The Soloist

At 6:00 p.m, on Thursday, March 23, 2017, I attended the graduate recital of violinist Hannah Howland, A graduate student at the University of Northern Iowa. The recital took place in Graham Hall at, an intimately sized performance space housed in Russel Hall. Hannah Howland is a graduate student perusing a Master’s degree in Violin Performance. Hannah performed the first two pieces of her recital solo, and was then accompanied by Polina Khatsko, an instructor of Piano at the University of…

Being a vocalist, it’s hard not to notice that vocal music wasn’t a highly talked about genre during the Early Baroque. Since vocal music is a familiar genre, its lack of appreciation can catch the attention of many Baroque fans, especially those who are studying the voice. Taking the time to analyze the Baroque period more in depth by exploring the ultimate goal of the era, the composers of the era, and by examining music scores, especially those of Claudio Monteverdi, I was able to grasp an…

Break Point 3.1 I believe that I learned a lot about music through all three of the methods listed in the book. As it is common for most young people, I have mostly acquired my musical knowledge through formal means, in a "school" setting. I joined a choir in fifth grade in which our choir director taught us solfege, sight reading, and other musical skills. Since I started learning these when I was younger, I was able to retain them slowly and gradually until I became fairly good at using them…

In The 10,000-Hour Rule, Malcolm Gladwell writes his analysis on how 10,000 hours can help one excel in an activity. Throughout the course of the years, scholars, researchers as well as teachers have developed a common perspective in regards to the notorious 10,000-hour rule. Of course, the idea that one must practice and devote their relentless time to a certain activity in order to thrive was developed and reshaped by many. Yet, Malcolm Gladwell presents this idea in a new light which utterly…

INTRODUCTION Johann Sebastian was a German composer who became a great violinist, violist, pianist and harpsichordist of the Baroque period. Bach wrote over eleven hundred music compositions in all different genres. His music became the essential part of the education today for every musician. Bach was an influenced composer and was an inspiration to many leaving a great legacy behind after his death. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Childhood & Place of Birth Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21,…

“You do have a choice, you know…there is always a choice.” Passenger by Alexandra Bracken is a thrilling novel with many intriguing characters, but my favourite one was Henrietta Spencer, a 17-year-old violinist who goes by Etta. She discovers that she is part of a large family of time-travelers and she has the ability to change history. But along with this power come many responsibilities, hardships and dangers. “This was the danger, the seduction of time travel…it was the opportunity, the…

The erasure of one’s memory and the immense loss that comes with it is undoubtedly a frightening thought. Imagine losing your identity or part of your humanity. Imagine feeling an emptiness that leads you to insanity. Imagine realizing that these conditions might be side effects of such a procedure. Part of being human is managing pain and suffering in all its forms and dealing with the trials and tribulations of life even while many of us would rather forget and desire to start a new chapter, a…

In a perfect world, all school activities should be funded, but the reality is that public schools are not given much money. There is an increasing pressure on schools to pick the activities the most beneficial to fund because there is just not enough money to fund every single activity, however, usually it is the most popular ones that are chosen such as sports. The first activity they usually cut out is the arts. In some schools, football is valued more than the arts, but the arts such as…

performed relative to the opera, The Marriage of Figaro. The concerto features a solo piano, flute, two clarinets, two bassoons, two French horns, and a set of strings all played in quadruple meter. A concerto is a multi-movement work featuring a soloist and an orchestra. In this case, a piano concerto is played by a solo piano. The piano concerto piece features a double-exposition sonata. Having a double exposition means that the two themes and bridge are played again, but features a solo piano…

aspect of my piece made my work unique and appropriate for this concert venue. I feel as though my final product was much better than I originally anticipated; and therefore, I enjoyed creating my piece as well as performing it in the space as a soloist. If I could do it all again, I believe I would consider a different costume. Although I enjoyed my costume because I believe it showed an appropriate amount of skin, I think the costume did not fit as well on the top of my torso. Additionally, I…