NIC musicians gathered in Boswell Hall Nov. 17 at noon to share their selected pieces with each other and those who came to watch.
Approximately 30-40 people showed to watch the recital, including many NIC students in the music program. Rachel Westby, 19, Post Falls, third semester English major, is a student in Miriana Hardie’s piano class. Westby is required to come to the recital as a part of her class but said she enjoys watching the performances.
The last Thursday of every month NIC’s music department puts on a recital in the lobby of Boswell Hall, usually running approximately an hour in length. Most commonly the performers are music students and music instructors at NIC, but NIC music instructor Gerard Mathes said anyone is welcome to take part.
“Especially during the nineteenth century, musicians would get together and play tunes for each other,” said Mathes.
The light cast a blue tint to the lobby setting a very calm and quite pleasant atmosphere for the gathering. The array of instruments ranged from violin, to French horn, to vocal chords.
The first group to perform was a string quintet, made up of Mathes and four students. They performed a selection of classical pieces from memory. The group played Canon, mixing violin and viola. Each musician played in a different octave creating a beautiful layering of the strings. Mathes, along with the other two violins, took turns carrying the melody while the violas plucked the rhythm.
The quintet performed multiple pieces, several performed by pairs from the group.
A surprise performance by the music students followed, they sang “Happy Birthday” to Mathes with music instructor Miriana Hardie on the piano, replacing the traditional lyrics with their own personalized version.
Next was a duet between Anna Mcelroy, on the French horn, and Hardie on the piano. The duo performed “Andromeda,” a serenade from Beethoven. Mcelroy’s French horn entertained a solo over the piano in this piece.
Duncan Menzis stepped on the floor next singing a slow Italian piece, “Vaga Luna Che Inargenti” by Vincenzo Bellini.
“I chose this song because the melody line was really beautiful,” said Menzis, 18, music, Coeur d’Alene. “And it was full of heartfelt emotion, which means it would be fun to perform.”
The last performance was a jazzy saxophone piece.
