Step aside students, the teachers are playing this time. The GCC music faculty played April 25 allowing the students to unwind and the teachers to show their musical prowess.
Professors Patrick Rosalez on viola and Theodora Primes on piano, started off the show with a rendition of Johannes Brahms’ Sonata No. 1 in F minor. The loud and low tone of the viola, coupled in harmony with the vibrancy of the piano, led to a true homage to Brahms’ piece executed masterfully.
Music professor Ian Pritchard followed, playing two pieces on harpsichord. “Toccata Qaurta,” by Ascanio Mayone, and “Capriccio Sopra un Soggetto,” by Giovanni de Macque, took the audience back in time, to 17th century Europe. The pieces were played dazzlingly and with great skill, but did slow at times.
Professors Bethany Pflueger on flute and Lucy Nargizyan on piano sped up the tempo with their first piece, “Sonata for flute and piano,” by Gaetano Donizetti. The piece thrives on both the high pitched and joyous tone of the flute and the piano.
“Le Merle Noir,” which directly translates to “The Blackbird,” by Olivier Messiaen, had a more mysterious sound, as if someone or something was lurking in the shadows. Pflueger mimicked in sound a bird’s actions in an impressive way. Nargizyan, playing the environment, dims, weakens and then darkens again, speeding up near the end, becoming bleak, and ending with powerful low piano strokes to nothing but silence.
On guitar, music professor Ken Nagatani followed with “La Negra,” which translates to “The Black Lady,” by Antonio Lauro. The piece sends the listener to a sunset mood, calm and lovely. Nagatani’s second piece, “Les Yeux Sorciers” by Leo Brouwer, brings a Cuban piece to the audience, also giving a tranquil feel to the audience.
Nagatani’s third piece, “Wild Mountain Thyme,” by Scott Tennant, keeps a calm feeling, but it can easily be distinguished as more American than the other two pieces.
The final act of the recital featured Peter Green on the piano and Marine Ter-Kazaryan as soprano. Seconds after their first piece, “Piangero, la sorte mia” by G.F. Handel, began, audiences seemed to be entranced by the voice of Ter-Kazaryan, complimented by Green’s piano finesse. Their next two pieces, “Gypsy Melodies, Op. 55, No. 4,”and “Song to the Moon,” both by Antonin Dvorak, brought a standing ovation to the piece’s end.
Faculty recitals happen once per semester in the main stage auditorium. Admission is free and is seated on a first come, first serve basis.
