The Sonoma State University Vocal Repertory Recital was the midterm recital for SSU’s vocal performance major students. It began at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 13 at Schroeder Hall at Green Music Center. The overall theme of the recital was “Happy Songs,” in both the tone, and how the students delivered each song. 

Dr. Justin Montigne, a vocal performance professor, told the audience that “during such a chaotic time, everyone needed a happy song,” so that was the main philosophy of the theme. The professor wanted the students to learn how to explore and understand how to make a song happy.  

In regards to the midterm process, Montigne also stated that “the students had journal entries about their process, and students also helped each other out, and gave each other guidance on how to approach certain stages during this midterm process.” 

In the wake COVID-19, getting back to in-person performing is a big shift, but Brendan Corr, a senior in the Music Department stated that “I was really excited for this performance. Whenever I perform, I always feel at least a little nervous, but overall I was mostly excited to sing.”

He continued, “A lot of my excitement was due to this being my first solo performance in person in almost a year and a half. It felt amazing being able to go up there and sing in front of people without being constricted by zoom or a mask.” 

The overall setlist was split up by six categories: “Carefree Youth”, “Everyday Joys”, “A Brighter Future”, “Doing Their Best”, “Make Someone Happy”, and “The Great Outdoors”. The setlist was a mixture of music ranging from classical opera songs to musical theater tunes, and students decided which song they wanted to perform.

Senior Michael Murdock performed the song “Sunset Boulevard” from the play of the same name, which was more somber in tone and lyrical context, but explained why he felt it fit in the theme of “Happy Songs.” 

“I don’t really like happy songs…so I was trying to see what works… my voice type tends to be more like anti-hero kind stuff. So I was like ‘What works?’ The thing about the song is that it’s happy but in a dark way… and I really like, generally speaking, when people say ‘Find a happy song,’ I would find a happy song that is also super dark at the same time. Just because that is who I am as a person and what I like to do, I like to twist expectations.”

Since Murdock performed a musical theater song about a certain character, he stressed the importance of understanding the context of the song. “One of the things that people work on a lot… is that the notes are right, the rhythms right, your vocal technique is flawless… now tell me the story. In the end, the song is good but what is the story? Because that matters and it informs your performance.” 

Other songs were more comedic in first approach, such as “I Bought Me a Cat” which was performed by sophomore Brayden Simmons-Ayala. 

“I picked this song because I had to choose a German, Italian, or an English song. But in the end, I would say that I am fairly a comedical person; I like more clever or witty humor. But the song got a good laugh out of all the sound effects for the animals,” he explained. 

The performers met the challenge of choosing “Happy Songs” that were important and personal to them. 

For more information on Music Department events, visit the Music Department website.