Adjunct Professor of music Susan McDaniel accompanied Beaver on piano. Beaver played with rich, deep vibrato. The audience responded positively to the performance.

Junior Katherine Allum praised Beaver for her hard work and dedication. She said she liked all of the pieces, especially the first one, for different reasons.

“I played a very small piece when I played the violin as a young child,” Allum said, impressed that Beaver memorized the “Suite III for the Unaccompanied Cello in C major.” “It’s magical to see a soloist take a stage.”

Junior Chelsea Janzen said the performance was impressive.

“Beaver memorized Bach and added her own style, which made it really cool,” she said.

Beaver said she chose the cello and stuck with it because it was the prettiest instrument.

“In elementary, I got to choose any instrument,” she said. “I chose bass and took it up for a year, but bass is too big to carry around, so I chose cello.”

Beaver is classically trained in all genres, but said she enjoys playing more modern and romantic music, such as The Beach Boys.

She said one of the challenges she faces is balancing academics with her music major.

“I pick things that are harder to learn, which makes me become a better musician,” she said. “If I hear a piece that I like, no matter how hard it is, I’ll try to play it. Overall, I triumphed, and I learned to be a better musician while passing all of my academics,” she said.

Beaver said she wants to open a private studio and be a studio musician for movies and sets after she graduates. She will continue to play cello in a string quartet in her home town of Reno, Nev.

Sherill Roberts, adjunct faculty member for cello, praised Beaver for her work.

“She has learned how to listen to the sounds she makes on the cello and judge whether she is playing in tune and
appropriately to the style of the music,” Roberts said. “She has grown in this regard during the last four years. She has been a great addition to the music department. She has played in many ensembles on campus and off, including some professional gigs with the Mello Cellos and one with the Portland Cello Project. She has been in the Linfield Chamber Orchestra all four years, which is a great
honor.”

Beaver said she thought her recital was a success.

Yoko Gardiner/For the Review
Yoko Gardiner can be reached at [email protected].