On Tuesday, April 22, a Gala concert was put on at White Concert Hall from 7:30-8:30 p.m. There were 15 students who performed during this concert, and around 100 spectators were present at this event.
The Washburn Piano and Organ Society Gala Concert highlights the accomplishments of top-performing students from Washburn Piano Day, held earlier this spring semester. Participants in Piano Day were required to perform one or two pieces from memory and were evaluated by university faculty and Washburn music major volunteers. Those who received the highest scores were honored with certificates of excellence and special recognition ribbons.
Lucy Tan, director of keyboard and lecturer of applied piano, shared the qualities she was looking for in the participants on Piano Day.
“So some of the top performers exhibit really great technique, skill, articulation and understanding of style,” Tan said. “They are very expressive players, with good musicality. They have great stage presence. They dress professionally. They act professionally. They have the music memorized.”
Malakai Fisscher, sophomore piano performance major and president of Washburn Piano and Organ Gala Society, describes what stood out most to him in this year’s performance.
“Out of all of the young students here that performed, a fabulous job,” Fisscher said. “I wish that we had more events for them, because we do hold events for them year-round, but I wish that we had more and more student involvement … I was astounded by the way that all of the youngsters performed.”
Adriel Holloway, junior music performance major, helped judge the participants on Piano Day. Holloway performed music by Francis Poulenc in this concert.
“These people were the winners,” Holloway said. “Basically, we played a song by Poulenc today. It’s on the program, but I didn’t play for a candidate, because that’s a community thing. It’s an outreach thing for the kids of the community.”
Tan shared that events like this help students grow as musicians.
“Washburn Piano Day gives students advanced feedback from people that they wouldn’t otherwise take lessons with,” Tan said. “So they get feedback from college professors, and that way they can really hear either new ideas or reinforce ideas that their teachers may have taught them. So when they hear it from a different person, they’re like, Okay, now I really have to fix it. I really have to practice it right. Also, this gives them an opportunity to play in such a beautiful concert hall. And so part of being a good musician is getting more performance experience. So part of this program is to provide our area students with that opportunity.”
The Washburn Music Department is holding auditions for its degree programs. Those interested can reach out via email at [email protected].
Edited by Morgan Albrecht and Stuti Khadka
