KRISTEN SHULTIS
Staff Writer
Thursday night brought musicians, community members and students together in Rosch recital hall to hear the sounds of Italy.
This concert included two faculty members from the School of Music, Julie Newell and Daniel Ihasz, as well as three native Italians, Stefani Donzelli, Sandra Buongrazio and Vincenzo De Blasis, who acted as the accompanist.
All of the songs included in the program were Italian. Newell said that the point of the program was not to sit and look at a sheet of paper with translations on them, but to be able to enjoy the opportunity to see the way natives of the country portray the music.
“Most of the Italians have fun when they sing; it doesn’t matter if it’s a dramatic piece,” said Donzelli. “And I think that students can learn this from watching and experiencing the way that we sing.”
Students in the audience thought that this was a good way to learn, as well.
“It’s very authentic, watching the language and hearing their diction from people that were born and raised in Italy,” said senior music education major Ava D’Agostino. “That is something every singer should experience.”
One thing that this concert aimed for was to help establish a new partnership between Fredonia and a conservatory in Pescara, Italy, where Buongrazio teaches and Donzelli has taught in the past. This partnership is going to be an exchange program between the two institutions.
“I think it will be a great idea. Italians may want the Americans to help them to learn about musical theater, because that is something we don’t have a lot of in Italy. And the Americans may want to learn about opera, as this is the birthplace of opera,” Donzelli said.
Students say they learn and grow when they see a professional perform.
“Students should be watching professionals perform, I know just watching them perform made me realize the difference of the two worlds and how far I have come as a musician,” said D’Agostino.
The night ended with a reception hosted by FSA.