Pictured left to right: Lisa Sung (Piano), Gary McCourry (Saxophone), Joe Opera (Bass). Members are performing Equilateral Bossa Blues – Photo by Ashlyn Armock
By Ashlyn Armock, Aquinas Reporter
In celebration of the many talented staff and faculty members at Aquinas college, a recital was held on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025.
The concert included a wide array of performers, from singers to multi-instrumentalists. Dr. Thomas Polett, Professor of Music, Chair, and Instrumental Music Director, introduced the recital with a dedication to Barbra McCargar, Associate Professor of Music and Voice Instructor, for her long time career with the school.
The first piece featured Adjunct Associate Professors Andrew Bergeron on guitar and Carmen Maret on flute. Bergeron is a founding member of the Grand Rapids Guitar Quartet. The piece Bergeron and Maret performed was arranged by Bergeron and a fellow guitar quartet member, Michael Stockdale. Bergeron said he drew inspiration from the Great Lakes when creating his arrangement of Toccata in G-major by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Andrew Bergeron (guitar) and Carmen Maret (flute) performing Toccata in G-major – Photo by Ashlyn Armock
The second compositions were performed by Dr. Emmanuel De Leon, Director of Choral Activities, and Todd Wilkie, Aquinas’ collaborative pianist. The two pieces, Lord, God of Abraham from Elijah, Op. 70, text I Kings 18:36-37 by Felix Mendelssohn and Bituing Marikit by Nicanor Abelardo, conveyed both De Leon’s extensive classical training and vocal range.
The next two pieces, O viridissima virga (Hymn) by St. Hildegard of Bingen and Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, Op.129, D. 965 by Franz Schubert, were performed by McCargar, with Wilkie on piano. McCargar chose the first piece because of her personal history with Saint Hildegard. The second piece McCargar performed with Wilkie and Stephanie Hovnanian, Lecturer of Music and Clarinetist. The three played, passing the melody back and forth, each performer taking the lead at different points in the song.
A dramatic piece called Mariel by Osvaldo Golijov was played by Jinn Shin, Lecture and Cello Faculty, on Cello and Jack Latta, Adjunct Lecture and Percussion Faculty, on Marimba. This piece expressed the grief Golijov felt after a close friend’s passing. According to the program, the composer “attempted to capture that short instant before grief… a single moment frozen forever in one’s memory.” The two performers first received the music half way through December and only started rehearsing together two weeks before the recital. “It’s a piece about loss and what that feels like,” Latta said. “ With the plane crashes that have happened recently it was particularly pointent I think.”
Gary McCourry, an adjunct associate professor, composed three original jazz pieces: Equilateral Bossa Blues, Ballad for LaQuan, and Ordoflex. McCourry dedicated Ballad for LaQuan to his daughter. Each composition exposed technically difficult solos from McCourry. When joined by Lisa Sung on piano and Joe Opera on bass, the trio created a collection of songs that elevated the mood of the whole concert.
The concert concluded with Wilkie and retired faculty AMC member, Mary Hurd on the piano. The two pianos were moved side by side so Wilkie and Hurd could play the arrangement. This highly technical piece, Recuerdos; Three Traditional Latin-American Dances for Two Pianos by William Bolcom, was the finale of the recital.
Overall, the concert had a large in-person audience, with an additional 123 viewers watching the online stream. The full video can be found in the link below.
https://hi-in.facebook.com/aqmusicdept/videos/music-faculty-joint-recital/3911169129201653
The Saint 