Several students and members of the community came out to enjoy a night full of classical music derived from different time periods at the faculty recital Oct. 3.
The recital featured many of the faculty from the Department of Music. It began with a trio performance by Karla Ordonez (flute), Susie Rockett (oboe) and Cheryl Lemmons (piano). In addition, Samuel Cook sang a song from Verdi’s opera Macbeth.
Conducted by Dr. Steven Ward, director of orchestra and bands, the second half of the recital featured a chamber ensemble performing Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale.
Ward said he was thrilled for students to be exposed to incredible music performed by such wonderfully talented faculty members.
“I am honored to get to make music with these great people, colleagues and faculty,” said Ward, director of bands and orchestra.
“The opportunity to do a landmark piece such as A Soldier‘s Tale in a complete performance with narration, I mean, it is one of the great pieces of the last hundred years, and for us to get to do that and share it with our students was terrific,” Ward said.
The piece has not been played at ACU for over eight years. Dr. Allen Teel, professor of percussion and world music, said it really captured the audience because of how the narration and music intertwine.
Teel performed percussion for the recital and said he was hoping his students would be inspired to try such a difficult and intense piece of music after hearing it performed in its entirety.
“It’s like Christmas every time I get to play that piece,” said Teel. “I love playing that piece, but to have that kind of enthusiasm come from the audience made it even more fun.”
Theodore Douglas, a piano performance major from Round Rock, said he enjoyed watching the professors release themselves into the music.
“I really enjoyed the performance,” Douglas said. “Although I did not see my personal teacher perform, I thought that the professors did well, and I enjoyed watching them.”
The Department of Music faculty typically perform throughout the year in multiple concerts and recitals.
