Faculty showcases talent

    In the past week, the Max Noah Recital Hall has seen the talent of GCSU’s Music Department faculty. The works of 19th and 20th century composers such as Johannes Brahms, Franz Liszt, Vincenzo Bellini, Aaron Copland and Elliot Carter filled the hall on the nights of Sept. 24 and 29.
    Faculty recital artist Dr. Greg Pepetone performed “A Tale of Two Aesthetics” incorporating two 19th century composers into his recital. He began his performance with an introduction of the piece “Sonata in F Minor, Op. 5” by Brahms, which was followed by Liszt’s piece, “Sonata in B Minor.”
    Pepetone chose his recital pieces due to their consistency with the course he is teaching this semester, “Gothic Imagination.”
    “That’s a course that deals with the gothic imagination as expressed in the fine arts and in popular culture,” Pepetone said. These two works that I played on Monday are both excellent examples of making gothic in music.”
    Pepetone’s interest of study has been interdisciplinary, completing his doctoral thesis on a comparison of Charlotte Brontë and Robert Schumann, a novelist and a composer.
    “These two works are masterpieces (of) 19th century Gothic, comparable to pieces of literature like Frankenstein and Dracula, other 19th century Gothic literary masterpieces.” Pepetone said. “These are Gothic stories told through sound.”
    Pepetone was introduced to Beethoven by a teacher when he was in the fourth grade.
    “I was like Snoopy,” Pepetone said.
    After hearing the “Moonlight Sonata,” he was motivated to begin playing. After attending high school at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, Pepetone studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. Then, after spending nearly a decade in England, Pepetone returned to study at the University of Iowa, where he completed his graduate studies, before attending the Dubuque Theological Seminary.
    Before coming to Milledgeville nearly 17 years ago, Pepetone taught courses at Goddard College in Vermont.
    The second half of the week’s ensemble came Sunday evening with Dr. Richard Mercier and Maria Clark.
    Mercier began studying the piano when he was just six years old. With the help of his father, who was not a musician, and a home study course, Mercier taught himself to play the piano in only three years.
    Mercier received a Bachelor of Music from the University of Connecticut, a Master of Music from Hartt School of Music and Doctorate of Music from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He has also earned a diploma from the Franz Schubert Institute in Vienna.
    Mercier has taught at several universities, including the Hartt School of Music and California State University in East Bay before coming to GCSU. He also lived in New York City for awhile, and was a free lance pianist, as well as a church organist. Mercier has also toured as a solo pianist throughout Europe with a dance company.
    Mercier is inspired by contemporary music that has been written by living composers. He especially likes New York composers George Tsontakis and Lukas Ligeti.
    “I also am a collaborative artist meaning that I specialize in performing with other musicians more than doing solo work, which is why I am performing with Maria Clark, and why I performed last week with Lisa Lambardo,” Mercier said. “That’s my real specialty area is working with singers- in (20th century) Opera or in (20th century) concert song.”
    “This is really Maria’s chance to shine,” Mercier said.
    Maria Clark, a native of Eatonton, Ga., began playing the piano when she was just nine years old. Influence by her elementary school music teacher, Ms. Bennekin, Clark went on singing in high school, where she was discovered to have an operatic voice. There, she was encouraged and supported by her high school music teacher, Mr. Bill Hunter.
    “He was very motivating and supportive. (He) entered me in competitions, and would give me solo parts. (He) encouraged me,” Clark said.
    Continuing to show his support and encouragement, Hunter was in the audience at Sunday evening’s performance.
    After high school, Clark went to earn her bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Manhattan School of Music, as well as attend Florida State University’s School of Music. She has since worked with many opera productions around the Atlanta area.
    Like Pepetone, Clark is also influenced Brahms, though she enjoys and is influenced by many opera singers.
    “Leontyne Price is my favorite on soprano. Also, I like Maria Callas (and) Joan Sutherland – the old greats,” Clark said.
    Clark is currently in her third year of teaching at GCSU. She is a vocal instructor in the Department of Music and Theatre.
    Mercier and Clark chose their selection for Sunday evening’s performance last school year, and have been rehearsing for the past two months. The program opened with Sei Arietta (Six Ariettas) from Italian composer, Bellini.
    “These are like miniature opera areas; little dramatic pieces that are very beautiful, very nice to sing,” Mercier said.
    The performance continued with selected pieces from Brahms, a favorite of Clark’s.
    “I like Brahms because he’s really rich and profound in his music,” Clark said.
    The second half of the evening, recital guests heard selected poems of Emily Dickinson arranged to the music of 20th century American composer, Copland, and followed by a cantata by another American composer, John Carter.
    The recital ended with a standing ovation, as the last note of “Toccata” rang through Max Noah’s Recital Hall.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 5 2007. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry