By Sarah McMillin, Staff Writer
Eight students showcased their compositions at a concert on Nov. 7 in Stretansky Concert Hall.
The eight students who performed were first-year Emily Hendershot, senior Shawn Khanna, junior Ben Nylander, sophomore Hayden Stacki, senior Luke Duceman, junior Daniel Woods, sophomore Aaron Fast and senior Brett Heffelfinger.
Hendershot’s piece was titled “Raindrops’ Sonata” and included two movements, “Dancing” and “Submergence.” The piece featured Hendershot on piano and sophomore Isaiah Harper on violin.
For her piece, Hendershot was inspired by both rain and the transition to college.
According to the program notes, Hendershot said, “Both rain and change are necessary, so I wanted this piece to represent the emotional struggle of embracing this new chapter in my life and the eventual acceptance of change.”
While the piece is not entirely completed, Hendershot said that the piece parallels her current emotional journey with the subject matter.
The next piece performed was a string quartet composed by Khanna, which was comprised of three movements. The piece featured sophomore Madeline Birk and junior Jennie Lien on violin, first-year John Bentz on viola, and Heffelfinger on cello.
Nylander performed his own piece, “Four Scenes for Piano, 2017.” In the program notes, Nylander explained where and how each movement came to be.
“Each movement of ‘Four Scenes for Piano’ was written using Arnold Schoenberg’s dodecaphonic system in different ways,” Nylander said.
Stacki’s “Second Night” was a saxophone quartet featuring Duceman on soprano saxophone, junior Emma Mooradian on alto saxophone, senior
Jess Portzline on tenor saxophone and junior Jon Deysher on baritone saxophone.
In the variety of compositions, attendees noted the opportunity to hear styles of music that are not often highlighted.
Sophomore Lena Costello said, “As someone who doesn’t have the opportunity to hear saxophone quartets very often, the uniqueness of the composi- tion added to the effect.”
Duceman’s piece, “Warmth,” featured many Susquehanna students, including junior Cathrina Kothman on flute, first- year Jonathan Lewis on English horn, first-year Rebecca Schell on clarinet, Portzline on tenor saxophone, Mooradian on bas- soon, first-year Sydney Smith on euphonium, Stacki and senior Carissa Sweet on percussion, Bentz on viola and sophomore Victoria Meneses on cello.
Woods also performed his own piece, “Three Preludes for Piano,” which was composed of three movements.
Fast’s piece, “Day,” also consisted of three movements: “Early Morning,” “Afternoon” and “Dusk.”
Fast performed his work himself on electric bass.
The last piece was Heffelfinger’s “Helix,” which featured Nylander on piano, junior Krista White on the flute, Sweet on the vibraphone and Heffelfinger on the cello.
The concert was a part of the 21st Century Tuesdays series, which previously hosted composer Samuel Adler in October. On Nov. 28, the series will feature the Byrne:Kozar:Duo.
