This past Friday night, Longwood’s music department put on a faculty recital, drawing a small crowd to Wygal auditorium. Dr. Christopher Swanson, associate professor of music at Longwood opened the recital with a few remarks before performing, showcasing his abilities as a tenor vocalist alongside talented guitarist Andrew McEvoy.
Following the powerful opening number, audience members enjoyed three engaging solo instrumental guitar pieces. McEvoy demonstrated an impressive range on the acoustic guitar. The main segment of the recital consisted of a series of seven letters from composers performed by Swanson and McEvoy. Composers included Chopin, Mozart and Bach, as well as several lesser known composers.
The faculty recital culminated with a twelve minute piece entitled “Canticle III: Still Falls the Rain” in which Dr. Lisa Kinzer and Katie Glaeser joined the stage on the piano and French Horn, respectively.
Dr. Swanson introduced the piece with remarks from the composer of the song itself, Benjamin Britten, who shared that “this is disturbing music – allow yourself to be disturbed.” The program for the recital provided lyrics for each song, allowing audience members to follow along with both the opening song in French and the remainder of the pieces sung in English.
