October 20: MTNA Fall Piano Festival

On Saturday, October 20, College of the Ozarks hosted the MTNA Fall Piano Festival. Piano students ranging in age from elementary students to highschoolers performed pieces for a panel of C of O piano major adjudicators. The adjudicators gave each student a score based on the accuracy and musicality of their pieces. Later that afternoon, selected students performed in an Honors Recital to showcase their talents and gain performance experience. The recital concluded with performances by the college students. The participants showed great potential and were encouraged to continue to work hard and pursue their musical endeavors.

October 20-21: Opera Workshop Scenes

On the weekend of October 20-21, a group of students performed scenes from various operas. Directed by voice professor Rebecca Claborn, this is the first semester of College of the Ozarks’s Opera Scenes Workshop. Ms. Claborn was assisted in refining the scenes by Mr. Gregg Busch and Dr. John Cornish. There were 13 student performers: Ashley Mattingly, Jordan Bryant, Riley Eggebraaten, Adrienne Rendon, James McBride, Joanie Jorash, Spencer Fleury, Jennifer Beal, Kandice Riley, Emily LaVelle, Abraham Martin, Elizabeth Jordan, and Natalie Hensarling. Hudson Powers served as MC modeled an array of costume changes, including a fruit-decked turban. Ms. Claborn chose humorous, high-energy scenes, which she translated into English. She wanted the performers to focus on establishing a relationship with the audience, showing that opera can be just as fun and relatable for the audience members as it is for the performers.

April 15 Senior Vocal Recital: Taylor Bench

Taylor Bench, a senior vocal education major, held her senior recital on Sunday, April 15^th. Taylor studies with adjunct voice professor Mr. Gregg Busch. Among her selection of songs were Bellini’s Il Zeffero and Dolente Imagine, Brahms’s Ophelia-Leider, WoO. 22, and Mozart’s Vedrai, Carino from Don Giovanni. She was accompanied by Mr. Caleb Lawson.

Taylor ended her recital with numerous members of chapel choir and chorale singing along with her favorite hymn, “You are My All in All,” in memory of her beloved music teacher who recently passed away. Taylor’s recital showcased her vocal abilities and represents the culmination of her music studies at C of O.

March 29 Senior Composition Recital: Jordy Hake

On March 29, Jordy Hake presented his senior composition recital. Jordy is a Music Theory and Composition major, as well as an accomplished baritone. After graduation, Jordy hopes to attend graduate school and acquire his MM degree in composition.

The first half of his recital was devoted to his vocal performance: he sang works by Schubert, Debussy, Hoiby, Mozart, and Rossini. The second half of the program consisted of Jordy’s original compositions. Bradley Hofmann, Brian Hofmann, and Dylan Coleman performed “Frenetic,” trio for trumpet, vibraphone, and drum set. A woodwind quintet followed, performed by Laurie Tietjen, Amanda Miles, Elizabeth Carlson, Canon Alsup, and Michael Petete.

Next, the audience listened to electronic composition “Irrational Outbursts: A Mathematical Jest in Three Fits,” which was then followed by “Astronomy,” performed by soprano Lydia Burnett and pianist Caleb Lawson. Ryan Moore brought the recital to a close by performing “Five Piano Miniatures.” The Music Department is very proud of Jordy’s accomplishments and wishes him success in his future endeavors.

March 17-20: MTNA National Conference

On March 17-20, six C of O piano students and our piano professor Dr. Clara Christian were able to attend the MTNA national conference in Orlando, Florida. The conference featured many informative sessions as well as live performances. Students Laura Berthold, Zach Bryngelson, Kaylen Draschil, TJ Gozé, Brian Hofmann, and Monica Humrichouse participated in the trip.

Dr. Christian said that “the MTNA national conference was as inspiring as ever: it occurs in different parts of the country every year, and I haven't been to one since 2014 (when it was in Chicago). In 2012, I did a poster session while I was still a graduate student. But it was a lot of fun to be able to take C of O college students who had never been to one of these conferences before.”

Some of the conference highlights included performances by the national composition and performance competition winners (some of whom were only in fifth or sixth grade), the piano masterclass with Pavlina Dokovska, and workshops on subjects such as duet playing, performance practice on period instruments, and helping young professionals achieve success. It was thought provoking and encouraging to see so many topics and teaching styles represented.

March 11 Senior Composition Recital: Rebekah Arendt

On March 11, Rebekah Arendt presented her Composition Senior Recital. Rebekah will be graduating this May with a major in Music Theory and Composition and a minor in Clothing and Textiles. Dr. Luke Carlson is her Theory and Composition professor.

Her first piece, Childhood Scenes, was a three movement work inspired by her childhood. Siblings, a flute and clarinet duet, followed Childhood Scenes. Rebekah then accompanied a Vivaldi flute sonata and a Mozart vocal composition. Her program concluded with Hope, an original composition for voice and piano, and Missouri Storm, a piano solo.

Rebekah’s compositions were performed by music students Lucas Allen, Dylan Coleman, Brian Hofmann, Alaina Headley, Mary Sumner, Sarah McCullough, Mary Grace Baldwin, and staff accompanist Caleb Lawson. Childhood Scenes was conducted by Mr. Gregg Busch, a C of O adjunct professor.

C of O Students attend Composition Masterclass

On February 9th, College of the Ozarks students attended a Composition Masterclass with Angélica Negrón and afterwards attended a concert of new music, all written by living composers.

The students had the opportunity to sit in on a 45 minute round-table discussion with Negrón and discuss novel approaches to composition, as well as see a demonstration of her vegetable keyboard, which she used to perform later that night.

"It was interesting to hear from an electronically oriented composer," Jordy Hake, senior Music Theory and Composition major said. "Often composition students can get on a one-track-mind sort of rut in composing the sort of music they're most familiar with; Angélica Negrón's music was a synthesis of so many styles and genres, it was quite inspiring and elicited a bunch of new ideas and approaches."

Laura Berthold, senior English and Piano major, described the vegetable interface as a "fascinating and innovative technique of electronic music performance."

The students enjoyed the experience and were grateful for the opportunity to hear from another established professional within their field, as well as to hear new music performed in concert.