Ashley Bowden
Arts & Entertainment Editor
The Music Department’s Hillwood Recital series continues Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 12:30 p.m. in the Tilles Atrium with performances by three music majors. Graduate student KaraAnn Leone will perform two pieces on flute, and graduate student Laura Fallon will perform two pieces on the euphonium. Joseph Savold, a senior, will be featured as well.
Leone and Fallon are both in their final year of the master of arts program. They both attended Post for their undergraduate studies as well and have had invaluable experiences in the music program. “I wouldn’t be the musician I am today if I didn’t come to this program,” Leone said.
“Since it’s very much like a family in the department, there isn’t really competition,” Fallon said. “Everyone’s encouraging each other to improve.”
Leone has performed in front of large audiences three to four times a semester. Though her studies focused on music education, she believes there is much to be gained from performing as well. “All the performance opportunities I had as an undergrad was one of the reasons I came back to grad school here,” she said.
“It’s nerve-wracking, but it’s also really exciting because it gives you an opportunity to showcase everything that you’ve prepared,” Leone said. “This is what I’ve worked for my entire career that I’ve been here,” she said, anticipating her upcoming performance. She finds the experience of performing to be rewarding above all else and has grown as an artist because of it. “When I was a freshman, it was nearly impossible to get me onstage to perform anything solo, and now I love it,” she said. Given her introverted personality, Leone hopes to show her fellow musicians that solo performances are not as scary as they seem.
“When I get into the zone of playing, I kind of forget about my nerves,” Fallon said. Having her instrument between her and the audience makes the experience less stressful for her. Fallon, who has always enjoyed music, started playing the euphonium in elementary school. By the time she attended high school, she decided she wanted to pursue a career in music.
Fallon will perform Niccolo Paganini’s “Cantabile” and Philip Sparks’ “Fantasy,” on euphonium. She compared the brass instrument to a small tuba, and said it plays in the same range as a trombone. “You learn something new about a piece every time you play it because it’s different each time,” she said. She will also perform with the wind symphony at the Band Festival April 13. Her graduate recital is scheduled for April 26 at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall.
In addition to a movement from the “Hamburger Sonata” by C.P.E. Bach and “The Concertino for Flute and Piano” by Cecile Chaminade, Leone will be presenting a preview of the solo repertoire she will perform at her graduate recital on March 8 at 8:15 p.m. in the Great Hall. Having learned the concertino, she is excited to perform it during her last semester. Leone will also conduct a small chamber orchestra at her graduate recital. “I want [my audience] to enjoy the night so that I can enjoy it, too,” she said.
Leone aspires to teach music as a profession, and both she and Fallon believe people who denounce music as a career should view the matter in a broader perspective. “It’s not just about becoming famous, becoming an artist, I think there’s more to music than [that],” Leone said.
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