On Sunday, March 26, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Music Department Honors Recital took place in the Truman T. Lowe Center for the Arts. Eight UWL music students were chosen to perform either vocally or instrumentally at the recital, and three were honored for being recipients of the Thomas Annett Outstanding Senior in Music Award.

“Being part of the Honors Recital is actually quite prestigious, and it is definitely a long process,” said Hannah Friesner, UWL senior and Honors Recital participant. Friesner said that candidates had to be recommended for an audition by their private lesson instructor. After the recommendation, they auditioned by performing at a weekly UWL Music Department departmental. “After everyone has auditioned, the faculty vote on who they think should perform in the Honors Recital,” she said.

Friesner is majoring in choral music education, and this was the third year that Friesner was nominated to audition for the Honors Recital, but the first year that she was selected to perform. “This definitely makes this recital all the more special to me. I have grown so much as a singer since I was first nominated to audition as a sophomore,” said Friesner.

The UWL music students were given about one month to prepare for their audition after being nominated. Friesner said one song she chose is in German, and the other one is in French. She said that the pieces needed to be memorized, so the foreign languages were a challenge for her. Friesner said, “I really enjoyed the songs that I was preparing, and I was excited to get the opportunity to perform them for an audience.”

“These are two of my favorite pieces I have ever performed. ‘Gretchen am Spinnrade’ is a gorgeous German Art song that follows the story of a woman who is so madly in love that it is all she can think about. My favorite thing about this piece is the repetitive piano accompaniment that represents the cyclical nature of her thoughts,” said Friesner. As for her other piece, she said, “‘Je Veux Vivre’ is a very challenging French aria from the opera Romeo et Juliette [Romeo and Juliet]. My favorite thing about this piece is its dance-like feel.”

Friesner said she would like to thank UWL professor and director of choral studies Dr. Christopher Hathaway, for getting her to this point. “He [Dr. Hathaway] has challenged me more than any other voice teacher I have ever worked with. It is these challenges and high expectations that have made me the singer I am today,” she said.

The Honors Recital was not limited to seniors. UWL sophomore Andrew McDonald, majoring in piano performance and pedagogy, performed on the piano at the recital. “I performed in the honors recital my freshman year as well as this, my sophomore year. I am very fortunate to be awarded both my lower classman years,” said McDonald. He said that he gives credit to the fact that he is a performance major, and that he was able to spend more time in and out of classes refining his technique and performing skills.

McDonald performed “Chopin’s 3rd Ballade in A Flat”. “To be honest, I am not the biggest fan of Chopin and Beethoven, which is basically heresy for a pianist to admit,” said McDonald. “But I like to be musically expansive and try to understand the music despite my natural inclination. I think this maybe is the best thing I like about the piece because I started the piece not really liking it and I have grown to love it.”

According to McDonald, preparing for the Honors Recital was challenging because of the necessity to keep up with his regular semester repertoire at the same time. He said that he studied this piece in the past, so he just needed to recall it. To do this, McDonald said he split the piece into chunks and worked backward to remember it piece by piece. He also said that he listened to professional recordings and analyzed a master class for performance and technique tips.

UWL senior Hunter Adams did not perform at the Honors Recital, but he was one of the three students who were honored with the Thomas Annett Outstanding Senior in Music Award at the event. “[This award] is an honor bestowed upon a small group of graduating seniors every year. The music faculty gets together and chooses the seniors who have made a positive impact on the music department during their time at UWL,” said Adams.

Adams is majoring in finance at UWL, with a minor in music performance. He said he can only speculate about why he was selected for this award, but thinks it is because of how he has stayed involved in the department during his four years at UWL. “As a piano student, I have played solos, accompanied choirs, flute players, vocalists, saxophone players and minor theater performances,” said Adams. “I am trying to continuously improve the quality of my playing and fill needs as they arise.”

In response to being chosen for the Thomas Annett Outstanding Senior in Music Award, Adams said, “It was encouraging to have something tangible that shows that I have made an impact at UWL. I put a lot of work into practicing and staying involved in the music scene and I feel really affirmed knowing that our professors want to celebrate that.”