Saturday, November 18, 2017

Attending a Studio Recital



Thursday night, I went to a Studio Recital in Mathes Hall. The night was dark, the wind was cold, and the performance was marvelous.

I am impressed by ETSU’s vocal students. I have always been impressed, but after last night, I am very impressed. Their manner was very professional, their performances displayed a range of ability, and their repertoire was beautiful.

Several of the songs were in foreign languages, and the translations were not in the programs. I desperately wanted to know what the words were when I was listening to them, but since I didn’t know, I tried to pull the meaning from the expression of the singers and the sound of the music. I hadn’t realized how much fun that could be, or how interesting it was to observe how those two aspects of the performance fit together and communicated meaning.

I took the program home, and looked the songs up. Most of the times, the meanings I’d guessed were far from the actual meanings. I usually don’t rethink individual songs after leaving a recital, but reading the translation prompted me to do that. While trying to interpret meaning, I’d paid more attention to the details of the performance than I might have otherwise, and I was delighted with what I remembered.

The talent in this school is very inspiring, and I hope to get a chance to attend another Studio recital.

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