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Sanders, Taylor to perform senior recital BY WYATT ASHLOCK
Arts/Entertainment & Opinions Editor Senior year is a stressful and emotional time for every senior. This is especially true for music majors as they each prepare for their senior voice recital. Every year, senior music majors must preform a recital as a fulfillment of part of the requirements to graduate in the major. These recitals take a lot of time and effort to prepare, from planning to rehearsing to passing a hearing before the recital. Many make preparations for their recital for over a year. This this is true for music education majors as well. Karlee Sanders from Caraway, Arkansas and Clara Taylor from White Hall, Arkansas are two of three choral music education seniors this year. They met their freshman year in a music class and became friends their freshman spring semester. Since the choral music education majors are few, Sanders and Taylor have become close friends. After being friends for three years, spending countless hours studying together and experienced many summer adventures together, they decided to do their senior recital together. “Clara and I just hit it off and we helped each other through different things in our lives,” Sanders said. “It just made sense that we would do our recital together because we are such great friends.” Taylor has been a voice student of Dr. Margaret Garrett since her freshman year, while Sanders had Mr. John Briggs, who retired last year. She is now under the instruction of Dr. Garrett as well. They have been working for a long time on their repertoire that will be performed during their recital. Taylor has been working
on “Messiah” by George Frideric Handel since freshman year. “I had one of my pieces picked my freshman year and I am so excited to finally perform this piece for everyone,” Taylor said. “Freshmen are not usually given pieces like this and it was a lot to take on.” Unlike a musical theatre senior recital which has one long story, this classical recital has different cycles and each cycle has their own story. The repertoire being performed in their recital is far ranging from a French cycle to a German cycle to Mozart. The recital will end with the musical theatre song “I Will Never Leave You” from “Side Show.” “It is a really sweet song and to hear about how we will never leave each other, and how we will always be friends is a sentiment and emotion that is completely true,” Sanders said. “I might cry, so it’s good that it will be our ending song.” Sanders and Taylor have spent so much time preparing because of the many standards that must be met for them to pass their recital. They must have all of their music memorized and must be able to fully pronounce all of the foreign language pieces. The recital cannot go over 50 minutes including transition time. “Our current runtime is 47 minutes and 57 seconds which does not give us much time in case something might happen which would slow us down,” Taylor said. They must perform at a hearing, meeting all of these requirements and get approved by the voice faculty before the performance. Taylor and Sanders will perform their senior voice recital on Oct. 22 at 11 a.m in the Mabee Fine Arts Center and will have a reception following their performance in the lobby.
Top: Karlee Sanders is from Caraway, Arkansas. Sanders is excited to perform the song “I Will Never Leave You” from “Side Show.” (photo by Coleman Callan) Bottom: Clara Taylor is from White Hall, Arkansas. Taylor has been working on music for her recital since freshman year. (photo by Coleman Callan)
