Colby Monarch, a WKU music major, presented his senior trombone recital at the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center’s recital hall on Sunday, featuring other musicians.
The recital was a celebration of Monarch’s musical journey, from a sixth-grade band student to a graduating senior, showcasing his growth, influences, and passion for playing the trombone and music.
The performance began with Monarch and Rebecca Golub playing the piano, performing “Cavatine” by Camille Saint-Saëns, which was the first trombone concerto he played in his sophomore year. They also played “Moderato assai ma molto maestoso,” “Quasi una leggenda” and “Final: Maestoso-Rondo” by Launy Grondahl.
Monarch said musicians like Joseph Alessi and Jeremy Wilson inspire him, but he found his own sound through self-directed playing.
“I just kind of found my sound through my own playing, and I found my strengths and weaknesses,” Monarch said. “Then I just kind of created my own sound as a trombone player.”
After an intermission, Monarch, Golub, and Becky Graham, his middle and high school band director, who plays the trumpet, performed “Pastorale for Trumpet, Tenor Trombone, and Piano” by Eric Ewazen. The piece was dedicated to Graham, who had inspired Monarch’s musical path.
“My middle school band director continued to encourage me, and she drove me to play music,” Monarch said.
After the trio’s performance, Monarch and Golub played “How Great Thou Art,” arranged by Gary Lanier. Then the Monarch gave a solo performance with “Elegy for Mippy II for Trombone” by Leonard Bernstein.
“Raindrop Prelude” by Frederic Chopin, arranged by James Baxter, followed. The piece was performed with four student trombone players: Monarch, James Baxter, Donovan Jaggers, who played tenor trombone, and Noah Woody, who played bass trombone.
The last piece was “All Glory Be to Christ,” arranged by Colby Monarch. He performed this with Penny Rose playing the cajon. This was a lively song that showcased his joy in music and reflected his belief in musical freedom and personal expression.
“Whenever you perform stuff like this recital, those performances make up all the work that you do,” Monarch said. “Because at the end we always have a goal, a performance, and then once the performance is over, then you reflect and be so proud of the work that you have put into.”
After Monarch graduation, he said he’ll be pursuing his master’s in trombone performance.
“It was really cool to see someone who I’ve been in college with for four years, like really play and show what he’s learned in the past four years and just show all the work that he’s done,” said Star VanOver, a senior majoring in music education.
