The music department has something in store for Winthrop’s community called the “Faculty Series.” This is the chance to hear the faculty of the music department perform for their students and staff. On Oct. 9, faculty members, Marisa Youngs, Justin Isenhour, and Janice Bradner gave their students a chance to hear them play their instrument in concert.
This is Dr. Youngs’ first semester here at Winthrop, and her first faculty series performance. Youngs plays the trumpet and has been playing for quite a while. She teaches music theory, along with aural skills, trumpet ensemble and the repertory class.
“Everyone is a living composer except for one, so I kind of expect them to hear something they have never heard. Usually you don’t get to hear two brass players playing at the end,” Youngs said.
Youngs and Isenhour had a duet for the final song, which is not typically what you hear in concerts. The pieces that they performed are different than anything they have done before. In the performance, they played music that is more recent compared to the classical music that people usually hear.
“I am excited for more to come, its good for the students to get to hear some things approachable for their juries and other things they can aspire to,” Youngs said.
With this being her first performance, Youngs will definitely be involved with future faculty performances and directs her students to perform as well. She loves the university’s environment and the support the Winthrop community gives her.
Bradner played the piano for each song while Youngs and Isenhour took turns playing the trumpet and the trombone, respectively, for the audience.They all came together in the end and did an amazing job. Bradner teaches piano here at Winthrop and she also accompanies to anyone who needs it.
“Together we have spent about 5 weeks rehearsing and I’m sure I’ve spent about 50 hours practicing,” Bradner said. “The recital reflected all the time that was put into it, it showed that hard work does pay off.”
While Dr. Isenhour teaches aural skills, brass performance, and a few other classes. His students got to hear him play the trombone.
“I thought the recital was a success overall and a very fun performance for me. We had a very large crowd with many students, faculty, and community members in attendance. We received many compliments and a number of audience members commented that they enjoyed our mainly contemporary program of works,” Youngs said. “I really enjoyed playing with Dr. Isenhour and I thought our duet “Fandango” was the most unique piece for our students to hear.”
Freshman music performance major Ben Cagle was one of the students in attendance. “The recital was a huge success, and it was extremely cool to see one of my teachers and my studio professor outside of the classroom playing music rather than teaching. A huge congratulations to Dr. Youngs and Dr. Isenhour,” Cagle said.
There are still more faculty series performances to come, and they count as cultural events. Everyone is welcome and they are located in the Conservatory of Music. This is a great opportunity to see and hear the hard work of the music department faculty.
