac Spaeth performed an alto saxophone concerto accompanied by Ann Bommelje on piano. This piece was titled “Concerto en Mi Bemol” and was written by Alexander Glazounov. This is a very virtuosic piece that requires extreme control and musicality from the saxophonist.

To finish the program, a trio performed the finale to “Der Rosenkavalier,” titled “Hab mir’s gelobt,” by Johann Strauss.

Senior Andrea Baker, sophomore Alianna Whiteaker and freshman Kathleen Reveille performed this famous trio, with the accompanist of Patricia Betcher on piano. This piece is full of suspensions and dissonance, filling it with tension until the last moment when we hear a resolution.

Senior Meghan Geci thought this was one of her favorite recitals.

“It was a great way to end the year of faculty recitals, and the last piece made me cry,” she said.