Honors recital lets students show off semesters of hard musical work solo, together

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A semester or more of hard work paid off Tuesday morning for students in the CMU honors recital.

The recitals are held four times a semester in the Staples Family Concert Hall.

Performers such as Paul Melcher, an Allendale graduate assistant, performed tenor vocals.

“It’s always really nice to see the support of the students,” Melcher said. “With everyone doing their own thing it was great to be a part of.”

Melcher, who is a double major, also does piano with voice.

“If people come, they get to see students from CMU do solo performances instead of the ordinary orchestra,” said Jackson senior Elizabeth Patronik.

The students picked to play are chosen by their studio professor, Patronik said. Those selected must be ready and have performed well throughout the semester.

“My favorite perfomance was probably the first one, the Apollo Saxophone Quartet,” she said.

New Hampshire graduate student Andrew Cote attends the honors recitals regularly.

“It’s fun watching just about all of them,” Cote said. “But my favorite performance was probably ‘The Great Train Race’ by Danielle Fowler.”

Cote said he knew all of the performers from a previous class as well.

He said he encourages more students to come out to the recitals.

The honors recital was watched by more then just friends and family, but also other performers as well.

“Whether you perform clarinet or violin, it’s always fun to perform up there,” Melcher said.

Tory senior David Cook played the song “Black Dog” with his clarinet. The song was originally played by rock band Led Zeppelin.

The last honors recital this semester will take place in Staples Family Concert Hall again on Thursday.

“Originally I had picked it for a recital in last October,” Cook said. “I chose it because I grew up listening to 70s rock music like Queen and Led Zeppelin.”