Louis Van Beek spent three months practicing to perform the final act at WKU’s Fall Cello Studio Recital.
Van Beek, a junior and music education major, has been taking lessons with Sarah Berry, a WKU instructor of cello, every week during the semester in preparation for the recital. She performed the final act under a warm glow from the overhead lights, playing Shostakovich’s “Sonata in D minor for Cello and Piano.”
“I was honestly really nervous, just because it’s been a while since I performed a solo,” Van Beek said.
Van Beek said her favorite part of the recital was the moments where she felt “really comfortable” due to her preparation. She performed the final piece by Dmitri Shostakovich.
The Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center hosted the recital, organized by Berry. The event saw performances ranging from middle schoolers to graduate students. Students performed classical pieces, some alongside piano played by Juliette Berry.
Pisces performed include:
- “Suite No. 1 in C Major, Prelude” by J.S. Bach
- “Minuet No.1” by J.S. Bach
- “Sibata in E minor, Op. 1, No. 2” (II Allegro) by Benedetto Marcello
- “The Swan” by Camille Saint-Saens
- “Fond Recollections, Op. 64, No. 1” by David Popper
- “Concerto in G minor for Two Cellos” (I Allegro) by Antonio Vivaldi
- “Sonata in C major, Op. 102, No. 1” by Lidwig van Beethoven
- “Sonata in G minor by” (I Large and Ii Allegro con spirito) by Henry Eccles
- “Sonata in D minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 40” (I Allegro non troppo) by Dmitri Shostakovich
Berry hoped that the night would provide performance experience for her students, presenting themselves as poised while presenting the pieces they have been working on for the past three months.
“That’s why they play their instruments, because they love sharing their music,” Berry said.
The recital also acted as a final project for the college students enrolled in Berry’s cello class. She hoped that the younger students performing alongside the college students would provide them an opportunity to improve on their own playing abilities.
“It inspires them to keep working,” Berry said.
