Page 56 - Clearwater Christian College 2005

Kristen Hogrefe

They hear the aesthetic sound, enjoy the challenging

performance, and leave, never knowing the story behind

the students who play or sing. To the audience, recitals

are a time of enjoyment; for students, they are moments

that reveal an art cultivated over years of their lives.

Micah Tompkins has been playing the French

horn for seven years. The first time he expressed a desire

to play the instrument, someone who should have en­

couraged him to pursue his desire, discouraged him

from doing just that. Micah explained, “When I first

told my band director I wanted to play the French horn,

he laughed and basically tried to convince me to find

something else because it can be such a difficult instru­

ment to learn,” he said.

Although students make their performances look

convincingly simple, one shouldn’t be fooled. They

have spent days, weeks, months, even years perfecting

their art. Sarah Custer explained, “If you observe a mu­

sician who makes it ‘look easy,’ you can always bet on

the fact that they have spent long and frustrating hours

in order to do just that.

Even when a recital is over, student musicians

never stop practicing to improve their abilities and con­

tinue to learn from others, especially their music profes­

sors. Micah said, “Dr. Nichols has shown me the ben­

efits of hard work. The lessons can be pretty rigorous

for me at times, but they aren’t so competitive that I feel

like I’m terrible at what I do. It’s just really encouraging

s m i

!
, 1 I to have an understanding, flexible horn teacher who

wants me to succeed.’’ Sarah added, “An incredible as­

' I i l l
pect of the music faculty is that they are

positive. You can always do more than
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you ever dreamed if you have people
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behind you who believe in you.”

recitals

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At general recitals, students

> -'A \ “I started taking piano lessons
reveal a wide range of tal­
. * ,
when I was about nine. My first

ents. As well as instrumen­ exposure to the piano was at my
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tal and vocal performances, grandma’s house. I loved bang­

ing on it. My grandfather got an­
dramatic readings are per­
noyed with the noise and told my

formed. grandma she had to teach me to

play,” Rachel Madoushek said.