By Danielle Bettendorf Staff writer
Senior Emily McGurk will perform a senior soprano recital on Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. in Stretansky Concert Hall.
For the recital, McGurk will perform three sets, which range from works written in the 1600s to more contemporary pieces.
The first work is a set by American composer Samuel Barber, which is more contemporary than the other pieces included.
“I’ve been doing songs from him since my very beginning,” McGurk said. “When I was auditioning for school, I sang a song of his for my audition, so it’s showing my progression from the very beginning to now. This is my peak of what I’ve accomplished.”
“It’s very interesting in that its writing is unpredictable,” said Judy White, adjunct professor of music. “The rhythms are complex, [and] the text is very interesting.”
“One of Emily’s favorite pieces is called ‘The Monk and His Cat,’” White said. “It’s a delightful look at the serenity of appreciating an animal such as a cat and how their life seems to be so separate from our own, and yet somehow calms the stresses in our own life.”
The second set was written by Austrian composer Franz Schubert and will also be composed of three songs. According to McGurk, she chose the set because she wanted to perform something classic, so she picked three songs that she enjoyed.
“My third one is odd, because it’s not one composer, but it’s three different songs from different eras that are about saying goodbye in Italian,” McGurk said.
“[The songs] show off a lighter quality of my voice, and I love singing in Italian,” McGurk continued. “One of the songs [chosen] was one of the first songs I ever did here, and the other ones have just been ones that I’ve done over the years.”
In contrast to other performances at Susquehanna, senior recitals don’t follow a specific theme, McGurk said.
“The theme is my progression through Susquehanna, rather than a musical theme,” she added. “Everything about it shows the progress that I’ve made. Sometimes people have themes where it’s women’s rights, or just a specific composer, but mine is more the story of my time at school,” she added.
“It’s a large undertaking for any student,” White said. “There’s a lot of preparation regarding research of the music’s background and styles. In terms of performance, [it] needs to be authentic in relation to the time in which things were composed.”
“After all of that note and rhythm learning, there’s the artistic side, which is something that Emily is gifted at delivering,” White added. “She has strong artistic skills to express and communicate pieces.”
Both McGurk and White highlighted what audience members can take away from the performance and the benefit of having performances on campus.
“They’re really good ways to experience the culture that Susquehanna has and that [our] music department presents,” McGurk said. “I think the hope of any artist is that the audience is moved by what is shared,” White said. “I think what Emily shares is very beautiful: in terms of quality of voice, and also her sensitivity to what music is meant to do for all of us: to dig deep and touch us, the soul of each human being.”
“If the audience walks away with that sense of really feeling something from the performance, I think that’s a great accomplishment for any artist,” White continued.
She said: “We’re all enriched on the campus by being open to the likes and interests of other people, whether it’s our own likes and interests or not. We do well to support one another. It just helps our understanding of not only community but what’s out there in the world.”
