On Saturday, Sept. 27, junior cellist Halle Hacking and senior vocalist Zach Smith performed the first two student recitals of the year in the Thorley Recital Hall.
Both concerts were free and open to the public. The performers were accompanied by Tracey Bradshaw.
Hacking played classical music by composers like Saint-Saëns, Bach and Vivaldi, and in the final piece was joined by eight members of the SUU string ensemble.
“I was honestly excited to be the first student recital of the year,” Hacking said. “I got to play some pieces that I haven’t been able to perform, so it was really fun.”
Her favorite piece of the night was “Après un Rêve” by Gabriel Fauré. She said it was difficult at first to practice the final ensemble piece, Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos, due to the tempo and scheduling troubles, but that it ended up sounding beautiful in the recital.
Zach Smith sang songs in five different languages in his recital, including works by Debussy, Haydn, Mozart, Strauss and Tchaikovsky. German was his favorite to learn and Russian was the most difficult to adapt to as a singer.
“It was freaking impressive,” said attendee Isaac Gordon. “I can barely remember one of my Italian pieces, so the fact he was able to remember all of that was awesome. You can tell he cared a lot.”
Smith said he was relieved to be done with his final recital at SUU, but that it was also bittersweet. He wants to attend grad school to become a full-time voice teacher in the future, and his first choice is William Marsh Rice University in Texas.
He began preparing for his senior recital the moment he was done with his junior recital. Some of his songs were added in the last two months, making his life for the last year constant adjustment and practice.
Smith ended his performance by singing “She Walks in Beauty,” composed by SUU Music Department Associate Chair Dr. Douglas Ipson, his favorite song he’s ever sung at SUU.
“It was really hard to get through because I wanted to cry the whole time,” he said.
The Music Department’s upcoming events include the Shakespeare Festival Choir Concert on Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Heritage Center Theater, followed by Thorley Recital Hall hosting a guest recital by Southwestern University Assistant Professor Jeanne Hourez on Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m.
For more information, go to https://www.suu.edu/pva/music/concerts for upcoming music events.
Author: Payson Davis
Photographs courtesy of Zachary Smith
