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REBECCA HALE
Reverb Editor
Last Wednesday evening, a small crowd filed into Rosch Recital Hall to listen to the music of the brothers of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia during their Founder’s Day Recital. The recital fell on Oct. 7, a day late of the 117th anniversary of the fraternity’s founding.
Russell Smith, junior double major in music education and tuba performance, as well as Music Director of the fraternity, explained that the reason the recital was not held on Founder’s Day was due to a conflict with the All-College Band concert. Consequently, the only other date available prior to Fall Break was Oct. 7.
“I do believe having it the night before Fall Break started did make for lower attendance,” Smith said.
Still, he explained, concert attendance isn’t the most important thing to Phi Mu Alpha. The brothers were happy to have had the opportunity to perform in Rosch, as in the past the venue for their recital has been Diers Recital Hall.
“There is a significant difference in the quality of sound and performance from the two halls,” Smith said. “Performing in [Rosch] was a great opportunity and, in my opinion, a successful one. While we didn’t have the opportunity to perform on the actual Founder’s Day, this is still a great chance for Phi Mu Alpha to have a greater influence in Mason Hall.”
The program, which was selected by Phi Mu Alpha brothers collectively, opened with four traditional Sinfonia songs, performed a capella by the brothers of Phi Mu Alpha. Afterward, individual fraternity members performed based on a previously-determined volunteer basis. Evan Seickel took the stage to perform “Prelude for the Left Hand, Op. 9 No. 1,” a unique piece, performed while using only one hand.
“I chose to play ‘Prelude for the Left Hand’ because it is very different from most piano pieces, and I wanted to share a piece with the audience that would represent me best,” said Seickel, a senior music composition major.
Next, “Organized Chaos” — a horn quartet which includes Matthew Garcia, Erik Lupien, Andrea Mau and Jodie White — performed B.E. Muller’s “Religioso” and “Jagd-Chor.”
Although White and Mau are women, and therefore not members of the fraternity, they were still allowed to perform in the concert. The quartet was formed by White, who was House Manager of the recital and a close friend to many of the brothers. Smith explained that White even jokes frequently about wanting to join the brotherhood.
“One of the statements in Phi Mu Alpha’s object is ‘the mutual welfare and brotherhood of musical students,’” Smith said. “If this is a statement that should stay true to Phi Mu Alpha, then I believe that an equal opportunity must be allowed for those who wanted to perform.”
Christopher Calderon was next to perform two movements from Bach’s “Cello Suite No. 1,” uniquely enough, on marimba. Calderon played “Sarabande” and “Gigue.”
After Calderon, Tom Gruenthal sang an emotional rendition of Henri Duparc’s “Lamento,” accompanied by Jason Black on piano. Gruenthal, a junior music education major, has been working on this piece all semester. It also has a lot of personal meaning to him, which showed in his performance.
“I think that this piece showcases my strengths in my voice,” he explained. “I’ve also been able to connect with the French text emotionally by relating it to the death of my grandmother and the mourning process I went through 3 years ago. I love being able to convey feeling through my singing, which is why I chose this piece to perform.”
Next on the program was a duet consisting of Chad Jones on alto sax and Rodrigo Rodriguez on baritone sax, performing the unattributed “Jazz Duet No. 1.” Following this performance was another duet of tuba and clarinet, featuring Smith and and Tim Young, respectively. The duet played two movements of Peter Schickele’s “Little Suite for Winter,” including “Lullaby” and “Rondo.”
To finish out the concert, the brothers reconvened onstage again to sing four more traditional Sinfonia pieces, as well as Fredonia’s Alma Mater. To brothers like Gruenthal, being a part of a fraternity like Phi Mu Alpha is rewarding in many ways.
“I don’t think I would be the person or musician that I am today without the support of my brothers,” Gruenthal said.
“It’s wonderful to be in the kind of community our fraternity is,” added Seickel. “Since becoming a brother, I’ve grown so much as a person and musician, and that growth is evident in my fellow brothers as well.”
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia puts on many other events and programs annually, such as the upcoming Safe Halloween event later this month, their Valentine’s Day Dance, American Music Recital, Sol Schoenbach Scholarship and Phi Mu BBQ.
“Our performance last night, as well as the other events on campus and in the community, help us achieve our goal of instilling in all people an awareness of music’s important role in the enrichment of the human spirit,” said Smith.