University of Connecticut student Devora Trestman held her senior recital on Feb. 4 in von Der Mehden Recital Hall, during which she reached the end of a years-long musical journey. Titled “Return,” the flute-focused recital lasts almost an hour and a half and features seven different pieces, all performed by Trestman’s flute and accompaniment. Trestman was primarily accompanied by pianist Elisabeth Tomczyk, but also by her teacher Aimee Toner and fellow UConn students Nina Montague, Matthew Calorossi, Mark Paine and Alexander Molina.
Wearing a sparkling red dress, Trestman began “Return” with “Lensky’s Aria,” written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Accompanied by Tomczyk, Trestman set the tone of her recital as mysterious and dynamic. Trestman and Tomczyk blend masterfully, with Tomczyk’s busy piano remaining steady enough to allow Trestman’s solitary flute to shine above it.
The audience erupts into applause after Trestman lowers her flute and the pair take a bow for their effort. The applause is much more thunderous than it usually is in von der Mehden Recital Hall — the room is filled with Trestman’s peers.
“Having a full audience of people I knew, that was the most — that was the most special thing,” Trestman said. “It was definitely a reminder that the [University of Connecticut Athletic Bands] family is so big and to be a part of it is so special.”
“A big theme of music making for me has been that it is so collaborative,” Trestman added. “To see so many people that I have collaborated with in music making there, whether or not we’ve had one-on-one interactions … that was super special. And I’m glad that the music could have been shared with them, too.”
An eighth-semester student majoring in music education, Trestman has been an active member of various UConn music ensembles and programs throughout the past four years. She spent her fall leading the UConn Marching Band as one of its three drum majors. She has previously been a part of the UConn Honor Band Undergraduate Planning Committee, as well as the UConn wind ensemble. Trestman is an active member of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, and outside of UConn she plays flute in the opera and is a collegiate representative for the Connecticut Music Educators Association.
Trestman took the time to welcome her audience of family, friends and peers before launching into her second piece, “Concerto No. 1 in G Major for Flute, K. 313” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Once again accompanied by Tomczyk, the song is much lighter. Tomczyk sets a pace that Trestman’s flute dances around, with dramatic leaps from high notes to low ones before moving back up again.
Trestman and Tomczyk’s third piece, “Sonata for Flute and Piano” by Francis Poulenc, is much darker. The flute is steady while the piano adds layers of tension beneath it. As the piano gets darker and more intense, Trestman’s flute flutters above.
Tomczyk leaves the stage after this piece. After some readjusting of music stands, Trestman is joined by four other UConn student musicians. Trestman’s fourth piece “New Horizons” was written by composition student and member of the accompaniment Paine, who described the piece as a “blues influenced wind quintet piece.” Paine’s tenor saxophone and Molina’s bassoon chug on a dynamic bassline, with Calorossi’s clarinet and Montague’s oboe laying out a stage on top for Trestman’s flute to soar above.
The four accompanists all wore standard black concert attire, although they had each added something red to their outfit. The four perfectly compliment Trestman’s red dress, which in turn echoes the red lights behind them and the red of the poster for “Return.”
“Red was kind of my theme for this year,” Trestman said. “Internally, I have, like, reached a new point of confidence with my playing, with my teaching, with who I am.”
To Trestman, the use of red symbolized her passion for music, and the way it has grown because of her hard work. “I wanted it to be cohesive. And intentional, I wanted it to look intentional.”
To Trestman, “Return” was always more than just her senior recital. Trestman grew up with very artistic parents who encouraged creativity, especially when she began playing the flute in the fourth grade. “I remember, I made a sound on it right away,” she said in her interview, “which is really uncommon on flute.” In her performer’s note for “Return,” Trestman describes falling deeply in love with music. “It was my identity and intended career,” she wrote, but it would soon become suffocating. “In the following years, my love for music devolved. It became corrupted by obsession, my self-worth dependent on performance.” Amid a pandemic, Trestman felt trapped in her performance major. “Feeling inadequate, I shifted to music education.”
Since this rock bottom, Trestman has worked to rebuild her love of music. With help from her professors, “I’ve shifted my perspective on music-making and education to one fueled by healthy passion and self-acceptance,” she wrote. “The support of my friends and family keep me grounded. Today’s recital is the culmination of this journey.”
Surrounded by this support, Trestman and Tomczyk began the fifth piece of the night: “Fantaisie brillante sur Carmen” by François Borne, a flute-centric spin on themes from Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen.” Trestman and Tomczyk flew through the lengthy piece before Tomczyk once again retreated to make way for Toner.
Toner, wearing a red scarf, joined Trestman for “Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Felix Mendelssohn. Seemingly by instinct, Trestman and Toner move almost identically, both dipping their flutes down during more dramatic moments and jerking up during intense ones. They occasionally split into their own distinct melodies before suddenly sliding back into the same shared phrase.
“Sontaine for Flute and Piano” by Henri Dutilleux is the final piece of the night for both Tomczyk and Trestman, which Trestman described as being her favorite. While adjusting her materials, Trestman briefly lifted the six pages of sheet music. Upon seeing it, the audience erupted into a loud “oooh,” which was immediately followed by laughter from both Trestman and the audience.
“Those are the things that I overthink,” Trestman said describing the awkward moments that happen naturally during performances. “The fact that people were, like, comfortable enough to [laugh], made me feel really happy and made me feel really comfortable. Because I could interact and laugh and react to the audience, it didn’t feel so much like there was a wall between me and them.”
Dutilleux’s “Sontaine” was far more intense and stressful than Trestman’s other pieces. Filled with anxiety, the piano only became darker, occasionally having its own moments to shine. Still, the flute prevailed above it.
Trestman was greeted by a standing ovation from her audience after lowering her flute for the final time. During the applause, her father stepped up to the stage and passed over two items: red roses, to match her dress, and a container of macaroni and cheese that she had requested he make previously.
Holding her roses and the comforts of her father’s cooking, Trestman extended an arm out to the audience and happily announced, “You can go home now!”