(Host) College seniors are finishing some of their most important academic work before graduation. For many students, that means a senior thesis. But for music majors, a senior performance is the culmination of their studies. One concert that the student creates from the ground up, and then takes the stage as the star performer.
Wesley Christensen is one of those music majors, at the University of Vermont. As our Vermont Edition intern this semester, we’ve been following his progress as his recital draws near. He files this story:
(Wesley) I started playing the clarinet when I was 10, because my mom had one stored in our attic. Twelve years later, I’m finishing my degree in music performance, and the clarinet is still my instrument of choice.
At this point in the year, I’m totally fixated on this final performance. One of the pieces on my recital program is Benny’s Gigs. I’ve been rehearsing it for months with my professor, Michael Hopkins, who plays the double bass.
(Hopkins) "Wesley found this piece and showed it to me and we learned it and performed it in his freshman year. And he approached me a couple months ago about bringing it out for his senior recital too, and I thought that would be great."
(Wesley) There’s a lot that goes into rehearsals, from figuring out tempos to how long to hold a certain note. All these factors go into making the piece come alive.
(Hopkins) "We definitely go back and forth talking about ideas. I’m letting Wesley decide what he wants to do with the piece but I’ll hear things and make some suggestions too. When you’re not in the classroom, the traditional barriers of professor and student break down somewhat, in that you’re just collaborators on a project to bring a musical piece to a performance."
(Wesley) Benny’s Gigs was written by Morton Gould for Benny Goodman, and the two had really different musical backgrounds. So to make this performance work, we have to play a range of styles in one piece of music:
(Hopkins) "Morton Gould was a classical composer … but since Benny Goodman was a jazz clarinetist, he tried to put a lot of jazz elements in. So he alternates between dance-like movements and sort of ‘art music’ — kind of, ‘sit back and listen, don’t try to tap your foot to this one’ kind of pieces. So it’s a very interesting, eclectic mix of 20th century styles."
(Wesley) The music is really free in some spots but restrictive in others. Sometimes we’re required to swing the notes, but that’s kind of frowned upon in classical music. So we have to choose, should we play this in a jazz style or play this in a classical style? All of this is going through my mind as we rehearse the piece.
(Wesley) I’ve been getting ready for this performance since my freshman year. Last fall, I started to choose which music to play and the program order. I went to teachers and fellow students to ask them to perform with me. Rehearsing is the most important part, but I’ve also spent time reserving the concert hall, advertising the recital, and finding a stage manager.
(Wesley) It’s pretty stressful thinking about all the work that leads up to this one concert. This is the last big performance of my four years studying music here at UVM. But when I’m on the stage for my senior recital, I hope the audience will get as much joy from the music as I do.
For VPR News, I’m Wesley Christensen.
(Host) Well, Wesley *did give his senior recital this month, and it included five pieces. And we hear he received an A, nice job, Wesley!