On Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, the Faculty Recital by Dr. Alan Dunbar, Associate Professor of Voice and Vocal Studio Coordinator, was hosted in the DuFresne Performing Art Center’s Recital Hall. The program featured a wide range of themes and genres of music with musical aid from Dr. Deanne Mohr on the piano.
As students, faculty and community members filed into the Recital Hall, they took their seats in the audience. A constant low murmur of chatting buzzed throughout the hall until they were hushed by the slow dim of the hall’s lights and Dunbar and Mohr entered the stage. Throughout the program, Dunbar paused before songs to give important background and introductory information about the songs selected. This information greatly helped the audience to understand the context and meaning of the songs and how they fit together to cohesively cover the recital’s themes of storytelling and the sea.
The recitals program had various types of songs ranging from powerful vocal arias to more country tunes that were accompanied by a guitar and banjo. Even though the songs varied greatly in genre, they still inspired enthusiastic reactions from the audience, with a swath of the audience bouncing their heads to the tune and singing along with Dunbar when prompted.
As the recital came to a close, the audience erupted in applause while Dunbar and Mohr re-entered the stage for their final bow. After exiting the stage for the last time of the night the audience members’ chatter began again as they filed out of the Recital Hall.
Second-year student, Charlie Lund, noted how much he enjoyed the recital. He felt that Dunbar’s performance was greatly emotionally charged and enhanced his ability to share and communicate the songs and their stories to the audience.
“Something that I thought he was good at was the emotional aspect of his singing voice,” Lund said. “He gave the songs somewhere to go. He gave them a story.”
Lund discussed how the variety of the program’s songs made it unique. Lund noticed how even though he has attended several other Faculty Recitals, they all are different from each other with each faculty infusing their programs and selected songs with their own personal flair and character.
“Yes, their ultimate end goal might be similar to one another, but the process to get there is different,” Lund said. “Each one is unique in their own way, and I think that is what makes each one so special to watch.”
The recital’s strong performance was noted by Maverick Gilson, a second-year student. Gilson found that Dunbar’s performance was unique and thrilling to watch, where his favorite song performed, Erlkönig, highlighted Dunbar’s vocal ability and Mohr’s clear expertise on the piano.
“I was very impressed by how he could embody the different characters in the stories that he was singing about.” Gilson said. “This particular concert left my jaw dropped many different times.”
Lund and Gilson noted how Dunbar and Mohr’s care and expertise in their music were expertly shown in their powerful performance and their dedication to enlightening the audience on intricate details about the program’s songs.
Overall, Dunbar and Mohr were able to create and perform a program that moved and captivated their audience through beautiful vocals, piano melodies, and the strums of a guitar and banjo. These methods of storytelling helped to detail the program’s complex themes and stories to create a lasting impression on their audience.
