The University of Connecticut’s music department at the School of Fine Arts hosted the fall 2024 Songfest concert at the von der Mehden Recital Hall on Sunday, Oct. 6, showcasing the vocal talents of UConn music majors.
Songfest is a bi-annual event hosted by the department, with one concert held each semester, focusing on highlighting singers and vocal students.
This semester’s edition of Songfest focused on the works of Charles Ives, a composer originally from Danbury, Conn., known for his compositions in the modernist genre of classical and chamber music in the early 1900s. Ives’ work was selected as the theme for this semester’s concert as this month marks the 150th anniversary of his birth in 1874.
The concert began with opening marks from Neely Bruce, a composer and music professor from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., who is considered an expert on Ives’ music. In his opening remarks, he discussed the lyrics of Ives and the various influences that would be woven into those lyrics, including text from newspapers, poems, foreign languages and input from relatives, as well as Ives’ own philosophical and theological thoughts. Bruce also gave brief descriptions of each song, which included brief overviews of the lyrics and musical elements, giving a preview of the variety of music to come.
“We’re going to have enough songs today that will make a microcosm of Ives’ work,” he said.
“You’ll hear all kinds of different songs of enormous variety, some long, some short, some in between.”
The performance featured 29 songs composed by Ives, performed by 26 students. The performers ranged from first-semester undergraduate students to graduate students. Each student was accompanied by the Music Director of the Opera program at UConn, Dmitriy Glivinskiy, on piano.
Many of the songs performed were only one or two minutes long, giving each student only a short chance to perform. The show moved fast with the short songs and quick transitions, keeping the audience engaged.
Though the songs were short in length, many of them featured complex and dynamic arrangements where the students would sing flowing vocal lines over at-time dissonant and constantly changing piano parts, a trademark of Ives’ compositions. But the students didn’t let the complexity of the songs impact their performance, as they performed with a strong vocal command that showed dedication to their craft.
The songs ranged from upbeat, bouncy vignettes to slow, tender ballads, often right next to each other, which also kept the audience captivated as they wondered in anticipation about what would come next. The students also showcased their different vocal ranges, which included high, upper-register sopranos to low, booming basses and baritones.
Among the highlights of the concert was Maya Bullied, a third-semester music major, and her performance of the song “Memories.” The song featured two distinct sections, made up of a fast-paced first half and a slow, emotive second half. Bullied’s performance was dynamic and captivating as she showcased the broad range of her voice and her ability to switch between the two sections with no missteps.
Another highlight was the song “In the Alley,” performed by seventh-semester music major Rancele Ante. He delivered the song in a warm, almost Broadway-esque baritone that filled the recital hall with his flowing lines.