Author: Caroline Osborn
A handful of students and faculty members found refuge from the deluge of rain in Bird Studio last Friday afternoon. They arrived at 4:30 p.m. with an array of umbrellas and dripping hair to hear this semester’s first informal concert in a series entitled Music on a Friday Afternoon, or MOFA. With an audience numbering no more than ten, three musicians took the modest stage and performed passionately for their cozy audience.
First on the lineup was Jorge Tabón (first-year) who performed an original song he had written in high school after studying abroad in France. Tabón is not currently taking guitar lessons, but he is in his second semester of both Cadence and the Glee Club. He confessed that he feels more nervous in front of small audiences because of the pressure to make eye contact, but the listener would never know. He seemed quite confident during his performance.
The song departed from the classical genre usually presented at MOFA, veering instead toward melodic, acoustic rock. Titled “Winding Nile,” the song is one of the songwriter’s favorite musical creations, and understandably so. Tabón delivered the song with conviction and sincerity complemented by his practiced guitar skills and soulful vocal style that evoked echoes of Elvis Costello and John Mayer. He did not shy away from singing in a higher vocal range during sections of the song, adding another level of complexity. Although the acoustics of the room blurred most of the lyrics, the emotion came through clearly.
The second act featured a vocal performance by theater major Claudia Gomez (junior). As she spent last semester studying abroad in Madrid, this was her first MOFA performance of the year. As a few straggling spectators scurried through the doors, her vocal teacher asked her if she was nervous. “Not at all,” she replied with a confident smile. Then she conceded, “Maybe when I get up there.” Since she maintains that singing in front of the smaller crowds that attend MOFA events makes her less nervous than larger crowds at formal shows, her onstage poise did not come as a surprise. She presented a Maury Williams piece titled “Unusual Way.” Originally from the musical Nine, the song tells the story of a woman who resolves to leave her ill-suited lover, even though she still loves him.
Accompanied by the talented faculty pianist, Galina Barskaya, Gomez’s voice rose and fell with the contours of the song’s emotional progression, nearly piercing the back wall as she neared the finale. Her vocal style is rich with vibrato, and her flair for skillful and emotional singing must earn her points in her theater auditions.
Stephen Bent (senior) closed the concert with “How Can the Tree But Whither?” by Ralph Vaughan Williams. In his introduction, he noted the Renaissance dance element to the piece, and it certainly encouraged the listener to sway with its 3 / 4 time waltz ambiance, not to mention the rhythmic bobbing of pianist Barskaya’s elbows as she accompanied Bent. His voice alternated between gentle and forceful as the piece progressed. As a music major, Bent generally focuses on developing his trombone talents, but also participates in vocal performance. Although he admits he is required to present a piece at two MOFA events each semester in order to keep his scholarship, Bent says that he genuinely enjoys performing and appreciates the acoustics of a small performance space.
Of the six MOFA events planned for this semester, this was only the first. MOFA allows musical performers to gain confidence onstage by practicing in front of a small audience, and in order to do so they need an audience for which to perform. These events are scheduled to continue throughout the semester on alternating Fridays at 4:30 p.m. in Bird Studio. Admission is free, and the intimate setting offers an ideal opportunity for music enthusiasts to relax and allow their peers’ melodies to wash away the week’s toil.
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