A crowd of students, musicians and supporting family members attended “A Quiet Evening,” held inside the Pottle Auditorium. The soiree was held Tuesday, Sept. 14, and featured a junior recital for senior music education major Thomas Braud, sponsored by the department of fine and performing arts.
“It’s basically been about a year’s worth of work, just practicing hard and pulling through,” said Braud.
Braud dedicated the performance, specifically “Quiet Afternoon,” to the memory of the late Benjamin A. Bragg.
“The second piece in the recital was actually dedicated to a close friend of mine that passed away almost a year ago in a tragic accident,” said Braud. “The piece pretty much encompassed him as a whole.”
Playing a total of four songs during the recital, Braud opened with a composition for the percussion instrument timpani entitled “Solo Number One” from “The Solo Timpanist” by Vic Firth. “Quiet Afternoon,” penned by music education major Joshua Dunn, was played second and stood as the inspiration for the title of the performance.
Next was a rapid-paced snare drum solo, “Etude Four” from “Snare System” by Frédéric Macarez. Braud then closed the evening with a piece by David Maslanka entitled “My Lady White,” a colorful melody played on the marimba using the Chaucerian poem by the same title for its inspiration.
Braud showcased his talents on several instruments Tuesday evening, including the marimba and the vibraphone, both members of the mallet subfamily of the percussion group.
Braud utilized a method of playing known as the four-mallet technique. This grip uses two percussion mallets per hand to perform multiple tones and chords at once and often in rapid, changing succession. Braud personally chose to use the version known as the Stevens technique, created by the world-renowned percussionist Leigh Howard Stevens.
The end of Braud’s performance was met with applause from the audience, and he returned onstage to deliver his final bow.
“It was an amazing performance, and that’s all I have to say,” said Robert Barnes, a senior music major. “He blew me away!”