On Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m., the inaugural concert in honor of President Patrick Finnegan, A Silver Notes Celebration, took place. The concert was a collaboration of Longwood's music department, featuring the Longwood Camerata Singers with conductor Dr. Pamela McDermott and accompanist Dr. Lisa Kinzer, and the Rotunda Saxaphone Quartet, starring David Lawson, Nick Milford, H.B. Wilmouth, and Miguel Gavilan. Other groups included the Jazz Ensemble A, directed by Dr. Charles Kinzer, and a guest performance by Octavia Moton, who sang "The Best is Yet to Come" by Frank Sinatra, the Armonica Vita, and the Longwood Wind Symphony, directed by Dr. Gordon Ring.
The performance was kicked off with some words from Dr. Christopher Swanson, who acted as MC for the event, as well as a performer of many musical numbers throughout. First to perform were the Longwood Camerata Singers, starting off the evening with a rendition of "Star Spangled Banner." Their final performance of the evening was the "Serenade to Music," featuring the voices of Dr. Jennifer Capaldo and Dr. Christopher Swanson in a duet.
The song choices for most of the musical groups were based off of the event that it was being held for. Most chosen songs honored Finnegan's military past, his Irish heritage and even preludes to the future with him as our president.
"For the jazz band, we look for upbeat, happy-sounding tunes that had titles that in some way related to the excitement that the campus feels for having President Finnegan here," said Jazz Ensemble A director, Dr. Charles Kinzer. They performed songs such as "I Gotta Feeling," "Got to Get You Into My Life," "The Best is Yet to Come" and "Thazit!" featuring a solo by Taylor Cole on trumpet, as well as Luke Talian on drums. The Armonica Vita singers, including Vera Crouse, Meredith Didlake, Holly Mattison, and Emily Mathis, performed "America the Beautiful" and "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." As the last notes sang out for the Irish lullaby, Finnegan rose to his feet to give the girls a standing ovation.
When asked about the act of collaborating together with all the musical groups, Kinzer said, "It's a lot of fun. We have some students that are in all three of the groups that you saw tonight. We get a feel for all our music majors in the whole music department, the different styles that they all perform, and you know, I don't hear the choir sing everyday, so when I get to hear them at a concert, it blows me away how good they are." The performance not only highlighted the abilities of the students, it also highlighted the dedicated faculty and staff within the music department, bringing their voices and abilities to the spotlight. "You never know with a concert like this when there are so many ensembles involved and so many different performers, and then everything comes together right at the end. I knew everything was going to be great, but it's always really exciting because at first you don't know," said Swanson, one of the faculty performers.
Alumni are also involved in the performance. Rob Blankenship, a graduate of the music department and current director of bands at Douglas Freeman High School, composed a piece called "Colonnade." It was moving piece in remembrance of the 2001 Ruffner fire.
Finnegan was called to the stage towards the end of the production to say a few words. He applauded the spectacular performances and went on to explain why it was held, saying, "It's more than about celebrating an individual, it's about what this great place is. We especially wanted to highlight the talents of our student and our faculty, and this has been that event." And the concert was a success in doing that. Not only did faculty and students do a phenomenal job, the music department as a whole succeeded in showing what Longwood is all about — dedication, talent and thoughtfulness. "This concert is billed as in my honor," said Finnegan, "and I will tell you that I am honored by your talent, by your dedication, by your performances. And I'm touched by your thoughtfulness and your good wishes. My Irish eyes are smiling."
