Seniors give final recitals

by Stacy Owens

 

Recitals take a lot more work than just getting up in front of your friends and singing a song. Senior Katy Lindhart spent over a year preparing for her final vocal recital, which was held April 1 in Great Hall. Lindhart, a vocal performance major, has dedicated many hours to singing.

“I spent at least an hour a day practicing for my recital,” Lindhart said. “I started preparing last year by picking out my music and practicing during the summer. The bulk of the work was done over the course of the year by working with my voice teacher, Anne Larson.”

Students audition in front of the music faculty to get permission to perform a recital. The auditions take place at the end of the fall semester.

“You must have half of your recital memorized by first semester for your audition,” Lindhart said.

After passing the audition, recital performers continue to practice and work with their vocal coaches.

“You must continue to work with vocal teachers, for example, Dr. Larsen helped coach me on style and interpretation,” Lindhart said. “You must practice at least an hour a day; it’s like studying for a class.”

Music majors are required to attend 15-20 recitals, but are encouraged to attend them all. Sophomore Gwen Dickmann and junior Holly Hendricks attended Lindhart’s recital.

“Katy’s in my voice studio and my friend, that’s why I went to her recital,” Hendricks said. “I like going to recitals, especially the faculty and senior ones.”

Dickmann enjoyed Lindhart’s recital and found it to be a very helpful learning experience.

“She was really prepared, she did tough things, a lot of things that we hadn’t heard before,” Dickmann said. “Recitals give you a chance to hear and learn a variety of music, it’s very helpful.”

Dickmann paid very close attention during Lindhart’s recital, hoping it would help her in the future.

“Taking notes serves as a future reference,” Dickmann said. “If I ever need to plan a recital for myself I can look back at songs that I really enjoyed, or if I teach someday I can look back and check voice type and type of piece it is.”

Despite the hard work, students who perform recitals say they’re worth it.

“My recital was a good experience,” Lindhart said. “It was stressful at times, but at the end it was very rewarding and fun.”