On April 17 piano students of professor Soo-Yeon Chang performed in a piano recital here at CSU Bakersfield in the Music Building.
Luz Rodriguez, an 18-year-old music education major, started playing the piano her sophomore year in high school. She found that she enjoyed playing the piano and that it relaxed her. When asked what she was most proud of, she replied, “I’m proud of how far I’ve come since I got here because of all the practicing and studying I’ve done.”
During the recital she played three Schumann pieces, assigned by Professor Chang. “I’m always nervous before a recital. I know there will be a lot of people there,” Rodriquez said.
To prepare for the recital, she practiced for two hours every day. This is her second recital, having performed in the winter quarter recital as well.
Jack Redstone, a 20-year-old sophomore majoring in music, has only been playing piano here at CSUB for about two quarters.
“I have always loved music. My mother is actually a music teacher, so it kind of runs in the family. I took piano lessons when I was young, so I could learn how to play,” said Redstone who was very excited for the recital.
Redstone played Claude Debussy’s “Pour le Piano Prelude” during the recital on Friday.
“This particular piece was chosen for me by my piano instructor, Dr. Chang. However, I do get to choose the pieces I play if she approves it,” said Redstone.
When asked what he liked most about playing the piano, Redstone replied, “I like the piano because it is so versatile. You can do a lot with just two hands on a piano. And it sounds beautiful.”
Tony Rinaldi, a 21-year-old general music major, started playing the piano when he was young, though he branched out to other instruments in his adolescent years.
“This branching out made me curious about composing and arranging for large ensembles of instruments,” said Rinaldi. “It was this curiosity that brought me back to the piano. The instrument has the capability to give any musician a more comprehensive and all-encompassing view and understanding of music, in my opinion, and it gives one the ability to create and comprehend larger and more complex musical ideas.”
During the recital Rinaldi performed Bach’s Tocatta in E Minor, BWV 914. “I requested to be assigned a piece from the Baroque period of music history, due to my never having played a piece from that period in my time as a music major at CSUB,” said Rinaldi.
“I ‘ve spent a good deal of time learning and practicing my piece with a metronome, trying to build up muscle memory and a more developed concept of the piece’s phrasing,” answered Rinaldi when asked about how he prepared for the recital.
