Students demonstrated their skills at the Fullerton College Recital Hall on Apr. 26 during their piano ensemble recital.
The theme for the night’s performance was “Postcards”, referring to the musical journey the performances would take the audience to while listening.
The performances began right away with J.S Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze” performed by Taehyun Kim and Negar Baradaran, a piano piece that would transport the audience to a meadow in Germany.
Following the opening act was a performance of “I Love Paris” by composer Cole Porter, performed by Jasmine Capitulo and Jun Eun Kim, a piano piece that would take the audience into a day in Paris.
Both Capitulo and Kim are returning pianists from the previous semester and while both worked several hours a week to perfect their performances for the night, they were still worried about being on stage.
“I have stage fear, but I feel like I am getting better at it,” Kim said. “I didn’t get too nervous this time and I think it went well because of it.”
“I felt good,” said Capitulo, a piano pedagogy major. “Getting through the pieces and not freaking out was a proud moment.”
Director and piano professor Jeremy Siskind said one of the goals for the performance was for students to get motivated and to feel comfortable performing in front of an audience.
“They have to get up and perform in front of their friends, parents and peers so it serves as an incentive to get them prepared for what is next,” he said.
The night continued with pieces that took the audience to various locations with pieces like “My Bold Argentina” by Kevin Costley, performed by Negar Baradaran and Lesem Ibarra, “Jamaican Rumba” by Arthur Benjamin performed by Ju Eun Kim and Lesem Ibarra and “America (from West Side Story)” by Leonard Bernstein performed by Natalie Lo and Stella Ramirez-Gollnick.
“I wanted to think of fun songs because I wanted to do something fun with the students that are about different places,” said Siskind.
The night ended with a pleasant surprise when Siskind announced the whole cast of students would perform an arrangement made by Siskind, himself, of John Kanders “New York, New York.”
It capped the end of a musical journey that took audiences around the world.
