UIndy alumni perform on campus
The University of Indianapolis hosted its annual Alumni Recital in Ruth Lilly Performance Hall on Nov. 13. UIndy music instructor Michelle Westra coordinated the event entirely via Facebook.
“As coordinator, my role is simply to see who is interested in performing and to get things lined up,” she said. “As we got closer [to the date], I kept checking in with people, asking for specific titles and composers, and narrowed it [the list] down to the performers on the program.”
Westra also had a specific vision for the recital while she was planning it. She wanted to communicate with the audience.
“Music feeds the soul. It’s about communication, not just about making pretty sounds,” she said. “It is about expressing ideas, emotions and thoughts that are outside the realm of the verbal. It is about helping people let go of their troubles while you entertain them or make them cry or laugh. Music can take the listener, and often the performer as well, to a place away from the mundane details of everyday life.”
Twelve performers participated in the program, and Westra said Alumni Recitals are a time for the university to shine a spotlight on alumni.
“We want them to return regularly for concerts, whether they’re performing in them or just attending, and this is an opportunity for them to be active in the department again,” she said. “…It’s a chance for them to keep their skills up and in shape.”
The music performed consisted of a variety of music theatre songs, classical arias, art songs, piano sonatas and clarinet concertos. Westra said that the audience should not have expected to hear modern genres such as pop, country, rock or jazz.
Two of the alumni who performed in the recital were Jennifer Mustafa, a soprano who performed Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s “Simple Joys of Maidenhood,” and Catherine Moraga, a pianist who performed Alberto Ginastera’s “Piano Sonata No. 1, Opus 22.” At UIndy, Mustafa and Moraga majored in music education and general music, respectively.
Mustafa is now the choir director at Robert A. Taft and Colonel John Wheeler Middle Schools in Crown Point, Ind. She is also the lead female vocalist in a cover band called Eaten Alive. Mustafa was grateful for the opportunity to perform at her alma mater again.
“I couldn’t wait to reconnect with other music alumni and perform on the Christel DeHaan stage again,” she said. “I didn’t want to let this opportunity pass me by.”
Moraga is now pursuing a master’s degree in piano pedagogy at Butler University. She is also a graduate assistant working as an accompanist. Additionally, she teaches piano and is involved in music at her church.
Other performers included tenor Brad Brickley, who sang Josh Groban’s “February Song,” and former student body president Caitlin Deranek, who performed Stephen Sondheim’s “You Can Drive a Person Crazy” with fellow sopranos Courtney Miller and Kaitlin Cowan.
While Westra, Mustafa and Moraga said that the music program at UIndy is strenuous, they all agree that it was worth the effort. Westra said that many of the recital’s attendees were current music students, and she saw the recital as a way to encourage them. Mustafa also offered advice for students because she said that earning a music degree is no easy feat.
“You will survive this intense program, and all of your hard work is worth the musician you will become in the end,” Westra said.
Westra considered the recital an opportunity to keep in contact with alumni. She acknowledged that many universities honor their alumni because of the potential donations they may make to the institutions, but she said that is not the purpose of the recital.
“This concert isn’t about what we want to accomplish; it’s about maintaining a relationship with our alumni,” Westra said. “When they were students, they were part of the music department family, and that relationship doesn’t end when they graduate.”
Although Moraga has completed her undergraduate degree at UIndy, she said she continues to gain new insights into her music. She said that life is made up of many different learning experiences and no one ever stops gaining new information.
“The learning never stops, no matter where you are in life,” she said. “Whatever your area of focus, constantly push yourself to be better. That is mastery.”
