UCSB is alive with student musicians playing their end-of-term recitals this weekend. These are invariably a treat for the music lover who takes the trouble to attend them, both on account of the surprising skill of the performances and the refreshing variety of the programs. Of course, they are nervous, but there isn’t one of them who wouldn’t rather face a sizable, friendly crowd than an empty hall. Admission to all these recitals is free.
On Sunday, in Geiringer Hall, hornist David Hoffman will give his Bachelor of Music Senior Recital with the help of pianist Jenny Zhang, trumpeters Jessica Harwell and Kurt Leingang, trombonist David Holmberg, and bass trombonist Richard Wagner, performing works by Yitzhak Graziani, Franz Strauss, Lev Kogan, J.S. Bach, and Fats Waller/Harry Brooks.
At 2:30 p.m., in Geiringer Hall, collaborative pianist Stella Hsin-Hsin Hsu takes the center stage for her Master of Music Recital — with the collaboration of Emilee Wong on flute, Hillary Schoap on viola, and Geoffrey Yeh on violin, playing works by Johannes Brahms, Bohuslav Martinu and Cesar Franck.
Then, at 6 p.m. in Geiringer Hall, bassoonist Lyndy McGrody plays a Bachelor of Music Recital, with pianist Jen Radisch playing the music of J.B. Senaille, Julius Weissenborn (with Stephie Steward and Chris Williams, bassoons) and Carl Maria von Weber.
And finally, flautist Alison Hazen plays her Bachelor of Music Junior Recital at 8:30 p.m. in Geiringer Hall, with Hsin-hsin Hsu on piano. The program includes works by Bach, Franz Schubert, Shirish Korde and Philippe Gaubert.
On Friday, Bachelor of Music Senior Recitals included Schoap playing the solo part of William Walton’s Viola Concerto (1962 version) with pianist Hsu serving as the orchestra, and Brahms’ Sonata in E Flat Major, Opus 120, No. 2, again with Hsin-hsin Hsu on the piano. Composer Joseph Cota played the piano and conducted a program of his recent works, with the assistance of his colleagues Robbie Shaw and Soah Narm on violin, Bridget Callahan on viola, Helen Park and Tiffany Rizzo on clarinet, Claire Thompson and Rene Yin on flute, McGrody on bassoon and Ami Nashimoto on cello. The program included Cota’s Two Pieces for Wind Quintet, Three pieces for Piano and Cello, Three pieces for Piano and Three pieces for String Quartet.
On Saturday, trumpeter Jessica Harwell offered her Bachelor of Music Senior Recital with the collaboration of Ruth Zhou on piano, Jessica Huntsman on oboe, Richard Cassarino on bass, Mathew Christian on trombone, and the UCSB Maurice Faulkner Brass Quintet (Harwell and Kurt Leingang on trumpets, David Hoffman on horn, David Holmberg on trombone, Richard Wagner on bass trombone), performing works by Georges Enesco, Boris Blacher, Joan Tower, Anonymous and Anthony Plog.
French horn player Aaron Jones ventured into his Bachelor of Music Junior Recital with Margaret Halbig backing him up on the piano. They played Vaclav Nelhybel, Gustav Mahler, (Songs of a Wayfarer), W.A. Mozart and Paul Basler. The Mahler songs, among his loveliest, sounded wonderful on the French horn.
Composer Joaquin Gray led Alexander Chang on viola, Nashimoto and Andrew Saunders on cello, Ben Saunders on piano, Sarah Fultz on harp, Monica Moon Beahm on flute, Charlotte Gray on viola and Jason Bray on contrabass in his Bachelor of Music Senior Recital.