This past Wednesday, April 14, the Colgate University Department of Music presented Luncheon Musicale, a “musical feast” that showcased the talents of  Colgate students from all class years. Students, faculty and Hamilton residents gathered together in the Chapel to watch Colgate students display their hard work by performing classical pieces. The showcase consisted of one violin performance and 10 opera performances, featuring music from famous composers such as Beethoven, Mozart and Handel. The showcase was accompanied by a lunch of sandwich wraps, pasta salad and cookies provided by the music department.

Luncheon Musicale started out with a piece from Beethoven performed by junior Adrienne Davidovich on the violin. The rest of the showcase consisted of classical opera performances by singers from all class years: first-years Madeline Mangnall and Brynn Johnson, sophomores Asher Frank, Baiyu (Bonnie) Zhoe and David Wall, juniors Lauren Moscato and Iris Chen and seniors Tanner Holley, Shelby Manning and Jungmin Kang. All of the students were accompanied by Staff Accompanist Anita Humer on the piano. Humer has a Masters degree from the Manhattan School of Music and not only conducts the community chorus, but also teaches private piano lessons in Hamilton and New York City. 

After the first violin piece by Davidovich,  Moscato took the stage with two songs by Joaquin Rodrigo, “De los Alamos Vengo, Madre” and “De Dónde Venis, Amore” from Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios. Then,  Holley performed “Addio, Fanciulla” by Francesco Paolo Tosti and “Sì, Tra I Ceppi” by Handel. The afternoon ended with Kang’s performance of “Largo Al Factotum” from The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini. 

It was clear that every performer worked very hard to perform at such a high level at Luncheon Musicale, and their hard work definitely paid off. 

“I enjoyed how it was something relaxing to go to in the middle of the day to just de-stress for a little while.” first-year John Bennett said. 

Many of the songs that the singers performed were in a language other than English, which added another layer of difficulty to their performance. 

“I thought that especially the sopranos were fantastic and I was amazed by the overall control that each singer displayed over their voices. All of the singers gave very good performances,” first-year Audrey Swift said. 

With the ever-changing music styles in this modern age, it’s important to keep classical music relevant. Classical music is a vital part of the history of music that should be remembered and performed, no matter how much our music today changes. By learning and performing these songs, each and every one of the musicians helped to preserve its beauty.