Every semester, students at Elizabethtown College participate in formal assessments to demonstrate mastery of their subjects. For music majors nearing the end of their time at Etown, this means performing in a senior recital. Sunday, March 7, senior music therapy majors Gabriella Clarizio and Angelina Pisacane did just that with their saxophone recital.
“The senior recital is basically the capstone of the experience that is learning how to play your instrument,” Etown clarinet and saxophone instructor Faith Shiffer said.
“It’s an accumulation of how much we’ve learned over four years,” Pisacane said.
Music majors show their musical achievement by performing on their principal instrument, whether voice or a physical instrument, for 30 minutes with an accompanist.
Even though Clarizio and Pisacane have both been playing saxophone for about 12 years, they still needed to prepare a lot for this concert.
“You start preparing your first lesson here,” Clarizio said. “Everything our school does is to help us prepare for that one recital our senior year.”
Part of this preparation includes working with their saxophone instructor, Shiffer. She has been working with Clarizio and Pisacane for all eight semesters of their time at Etown. They work on saxophone technique and musical expression in order to master their skills.
“I’ve not only grown to know them as saxophonists, but I’ve also grown to know them as people,” Shiffer said.
An optional preparation step is performing in a junior recital, which is like a trial run. Clarizio chose to do this, and she said it helped her feel more prepared for her senior recital.
Three weeks prior to the recitals, music majors must perform their program for a jury of music professors. This acts as an exam of sorts, but it is also just to check in and make sure the students are prepared and where they need to be to succeed in their recital. During the pandemic, these jury times have been virtual.
In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic changed a lot about the senior recitals, and music majors have had to adjust.
“I’m extremely proud of both Angie and Gabriella because as a result of the current situation with the pandemic, they have been put under extreme pressures that a normal senior would not encounter when they are giving their senior recital,” Shiffer said.
One of the pressures was limited time with their accompanists, which often is valuable practice time.
“I haven’t gotten to work with my accompanist until I got here this semester,” Clarizio said.
The recital itself has changed, too. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the recitals are not as open as they once were. Even the limited guests that performers can bring have to sit in the balcony to properly distance.
The pandemic may have played a big role in the senior recitals, but the experience was just as fulfilling.
“We’ve been looking forward to this for such a long time,” Pisacane said before the concert.
Both students said that once they got past their nerves, they enjoyed sharing their music to people in attendance and those watching via the livestream YouTube link.
When asked what advice she would give to other music majors preparing for their recitals, Clarizio said, “Definitely practice, practice, practice! If you can, rehearse with your pianist and your studio professor, too. That really helped me when preparing to have an extra set of ears to listen in on the rehearsal process. I couldn’t have done it without Mrs. Shiffer’s help!”
Pisacane agreed and added that music majors should enjoy the process.
“Remember to have fun picking out an outfit, program and all the other things you can to make it special. Remember that it’s a celebration of your hard work!”
