North Carolina Newspapers

    Page 6
Arts & Life
The Clarion \ September 18, 2019
BC annual music faculty showcase
By Chloe McGee
Arts & Life Editor
Sunday afternoon, the Porter Center for Performing Arts hosted its
annual Music Faculty Showcase where members of the Brevard College
music staff had the opportunity to demonstrate their talent.
As many members of the campus and community were in attendance,
the event stood as a testimony to our town’s love and admiration for
the performing arts.
Dr. Kathryn Gresham, soprano vocalist, and Lou Mowad, guitar,
opened for the concert with three movements from Mauro Guiliani’s
Sei “Ariette di Metastsio, Op. 95.” Though written in Italian, the
compositions transcended language, allowing the audience to
experience a vivid, yet subjective interpretation of music’s universal
themes.
Following the first performance, Gresham remained on stage to
welcome the crowd and thank all those who made the concert possible.
“I love collaborating with my colleagues, and they love what they do,”
Gresham said.
Next to take the stage was new faculty member Susan Brashier, oboe,
and Vance Reese, piano. Together they played all three movements from
“Concerto in D minor” by Venetian composer Alessandro Marcello. As
if the composition itself was a musical time capsule, the performance
intimately captured and transported the audience to 18th century Venice.
Jason Posnock, violin, and Vance Reese, piano, took the stage to
perform a piece written by music faculty member Kenneth Eggert titled
“Hymn to the World Tree: Lament”.
Eggert gave a brief introduction to explain the inspiration behind his
composition. Lament was written during a time when Eggert lost both
his father and a matronly figure in his life. “This particular movement
is special to me,” Eggert said.
Posnock and Reese were able to bring new life to the many emotions
Eggert must have felt during his time of grief. The piece exemplified
music’s ability to bring solace to those desperate for comfort and
acceptance.
Mowad returned to the stage as a soloist to play an array of guitar
repertoire. The selections included “Sonata K. 11/L. 352” by Domenico
Scarletti, a piece written for piano and arranged for guitar by Mowad;
“Barcarolle” by Francis Kleynjans; and “Serenata Espanola” by Joaquin
New commuter lounge opens
Campus Life unveiled a new lounge for commuters on Wednesday, Sept. 15 in Tornado Alley. Campus Life was frequently asked about a
space for commuter students to stay while on campus.
It was discussed at a staff" meeting about turning one of the conference rooms into a commuter lounge. “Alessandra Tavoloni, Beth Abrams,
Nacole Potts, Chris Center, Michael Cohen, Robert Dye and a few of our
football players put in the work to get the room ready for commuters,”
Dean of Students Debbie D’Anna said.
Before this lounge, there was no space for commuters to relax, study,
or hang out between classes.
Samantha Sepe, a Brevard College senior and current commuting student,
is very excited about the new lounge. “I think it will be a good place for us
to hang out, somewhere where we can go for some down-time,” Sepe said.
The lounge includes a colfee maker, refrigerator, microwave, and various
couches and chairs. D’Anna and the Campus Life staff hopes that this space
will be used frequently by commuting students.
The new commuter lounge is open from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday
through Friday.
Comfy chairs in the commuter iounge ready for students. MaiOarSt Coirall
Photo by Margaret Correli. ^
Music facuity members Diishad Posnock, Vance Reese and Britnee Siemon
perform on the Porter Center stage in EC’s Music Faculty Showcase.
Malats, which was originally composed for piano and, again, arranged
for guitar by Mowad.
Next to take the stage was Britnee Siemon, mezzo-soprano vocalist,
Diishad Posnock, flute, and Vance Reese, piano. The trio performed
“La flute enchantee” by Maurice Ravel, “Elegie” by Jules Massenet
and “Soir Pai’en” by Philippe Gaubert.
Reese then took the stage, yet again, but to perform a solo piece on
Brevard College’s renowned $1.2 million dollar Kirkpatrick-Coleman
pipe organ. A melody humbling and heroic resonated throughout the
music hall as Reese performed “Cortege et Litanie” by French composer
Marcel Dupre.
The finale performance was a duet between the married Diishad,
flute, and Posnock, violin. Together the couple displayed their immense
musical chemistry, playing “Duettino Hongrois” by Franz Doppler.