Last Tuesday, April 11, I attended the senior voice recital of Mason Van Horn, a music major and Midway Honors Scholar here at ETSU. Not only was this the first student recital I attended on campus, it was the first recital I attended as a music major. In a few short semesters I, too, will be required to perform a half recital. To see a student voice recital at ETSU for the first time gave me a better sense of what will be expected of me in the future.
Mason opened his recital with one of several energetic pieces. Following each song in a repertoire including pieces in German, French, Russian, and English, Mason and accompanist Yihan Sun bowed and exited the studio, returning nearly immediately. The pieces they performed held such contrast, expressing happiness, sadness, scheming, and much more. Mason is quite the actor as well as singer, so his performances were each a delight to watch.
One of the most central parts of Mason's recital was his spirituality. He is a devout Christian, something he shared through his song choices, personal biography in the program, and speech of thanks near the end of the recital. As a Christian myself, I was inspired by Mason's openness and clear love for Christ. It gave an even greater depth of passion to his music as well.
I feel fortunate to have been able to attend Mason's recital and hear his performance as well as Yihan's. Both are such talented performers and give me a lot to live up to!
