About 150 occupied the McInnis auditorium at 8 p.m. on Feb. 8 including students, alumni, families and faculty. All gathered to hear the musical talents of the EU music department faculty performing the annual Amadeus concert.
Six different performances made up the 90 minutes of sound ranging from opera to traditional Indian music. Contributing individuals were none other than Chair of the Music Department Ron Matthews, Director of Instrumental Activities and Coordinator of Music Education Bryan Edgett and Professor David Maness.
The evening began with an operatic sound, a Bach piece sung in German by Carole Latimer and David Maness and accompanied on piano by David Bryant. Even for those who did not appreciate opera, the song became increasingly enjoyable.
A highlight of the evening included Bryan Edgett on trumpet and David Bryant on piano. The two performed “Manhattan” by composer Philip Sparke. At the conclusion, many audience members proved their appreciation by shouting, “Bravo!”
Perhaps the most culturally diverse performance included the Indian instruments tabla and srupeti. Scott Robinson, Karen Goulding and Lydia Wayne performed a traditional Indian song, “Three Kaidas in Tintaal,” at varying tempos. The song, more than five minutes of repetitive sound, never became boring due to added vocals.
Pianist James Correnti contributed two up-tempo Bach songs. The most recognizable was “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” the last song played in the evening. A familiar melody left audience members humming as they left the auditorium.
The real highlight of the event came with the piano medley played by Ron Matthews. The piece was written by Janet Hutchinson, a deceased composer that Matthews knew. He perfected the scales with fingers moving at lightening speed in a performance lasting over seven minutes. The audience was left to wonder, Whoa, he’s not using any music? At the conclusion of his performance, Matthews nodded his head in the direction of Hutchinson’s husband, who was seated in the audience.
First-year music major Ryan Jusk was required to attend the event. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
“How could I not come?” said Jusk. “Ron was really amazing, and he made me hate myself because I don’t play piano like that.”
Senior communications major Sarah Silveri came with friends.
“I was very impressed by the variety of music styles,” Silveri said. “It was beautiful chaos.”