Students and faculty of the Department of the Fine and Performing Arts performed unique, original compositions last week for their final concert of the Fall 2012 semester. The hard work put into practicing throughout the semester was finally displayed.     
The Composers Concert was held in the Pottle Annex Recital Hall on Thursday, Nov. 29. Senior music education major Jesse White opened with a piano performance titled “Way by Moonlight,” which was a very soft piece with added activeness toward the end.
Dr. Phillip Schuessler, composition and theory instructor, gave an intimate piano performance, allowing the audience a peek inside his soul. He played two preludes originally wrote for his wedding, “Prelude I: Sun Salutation A,” and “Prelude IV: Moment Path.”
Schessler’s inspiration for the composition came from wanting to convey both he and his wife’s personality through the music.
“My wife is a composer, and I am a composer, so I thought [these pieces] would be a good way to have some contemporary music. This way it wasn’t not normal, but not too offbeat either,” Schuessler said. “[Composing] is rewarding on so many different levels. I’m being able to express myself, and I’m able to convey a lot of thoughts and ideas.”
Daniele Lesnoiwski composed a piece played by three students: Constanza Lungu on violin, Se-Ryung Chung on viola and Elena Ivanovska on cello. Following the trio was an A-tonal fixed media playback composed by Dr. Stephen Suber titled “Ferreira.”
The concert ended with another piano composition by a vocal performance major, Robert Roy, titled “At the End of All Things.” The general consensus from the audience was favorable.
“I thought the concert was awesome. I really want to learn how to do what Dr. Suber did,” said senior musical performance major Andrew Reinhardt.
Even though many audience members were there receiving credit for music classes, one couple enjoyed the concert so much it was hard for them to choose a favorite piece.
Senior computer science major Justin Deshautelles and senior biology major Tiffany Ringuette both enjoyed Schuessler’s preludes, but they both finally agreed on Robert Roy’s piece as their favorite.
“I really liked the last one,” said Ringuette.
“Everything sort of stood out,” said Deshautelles. “They were all incredibly effective pieces. It’s hard to say which one was my favorite; I liked them all for different reasons. But the last piece played, it was very nostalgic. It was like somebody thinking back on a beautiful life as they were about to die, very peacefully.”
The concert was a send-off of sorts for the students, and according to Schuessler, there was an even balance with the music. “We had a little bit of lyrical music, and then a little bit of angular music, so it created a nice balance for such a short and sweet concert.”
The next performance by the Department of Fine and Performing Arts will be a faculty recital featuring Rachel Ciraldo playing flute on January 29, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.