OU student musicians to showcase work at year's end

Lizzy Hamilton puts on her high heels at least twice a week to mentally and physically prepare for her flute recital.

“If I can get in the recital halls too, I am there, ... but regardless, I at least put on the shoes,” said Hamilton, a first- year master’s student studying flute performance.

As the year comes to a close, many music students turn their attention to one last recital before they can finally relax. Certain majors within the Ohio University School of Music require recitals, said Jonathan Pyrak, a senior studying music edu- cation and composition.

Hamilton has been working on her pieces for the past three months, and from previous recitals, she knows what to expect from performing on stage.

“Every note, every instinctual thing that maybe you wouldn’t always notice, you’re going to notice on stage,” Hamilton said. “You also feed off of what the audience is feeling and that is something you can’t replicate when you’re not in that setting.”

During the summer, Joan Engel, a junior studying tuba performance, compiled a list of pieces to work on throughout the year, which gave her a good idea of what she would be playing during her junior recital.

As a performance major, Engel is required to do a junior and senior recital, she said.

To prepare, she contacted the composers of her pieces to gain a better understanding, she said.

A popular piece Engel is performing, “Two Songs” by Robert Spillman, is inspired by a friend of the composer, Roger Bobo, a top tuba player in the world right now, Engel said. 

“I’m like the only person who knows this, so it’s just cool, ... so I am excited to share it,” Engel said. 

While some are still preparing, other students, such as Pyrak, can reflect on their final recital, which happened April 12.

The day before his composition recital, Pyrak only had one stressor — a broken elevator in Robert Glidden Hall.

“Some of the percussion instruments, they weigh hundreds of pounds,” Pyrak said. “We waited until the morning of the recital, hoping that the elevator would be back up, but this university is not very good about that sort of thing.”

Pyrak’s recital began 15 minutes late because basically every instrument except the piano had to be transported down the stairwell to the recital hall, he said. 

The first piece composed for the recital dates back to high school, and the preparation goes back a couple years in terms of his composition studies, Pyrak said.

Pyrak composed the pieces for his recital, but he didn’t play in every piece, which created some uncertainty. He

said with other pieces, he was a part of the performance, but he needed faith that the performance he was not a part of would go smoothly.

“With the other pieces, I had plenty of rehearsal time and could give my input throughout the whole process,” he said.

Engel’s and Hamilton’s performances will be accompanied by pianists. Both musicians said they are looking forward to sharing their work with the audience.

Hamilton is incorporating different elements and genres of flute into her performance, such as contemporary pieces with beat boxing and French romantic pieces.