Caleb Vester Senior Recital

On November 11th, Caleb Vester performed his senior recital in the Newman Recital Hall. Caleb’s performance showcased his four years of piano lessons at College of the Ozarks. The audience was packed with Caleb’s friends and family all there to cheer him on. The program began with J.S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in D minor and ended with a jazz piece called “The Girl from Ipanema” by Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Caleb followed the intermission with one of his own compositions, “Night Air.” Caleb’s flawless performance of his piece portrayed the magnificence and ambiance of the evening air with two contrasting themes throughout the piece. A small jazz ensemble joined Caleb for the last piece. The ensemble consisted of Dr. Kevin Powers on trumpet, Taylor Dodson on guitar, Eric Green on bass, Dalton Jewsberry on tenor saxophone, Thomas Miller on baritone saxophone, and Isaya Disayakarin on drums.





In his program notes of the recital, Caleb acknowledges his former piano teacher, Dr. Huff: "When I came to college, I intended to end my music education. I did not believe it was practical to pursue, nor did I believe that I had the talent to be successful. I wouldn’t say that I am completely shaken of this belief; however, in my short time in your studio, you made deep inroads in changing my life course from what I had. You pursued me; literally, once you heard I was in the building, you would try and find me, but I would leave the practice room before you would get there. And then you caught me, and I am so glad you did. You cared enough about the students that you would pursue them without hesitation. You loved the students here so much that, when you saw talent, passion, ideas, dreams, or a calling on their life, you wouldn’t let them walk away easily. Thank you for not letting me walk away.”


Concluding his recital, Caleb also acknowledged his current piano teacher, Dr. Christian, thanking her for challenging him to go further than he even thought possible. In his Program Notes, Caleb wrote, “You set new standards and expectations when you taught that never wavered, and it was frustrating trying to reach for something that seemed so far away. However, once you reach what you are striving for, you have the satisfying privilege of looking back at where you were and feeling proud of how far you have come. You gave me that satisfying feeling of coming so far in just a short two years. The growth as a musician that I have experienced under you was unexpected surprise. Thank you for allowing me to surprise myself."

Bravo, Caleb! The Music Department is proud of your accomplishments, and can’t wait to see where you’ll go after graduation!

MMTA Piano Competition

On November 6, 2016, piano professor Dr. Clara Christian took applied piano students Loran Wiley, Caleb Vester, Brian Hofmann, T. J. Goze, Kaylen Draschil, and Daniel Tague to the annual Missouri Music Teachers Association (MMTA) piano competition at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. These competitions are held in different locations throughout the state of Missouri. MMTA is an organization dedicated to advancing the value of music study and music performance.

Since Dr. Christian’s tenure at College of the Ozarks, she has made it a priority to enter her students into piano competitions. Dr. Christian explained that “because applied students are required to have three pieces by the end of the semester, I think these competitions are excellent motivators to get students to start working on their repertoire for their juries during finals week.” Dr. Christian has required most of the piano majors and her advanced applied piano students to compete in a competition every semester. Dr. Christian stressed the importance of performing in front of an audience, saying, “The more you perform, the better you get at handling your nerves.”

Many students often come to appreciate competing at different colleges. “The more competitions I enter, the more I seem to enjoy them,” Caleb Vester, a senior piano major said, “I like listening to the other pianists in these competitions; it helps me gauge where I am at musically. I also enjoy listening to my peers at these competitions. Being in these competitions, I think, helps build camaraderie among the applied piano students.” 

Madeline Clem and Josiah Mullins Senior Recital

On Sunday, November 6, 2016, Madeline Clem and Josiah Mullins performed their Senior Recital in the Newman Recital Hall. Madeline is a Musical Theatre Major and Josiah is a General Theatre Major. Both have frequently performed prominent roles in C of O’s plays and musicals. The program featured a variety of music: Madeline began with “Fair Robin I Love,” a 20th century classical style opera, and Josiah followed with Tosti’s Ideale. The remainder of the program consisted of works by Ralph Vaughn Williams, Musical Theater selections from The Fantasticks, Dogfight, The Secret Garden, Hamilton, and more. Josiah learned under the instruction of Mr. Gregg Busch, and Madeline studied under Ms. Jennifer Wolcott. They were accompanied by Mrs. Danielle Hardin and Mr. Caleb Lawson.

Mr. Busch said that “Perhaps the greatest joy as a teacher at C of O is to have the blessing to watch young men and women grow through their time within the college. This is not simply in terms of their physical age, but rather in their dedication to their art and to the Lord. Working closely with Josiah and Madeline, I was privileged to witness exactly that. Each of them chose to dedicate their performance to the Lord, in witness and as testimony to His amazing Grace and goodness. It truly was an honor to come alongside Miss Wolcott as we prepared for the recital. In her I saw a woman of talent and commitment living in her faith and sharing that openly with the students. There are so many moments of blessings that I have shared at College of the Ozarks, the recital yesterday is something that I know I will cherish. There are simply no words that can fully express my sense of pride in the accomplishment of these two truly gifted artists. I pray they will venture into the world and continue to carry the light of Christ which was so evident in their performance yesterday.”

Ms. Wolcott said that "it is a prerequisite of an artist to be passionate. You simply cannot take on the role of true artist without having a passion for what you're doing. As a professional performer walking into my first semester of teaching at C of O three years ago, I was excited to share my passion and knowledge with the students . . . oh, how naive. There has not been a single lesson or class that I've lead and been a part of where I have not learned something new about music, performing, and the Lord from my students. Through the work of Madeline and Josiah, Mr. Busch and I were able to see our students grow in their craft and in their faith, and ultimately pass the torch to our 'newest colleagues in the arts'. Working alongside such an accomplished performer as Mr. Busch was an incredible blessing from which I learned daily. The encouragement that everyone felt throughout the process of putting together this recital is what true Christian Artists and collaborators should strive to enact. Madeline and Josiah started the semester and this project by writing their artist statements, and through their ultimate decision to pursue those statements of faith and artistry the recital was a gift to all who came. I am blessed and humbled to have been a part of something  such as this."

Madeline and Josiah captured the audience’s attention with their beautiful performances. In their artistic statements, Josiah wrote that “if I can offer somebody and hour or two of joy and comfort, to forget about their problems for that long, then I feel like I have done the work that God has put me here on this earth to do.” In her artistic statement, Madeline said that “as a Christian artist, I desire for people to experience the presence of God during my performance and to see the light of Christ within me.” In this recital and in the past performances, Madeline and Josiah have truly fulfilled these goals. The Music Department is very proud of all they have accomplished is excited to see where each will go.