The University Trio put on an astounding recital Sept. 23 at the Blankenship Recital Hall in the Fine Arts Building in preparation for a performance abroad.
The Trio, composed of Charles Lewis on flute, Dr. Christa Frye on clarinet and Dr. Elaine Harriss on piano, all of whom are staff at the Department of Music, showcased the pieces they will be performing in Vancouver at the joint conference of the College Music Society and the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors. Despite the weather outside, the recital hall hosted around 50 people, many of them non-music majors.
Freshman History major Rio Crossno, for example, attended saying she loved the performance, “especially the George Washington piece,” referring to the last composition that was performed: “George Washington Slept Here.”
The compositions for the evening were more-or-less contemporary, but even so the unfamiliarity of the pieces did not take away from the performance, which was brilliantly executed.
The recital began with a piece called “Cantilena” by the North Irish composer Roma Cafolla, a romantic composition which displayed the trio’s ability for rich harmonies.
This was followed by “Trio for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano” a composition in three movements by Gian Menotti, originally designed for an opera. Lewis’ flute served an excellent stand-in for the violin and executed the piece with professional precision.
This was then followed by “Pastorale,” a work that the trio commissioned from an in-house composer, Dr. Michael Mathenia. Building off of the well-trod genre of pastoral music, Mathenia’s composition sought to recreate the rural setting in which Martin is nestled, and did so quite faithfully.
The evening ended with a piece by John Lampkin, the aforementioned “George Washington Slept Here,” a collection of variations on the popular period tune “Soldier’s Joy.” It was something a little more familiar, but also experimental, a fitting way to end the recital.
The University Trio will be traveling to perform the same set October 11-13 and are seeking donations to cover travel expenses. Other upcoming events are the Nathaniel O’Neal Percussion Recital on Oct. 7 and Meek Music on Oct. 10.
