On January 26th, Belmont Hill hosted its seasonal musical recital, consisting of soloists and individual performers playing across a wide variety of music genres. Elias Tesfaye ’30 started off the show by playing Milt Jackson’s “Bags’ Groove” on the piano. Next, Phinneas Dwyer ’29 took the stage to also perform on the piano, playing Sonatina in G, Anh. 5, No. 1 by Ludwig van Beethoven; Phinneas performed the first movement of the piece “Moderato,” a traditionally livelier and more uplifting segment of piano sonatas. Daniel Laird ’29 also played a piano piece, albeit a more modern repertoire than Beethoven, performing “Iberia” by Catherine Rollin. Then Finn Davis ’29 performed on the drums, playing “Under the Bridge” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. After Finn, T.Z. Snail, similar to Phinneas, played a traditional classical piece on the piano again, performing Impromptu 3, Op. 51 by Frederic Chopin, focusing on the Vivace movement. Similarly, Johannes Eikeboom ’27 followed up with another classical piano piece, playing Sonate, Op. 49, No. 2 by Ludwig van Beethoven. After Johannes, Brandon Li ’26 provided a change in instrumental repertoire with his performance of “Autumn Leaves” by Joseph Kosma on the alto saxophone. Then Jianji Hou ’28 performed Notturno, Op. 54, No. 4 by Edvard Grieg, once again on the piano. Finally, Ilan Turevskiy ’28 wrapped up the evening’s performances with Schubert’s Serenade by Franz Shubert.
When asked about the performances within the concert, Brandon stated, “I think it was a pretty successful recital overall. I really liked the fact that we were able to focus on individuals’ performances instead of the usual featuring of our ensembles. I was also pretty surprised about the musical talents of some of the performers that evening because I hadn’t known a lot of them could even play an instrument. I thought it was a good opportunity to learn about other students’ hidden talents, in a way”
All in all, it was a music-filled evening with excellent renditions of classical piano repertoire, modern swing music, Romantic ballades, and jazz music. The Panel would like to give their thanks to Mr. Fiori for his role in organizing the recital and supporting the musical endeavors of all those who performed, as well as each soloist who performed in the Winter Recital this year.
