A&E
Annual Fall Faculty Concert provides successful introduction to music at Hamilton
By Ian Hohm ’20
September 8, 2016
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This past Saturday, Sept. 3, Hamilton College’s Music Department presented the Fall Faculty Concert of 2016 in Wellin Hall, Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts. The performance featured various instruments, from the piano to the trombone, the soprano saxophone to the clarinet, from guitar to trumpet and even various percussion instruments to heldentenor vocals. In addition to the range of instruments, there was also a broad range of musical material in the program. Choosing from music written between three centuries, the show included classics like “Gurrelieder” by Arnold Schoenberg, “Solo de Concours” by Andre Messager and “Piano Sonata No. 4 Op. 30” by Alexander Scriabin. There were also a few original pieces such as “Hidden Treasures” by Lectuer in Music Adam Dudding and Lecturer in Music Monk Rowe’s performance of his own “Walter Brennan Goes to Heaven.”
The impressive performances were not the only aspect of the show which drew so many students to Wellin last Saturday night. The aspect that most attracted students to the show was the prospect of seeing their professors and lecturers exhibit their own talent, and they were not disappointed. If anything, each student who saw the performance left with a heightened appreciation of their faculty’s expertise in the field of music. The most featured performer was Sar-Shalom Strong, one of Hamilton’s lecturers in piano, who began the show with a haunting performance of “Prelude for Akiko” and proceeded to assist as a duet performer in four other pieces. Of all Hamilton’s music professors, students most likely recognized Professor Heather Buchman who exhibited a seldom seen, softer quality of the trombone with her performance of the Trombone Concerto “I. Adiago.” Other performances included trumpet lecturer John Rascella’s performance of “Trumpet Concerto in E Flat” and the James L. Ferguson Professor of Music Samuel Pellman’s playful piano duet with his wife Colleen Roberts Pellman, Hamilton’s staff coordinator and pianist lecturer.
A few performances emerged as more unexpected than the rest. Most of which was Jon Fredric West’s performance of the German opera piece “Gurreilieder.” Among mostly instrumental performances, West’s voice seemed to come out of the blue. West has performed in major opera houses, concert halls and orchestras throughout his career, including the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Teatro dell’ Opera, Rome and The Royal Opera at Covent Garden, so when he appeared and began to sing many students were taken aback.
The Faculty Concert was something that many students will not forget, and it may have even inspired some students to try an instrument or pursue music in some other fashion. Either way, it was certainly a concert worth seeing. Save for the singers, not a word was spoken by any of the performers over the course of the hour-long concert. The faculty who performed were entirely professional and clearly wanted to put forward the height of their skill to their students. They wanted the students who attended their concert to see an exemplary musical performance. Further, they succeeded in giving a performance that affected the soul and left the audience stricken with awe.