Katie Armes
It is hard to imagine that four years of hard work culminates in one hour-long performance, but that will be reality for senior music majors Sam Dinsmore and Andy Munn when they present their senior recitals.
After performing with the Linfield Chamber Orchestra and the Linfield Choirs, playing the lead roles in multiple Linfield Opera theater productions and traveling to Vienna, Austria, Dinsmore is ready for one final performance at 8 p.m. May 3 in Ice Auditorium.
His performance features 18 songs ranging from the 16th to the 21st centuries. In addition to singing in English, Dinsmore will also entertain his audience with German, French and Italian pieces. Some of the modern English songs include a piece by composer Ben Moore with lyrics by poet William Yeats and “Waterbird” by poet James Purdy.
Six of the 18 songs are of German origin and are composed by Richard Schumann, while the French pieces allude to Greek folk songs.
As he prepared for the recital, Dinsmore said he looked for complementing classical pieces.
“We chose six songs that would be fun for Sam,” music professor and
Dinsmore’s voice instructor, Professor of Music Gwen Leonard, said, referring to the German portion of the recital.
While the German songs were relatively easy to learn for Dinsmore, considering he is a double major in music and German, he said the French language can be tricky.
Dinsmore relied on the International Phonetic Alphabet to translate the songs, most of which he chose before October. He said the recital forced him to manage his time better, as memorizing and perfecting 18 songs can be time-
consuming.
“Putting on an hour-long concert is a pretty hefty task,” Dinsmore said.
Leonard said Dinsmore has been the only tenor with the desire to sing solo music at Linfield for the last three years and has been given many opportunities to perform. Nevertheless, the senior recital, a culminating project, is something for which he has spent four years preparing, thinking and practicing.
“I’m sure there are going to be some pre-game jitters, but I’m usually pretty good with nerves,” Dinsmore said.
After graduating, Dinsmore will attend graduate school at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, hoping to ultimately perform and teach music.
While Dinsmore focused on his performance and vocal techniques, composition major Andy Munn worked to create 10 original songs written for various instruments, relying on the strong foundation he built during three and a half years of musical theory and two years of composition courses.
Munn’s work includes pieces for woodwinds, brass, strings and the Linfield Choir. His recital will take place in Ice Auditorium at 7 p.m on May 2. Although he will only be performing in two of his songs, he will direct certain pieces and explain the inspiration behind and techniques demonstrated in each
composition.
“There was a lot of stuff that composers did in the 20th century that would be harder to pick up if you didn’t have a good background in music,” Munn said.
All of Munn’s compositions fit into his theme of 20th century techniques, such as harmonics.
“In the 20th century, music composers explore harmonics that are different from normal triads or chords,” music professor and Munn’s composition instructor, Richard Bourassa, said.
For Munn, a challenging fall semester with 18 credits and a part in a musical made it difficult to devote enough time and energy to his
compositions.
“I think the stuff I wrote last semester is not as good as the other stuff I’ve done,” he said.
After composing his songs, Munn was faced with the arduous task of coordinating the schedules of all the performers to rehearse his songs.
Some of Munn’s rehearsals have lasted until 11:30 p.m. because there was no other time when the performers could practice together, Bourassa said.
After graduating, Munn plans to travel abroad. He doesn’t have any immediate plans to continue his work with music, but he said he may return to composing.
“I’d kind of like to just take a break,” he said.
Although Dinsmore and Munn have chosen to explore different facets of music during their years at Linfield, the senior recital offers the two a similar opportunity.
“It’s a culminating experience that demonstrates that the students have reached a level of professionalism, and it puts them into a public focus without a sense of catastrophe,” Bourassa said.