Two Linfield students displayed their cumulative musical prowess during their senior recitals March 13 and 14.
“It was definitely an experience,” senior Andrew Pohl said. “It was the most music I have ever memorized.”
Pohl, a baritone, performed in Ice Auditorium.
“Pohl’s was definitely among the top four senior recitals in my 26 years of teaching,” Dr. Gwen Leonard, professor of music and Pohl’s voice teacher, said.
Pohl broke onto the musical scene when he started playing piano in the third grade, and then picked up singing in eighth grade.
“Andrew came in with a talented voice, experienced maturity of his voice and came with a lot of promise,” Leonard said.
A love for singing has not always existed for Pohl.
“I hated practicing until about five years after I started,” he said. “We started doing competitions, and I really liked the [music] teacher.”
Next year, Pohl plans on moving to New York City to use his finance major to become a financial analyst. Although he is also a music major, he said he will not pursue music after college.
“Music will always be more of a hobby,” he said. “I will maybe sing in a church because there is good money there.”
Overall, Pohl said he believes the performance went well, but offered some advice: “Don’t spread yourself too thin, and start early. I started in January, which was really too late. It was really stressful.”
Pohl will perform in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel,” which opens April 23 at the Gallery Theater in McMinnville. The performance is a collaboration of Linfield’s Opera Theater and the Gallery Theater.

Senior Heidi Vanden Bos, a pianist, performed in the Delkin Recital Hall of the Vivian A. Bull Music Center.
“Everything I had to go through in order to prepare [for the recital] and then to be able to share it with family and friends was worth it,” she said.
Her family and friends attended to support her. Vanden Bos said she wanted to display what she learned in her time at Linfield through her music.
“Her recital was not required as a general music major, but she wanted to do it,” Leonard said, which emphasized Vanden Bos’ dedication to her music.
She said she plans on pursuing a career in music and will attend Marylhurst University next fall. She will work to earn a second bachelor’s degree in music therapy.
“God has given me a talent, and I am blessed to be able to share it with those around me,” Vanden Bos said. “I feel it is the best way to share talent in music with those struggling in some way.”
Aside from the piano, Vanden Bos plays the violin and the organ and sings in the choir.

Corrina Crocker
Features reporter Corrina Crocker can be reached at [email protected]