TCC student Chris Lopez beamed as he introduced his composition “Hold Fast to Dreams” during the Composers Concert.
The night’s compositions were performed by Kamryn Wheeler, Patricia Schimpf and David Bogaev, accompanied by pianist Han Zhao.
“‘Hold Fast to Dreams’ kind of represents the idea of never giving up,” Lopez said after the performance. “It’s very meaningful, and musically, it was inspired by a song I sang in middle school.”
The Composers Concert took place on the evening of Nov. 12 on NE Campus. Students, faculty, family members and friends gathered to celebrate and enjoy original musical pieces written by five students as their capstone projects.
“I think this concert is very unique in that all the music you hear is written by living people, and they are here to interact with,” said event coordinator Will Waldrop.
During and after the performance, several of the composers spoke about what they hoped the audience would gain from their pieces.
“I want [the audience] to feel at peace and have a good night’s sleep,” said Samuel Nelson, who wrote his music based on the poem “Silver” by Walter de la Mare.
Eric R. Janovsky, who composed “Downfall,” based on the idea of reaching for and missing success, said he hopes the audience has “a connection to what I’m trying to portray … maybe in their own life or their own experience.”
Several composers talked about events in their lives that inspired them to pursue music.
Lopez said he fell in love with music when he was 13 years old.
“My mom used to play ‘Moonlight Sonata’ on the piano,” Lopez said. “And when I heard her play that for the first time, I said ‘I need to play the piano.’ So that led me to picking up the piano, and then … it just snowballed.”
Janovsky’s interest in music began roughly 50 years ago. Listening to ’70s bands and classical concerts in his youth were what led him to pursue music. Several of his compositions have now been made public, including “Lament for Peony Flowers,” which was performed by the TCC Orchestra in 2022.
After the event ended, the crowd mingled with the composers and performers, asking questions and chatting.
“There’s so much inspiration in my peers — in the composition and in the music department,” said TCC student and audience member Ren Nguyen. “It’s awesome to see people pursuing the arts in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the rest of their day– to– day lives.”
Events like the Composers Concert don’t just benefit the composers and students. They are also important for TCC faculty and staff, several of whom attended the concert.
Kamryn Wheeler, a soprano singer and adjunct instructor at TCC, said events like this allow people to get outside their comfort zone and listen to new music.
“It makes you, in my opinion, a better individual, more rounded, more cultured and things like that,” Wheeler said. “It also breaks down barriers that people might subjectively have.”
