Luke Helker
Staff Writer

On Sunday, September 7th, the hall of the Visual and Performing Arts Center were echoing with the sounds of music for the first two student recitals of the semester. Both were senior recital, the first being Gentry Stoltzfus, trumpet, and Emma Noble, cello.

Gentry is a senior Music Education major currently student teaching this semester. For his recital he started off with two concertos, of which he performed all three movements of each. The first was Tomaso Albinoni’s “Concerto in B-flat” and the second was Johann Baptist Georg-Neruda’s “Concerto in E-flat.” Both concertos were quite ambitious in their composition, but Gentry performed each movement of each work with vivacity and energy required to tackle them. Interestingly enough, the Albinoni concerto was performed with a piccolo trumpet, a much smaller version of the traditional trumpet and pitched an octave higher.

These two recitals mark the first of many student recitals, both junior and senior, to take place this semester.
These two recitals mark the first of many student recitals, both junior and senior, to take place this semester.

Following the concertos, Gentry sat down at the piano to play an original arrangement that he made for the theme song of the bit HBO miniseries, Band of Brothers. Originally composed by Michael Kamen, the music depicts “the beauty and heroism of the soldiers and their stories out of the war’s devastation.” Finally, Gentry performed “The Southern Cross” by Herbert L. Clarke, a cornet legend and accomplished composer. His performance overall was exemplary and very skillful.

After Gentry’s recital, Emma Noble appeared on stage to present her senior recital. She kicked off her concert with two movements of Johannes Brahms’ “Sonata in E minor for cello and piano, Op. 38.” A daunting task, Emma captivated the audience with her mesmerizing performance and continued to hold the audience’s attention throughout the entire concert. In addition to the sonata, Noble performed the prelude to Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Suite No. 3 in C Major” and the Moderato movement in Joseph Haydn’s “Concerto in C Major,” all of which require the performer to be extremely flexible and agile.

Emma also included a few surprises in the concert. Along with a riveting performance with her trio, Trio Lux (featuring Sarah Newswanger on piano and Israel Gonzalez on clarinet), Noble also sang two songs including a cover of “From this Valley” by The Civil Wars with Jeff Grey playing guitar and singing and David Houck playing the violin. Finally, she closed the program a modern cello solo entitled “Julio-O” by Mark Summer. The conclusion of her recital brought thunderous applause. It was a truly spectacular afternoon for all those in attendance for both recitals.

Make sure to check out some of the other recitals coming up from both students and faculty. More information and schedules can be found at http://www.millersville.edu/muarts/.