Blaring horns and good vibes — UConn students Garret Millette and Anna Rapoza performed their trumpet recital at Von der Mehden Recital Hall on Oct. 21.
The performance, titled “A Vibey Recital,” showcased six different pieces, including a duet between Millette and Rapoza to conclude the show. The show was explained by the duo to be a “half-recital.”
“A lot of [recitals] are very serious, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Rapoza said. “But we just wanted to play our music — let’s just make it vibey.”
Millette and Rapoza are both seventh-semester music education students at UConn. Their recital was both their first and their last, as they will be teaching students next semester.
While not a requirement for their majors, the duo put on their recital out of a place of pure passion for playing the trumpet.
Millette began playing the trumpet in fourth grade, while Rapoza began in the fifth. While Rapoza loved playing all along, Millette’s passion blossomed when he was in high school.
“My high school band director, Mr. Talotta, who was at the recital; he’s just like the best teacher ever,” Millette said. “He’s my inspiration for going into music education.”
The audience was filled with friends and family, as well as bandmates of Millette and Rapoza, who are both second-year section leaders for the trumpet section of the marching band at UConn.
“When you are planning something like this, the thought of ‘what if no one comes?’ is very real, so seeing all of our friends and family and teachers; seeing everyone there was so fulfilling and rewarding,” Rapoza said. “I felt very supported in that moment.”
Throughout the show, Millette and Rapoza alternated between solos, with Millette opening the show with “Rondo for Lifey” by Leonard Bernstein. He explained that he had known this song months ago, playing it for a different solo and knew he wanted to include it in the recital.
Millette’s set varied, with the first song being fast and his second slow, ending again on a fast note. He shared that this was done purposefully for contrast.
Millette’s favorite and most difficult song out of his three solos was the last, “Sonata for Trumpet and Piano, op. 51” by Flor Peeters.
“I first learned about the piece in high school,” Millette said. “It was the most difficult because its long, so you need to have endurance to play the whole thing.”
Similarly, Rapoza’s favorite song that she performed was also her most difficult, being “Légende” by George Enescu.
Rapoza had first found a recording of the song when she was in ninth grade and thought “it was so cool,” but was too hard for her to play at the time.
“When we were talking about the recital, I was like wait, maybe I could play this, maybe I am finally good enough to play it,” she said. “It’s kind of been a dream of mine to one day play [“Légende”] for people, and I’m very happy that I did.”
“A Vibey Recital” was in the works since Spring 2025. Millette and Rapoza spent extensive efforts over the summer refining the show and put in about seven to eight hours of practice each week in preparation for the recital since coming back to UConn this semester.
They noted that it has been difficult to balance their time between practicing for the recital, marching band, classes and other music groups they are involved in.
Millette and Rapoza first met during their freshman years because of their shared major and band involvement. Their friendship blossomed further as they both became section leaders in the marching band.
“[The recital] was a beneficial experience to get up in front of a crowd and perform,” Millette said. “Going into a professional music career, we should be able to perform and execute. This was a good mock trial for the future.”