By Katie Willis, Contributing Writer
Seniors Carissa Sweet and Maggie Benjamin performed a recital on March 3 in Stretansky Concert Hall, which featured a variety of works written for piano and keyboard percussion.
According to Sweet, the two’s friendship assisted in the formation of the recital.
“Maggie is a good pianist and I have enjoyed planning this recital with her,” Sweet said. “We have worked together in music admissions together for two years.”
The performance began with a solo piece by Benjamin on the piano, which showed the full range of tones to illustrate to the audience the fullest capabilities of the piano’s sound.
Sweet then took the stage for her own solo piece on the vibraphone and marimba.
“There are no pieces accompanied by other musicians,” Sweet said. “All instruments used are keyboard instruments, which means that we play with our hands, unlike many other recitals which require either voice or breath to manipulate the instruments.”
After an intermission, Sweet and Benjamin both performed again. As the recital drew to a close, Sweet also performed the vibraphone while a projector showed sequences of shapes and lines on screen.
Sweet said she hopes that their recital helped to “expose and educate the audience about the varieties of music.”
Benjamin added that in her experience, she has picked up a great bit about music.
“I’ve become quite interested in studying the genesis of compositions and how knowing the composer’s background, compositional style and era in music can affect interpretation on a work,” Benjamin said.