Every year, senior Elizabethtown College music majors from all three branches of the department are required to perform a thirty-minute recital with their principle instrument, whether that be voice or a physical instrument.

These recitals take the knowledge that students have acquired over four years and put it to use in front of an audience.

“You prepare for so long, you know you’re prepared, but if you forget to have fun with it then it falls flat,” senior music therapy major Rebecca Conboy said. Conboy’s recital was Thursday, Feb. 21.

The recitals occur all throughout the year and help to prepare students for the future through teamwork, professionalism and patience with rigorous practice.

Students are also given the option to perform a recital as juniors in order to prepare for the required recital as seniors.

“A senior recital is presenting everything that you’ve learned over these four years,” senior music therapy major Laura Gribble said. Gribble, like Conboy, performed at her recital Feb. 21.

The senior recital is not simply showing up, playing your selected pieces, and leaving; the entire event requires much preparation on the part of the performers.

For current seniors, the process began last spring with the students selecting their pieces.

During the process, Jennifer Noyd, a senior music therapy major who had her recital Nov. 4, said that she “was able to bring forth [her] own opinions.”

After selecting the pieces, the performers must practice consistently. Noyd had a partner for whom she performed, which she believes was “very helpful.”

The seniors must also plan the entire event. “You have to get your dress, you have to prepare what food you will have as part of the reception,” Gribble said.

Planning also involves scheduling practice time with the accompanist. The seniors also need to coordinate jury time, which is when a couple of professors of the senior’s choice give their approval of the chosen pieces.

Large amounts of time, energy and preparation are necessary for a successful senior recital, but many seniors have an overall positive experience.

“Mine was fantastic. I love performing,” senior music major Emily Derstine said. “I felt really prepared, and I wasn’t nervous at all.”

Gribble shares her enthusiasm. “I’m still feeling the buzz of energy from it,” she said, “I also enjoy performing, and I realized that last night. I regained that love for performing.”

Derstine said she believes that her senior recital was “a tiny glimpse into the future.”

Even though she performed a couple of times throughout her four years at the College, Derstine said “it was really nice to have my own moment and showcase what we’ve learned, what we’ve accomplished.”

Noyd called her senior recital a “culminating musical experience,” reflecting on her feelings of satisfaction on showcasing everything she learned for her friends, family, and professors. “It’s important to show that the work that I’ve done has been worth it,” she said.

Gribble invited many people who were influential to her music career to her senior recital. Reflecting on the importance of her recital, Gribble appreciated “being able to show them, to show the faculty, and show friends and family that this is what I do, this is who I am.”

Conboy’s advice to rising seniors is, “it’ll be over before you know it so make sure you’ve put the work in, but then enjoy the fruits of your labor.”
But the students aren’t the only ones who work hard for and enjoy these recitals.

Professors in the music department encourage students to always do their best and have fun with the performance.

Professor of musicology Dr. E. Douglas Bomberger teaches his students the history behind the music they are performing and helps in the endeavor to use their cultivated knowledge not just in this one capstone project, but in their future careers as well.

“Hands down what makes me most excited is seeing the development in the students because I get to hear them when they’re auditioning as high school students to come to Etown, and if we accept those students, then I get to work with them throughout their four years,” Bomberger said.

“When I see them performing at a professional level, as a culmination of their senior year, and I remember where they came from as high school students, that’s the most satisfying thing.”