Reviews

VWU Faculty Recital
September 9, 2019, Brock Theatre,
Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center
Review by John Campbell

For many years a running topic of conversation with Sandi Billy, Director of Engagement and Outreach for the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center and Director of the Center for Sacred Music, was the rumor of a new performance hall at Virginia Wesleyan. As the college became a university we heard that the hall would definitely be built. In the spring of this year the spacious, modern Goode Center opened with proper fanfare with performances in the Joan and Macon Brock Theatre with its 300 seats (including wheelchair spaces).

This was the first faculty recital at VWU in memory and it showcased the diversity of the current music department faculty. Art song, chamber duos and a jazz quartet fitted smoothly into an interesting and entertaining evening.

The opening piece was George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) Eternal Source of Light Divine with soprano Billye Brown Youmans, violinist Kirsty Barnett Green, trumpeter Lawrence Clemens, and double bassist Will McPeters. The grandeur of the flute-like voice of Ms. Youmans in duet with trumpet backed by violin and bass was a spectacular way to begin.

The first of three chamber duos followed with Kenneth Keller, trombone and George Stone, piano, performing an old piece, new to us: Ferdinand David's Concertina for Trombone and Orchestra, Op.4, Mvmt III (1837; arr. Robert Mueller). Many quick piano notes opened, soon joined by trombone, then followed by a mellow slow section. The close offered more speedy notes. Obviously this formal arrangement by Robert Mueller capitalized on the trombonist's great skill. Pianist Mr. Stone has been a reliable collaborator at VWU for 38 years.

Tenor Randall Ball with guitarist Todd Holcomb offered four songs from John Dowland's (1563-1626)The First Book of Songs (twenty-one songs from 1597) with English texts in the program. Dowland was well known in his lifetime as a virtuoso lutenist and singer. Later he was recognized as a great composer who advanced harmony and melody in art song. Mr. Ball's diction was precise and at times the sound was as if we were hearing a countetenor/tenor duet. The songs: In V, Can she excuse my wrongs?, the poet is smitten, trying to win over a cold lover; IX, Go crystal tears has expanded vocal ornamentation on the phrase “dissolve the ice of her indurate heart...” We heard tricky rhythms in III My thoughts are wing'd with hopes followed by the gravitas of XX Come, heavy sleep. The songs were beautifully performed by the artists.

Mr. Clemens and Mr. Stone returned to play Prayer and Praise by Eric Ewazen (b. 1954). The smooth, lyrical trumpet later gave way to a jazzy piano with dancing brass rhythms.

Another treat was Maurice Ravel's (1875-1937) Pièce en forme de Habañera with Mr. Holcomb joining Rachel Ordaz, flute. It was such a lovely blend of flute and guitar with slow Spanish rhythms on guitar, enhancing the almost exploding flute outbursts.

No showcase of music at VWU would be complete without at least one piece by J.S. Bach (1685-1750). We heard Billye Brown Youmans with George Stone in Mein gläubiges Herze (My faithful heart) from Cantata BWV 68 (1725). The flute-like, high soprano declarations of the German text coupled to the singer's innate acting ability gave us a vivid experience of the text “joy that Jesus is here!”

They followed with Franz Liszt (1811-1886) O! Quand je dors S. 282 (Oh! when I sleep) (1842). Liszt set a French text but as a German lied. The dramatic intensity lies just below the surface of the broad, flowing, lyrical phrases, creating a deeply sensual atmosphere superbly drawn out by Ms. Youmans and supported by Mr. Stone. We needed the “interval” that followed to revel in the beauty of that experience.

The break allowed time for the stage to be set for the jazz that followed. The Steinway grand was pushed to stage left with two saxophones nearby to be played by Jason Squinobal; the drum kit at the back of the stage for Michael Laubauch; to the right was Kenneth Keller and his trombone and farther right was Will McPeters, this time on electric bass.

The first of their four selections was Autumn Leaves by Joseph Kosma (1905-1969), well known to anyone who remembers the 1950s. Many improvisations and virtuoso playing made this a standout. Duets and trios developed, only to disappear into the ongoing rhythms. The appreciative audience applauded each performer's solo riff. Next we heard Alice in Wonderland where Dr. Squinobal switched to soprano sax and then back to tenor sax for Donna Lee, written by the great alto-saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker (1920-1955). By the song's end the drummer on cymbals alone provided the rhythm. They closed with Afro Blue by Mongo Santamaria (1917-2003), again with soprano sax.

Jason Squinobal's musical career has brought him to VWU where he is Associate Professor of Music, Director of Instrumental Music and Co-Chair of the Music Department. As an undergraduate at Berklee College of Music he studied jazz improvisation and composition. His PhD in Ethnomusicology is from the University of Pittsburgh. We were interested to learn that he has recently been composing art songs and worked with the great American composer Libby Larsen at the 2018 Source Song Festival.

The other three jazz performers are all Applied Music Specialists at VWU. Trombonist Kenneth Keller was a Navy musician for thirty years and currently his local gigs are diverse: rock to salsa, big band, traditional jazz, concert band and brass quintet. Drummer Michael Laubauch took his Bachelor and Masters degrees from Carnegie-Mellon University as well as postgraduate studies. He has performed with symphony orchestras from Ottawa to Baltimore, Dayton to Fort Wayne. Will McPeters took both his Bachelor's and Masters degrees at the Juilliard School (2010-2016) and was principal bass for the Juilliard Orchestra and at several music festivals since. Many VWU students were in the audience. They are fortunate to have so many talented teachers.