Last Saturday evening faculty, students, family and friends gathered in the Corthell Concert Hall on Gorham campus for the 33rd Annual Honors Recital. The event featured nine exceptional USM musicians who were chosen in stiff competition though a highly selective audition process. For those in USM’s School of Music, spring is perhaps “the most exiting time of the year,” in the words of Scott Harris, director of the music program. For many, it is a time when students share in their development as “consummate individuals, artists, teachers and scholars,” reflecting music’s deep roots at USM.
Brian Whiton, a junior music performance major and Annual Recital rookie, opened the show with an excellent performance of “Concerto: Lento Expressivo-Allegro” by Pierre Max Dubois on Saxophone. He was followed by veteran vocalist and flautist Nicole Rawding who performed Lowell Liebermann’s beautiful and difficult “Concerto for Flute: Molto Adagio and Presto.” A graduating senior, Nicole was pleased with the performance and expressed excitement for graduation. She will be appearing in the Biddeford City Theatres’ performance of “Hair!” this summer and hopes to one day have her own music studio.
Jessie Wakeman, a junior education major from Belfast and tenor vocalist performed two pieces by Henri Duparc, “Chanson Triste” and “Le Manoir de Rosemonde.” Unlike his fellow performers, Wakeman is more passionate about music education than musical performance. “Teaching is what I like to do,” he said.
Superb performances were delivered by soprano vocalists Jesslyn Thomas of Rindge, NH and Molly Harmon of Portland, who each sang an opera aria. Thomas, in her third appearance at the recital, sang an expressive and theatrical rendition of “Regnava nel silenzio” from Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lattermoor.” She intends to continue with her education in voice after graduation and has been accepted to the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music which she will attend in the fall. Harmon, who recently appeared as the angel Gabriel in Hayden’s “Creation” at Merrill Auditorium last November, performed the thoroughly modern “Lucy’s Aria” from Menotti’s “The Telephone.”
Joey Valerie remained true to his roots in musical theatre with “Hero and Leander” by Guettel and the incredibly funny “Stalker” by duo Scott Burkell and Paul Loesel. Valerie, who frequently appeared in USM musicals, most recently in “The Pajama Game,” is moving to NYC after graduation in May to “live the dream!”
Jason Giacomazzo, another recital veteran, preformed Densenclos “Prelude, Cadence et Finale” for saxophone and Matthew Cloutier of Paris, a dedicated trombonist, played Stjephan Sulek’s “’Vox Gabrieli’ Sonata for Trombone and Piano.”
Pianist Michal Harris, a seasoned accompanist for the USM and Brunswick Oratorio Chorales and winner of the biennial Concerto Competition, delivered an impeccable rendition of Prokofiev’s “Piano Sonata N.2, In D Minor, Op, 14: Vivace” entirely from memory. Harris is a self-employed piano instructor and she will perform this coming Saturday with the Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra.
The two hour musical showcase highlighted the wealth of talent at USM. The reception in the Corthell lobby was crowded with admirers bearing bouquets and congratulations. Many of those not returning to USM in the fall intend to continue their educations in performance. For these young talents, graduation is only the beginning.