Music and Art Departments Collaborate on Spring Music Recital

Photos by Kim Sleeper

by Hope Moural

The art department and music departments collaborated on Feb. 19 the annual spring music recital, which centered on the 500th Reformation Celebration.

“This is the first time the art and music departments have collaborated on something at this scale,” Professor of Music Dr. Elizabeth Grimpo said.

Over 20 students participated in the “Sacred Music and the Visual Arts” recital in the Music Center, including senior Elise Loomis, junior Emma Gottschamer and sophomore Jacob Roggow. Loomis created four different water color paintings as the music was played. Between each section, her water color would be taken out to the lobby and replaced with a clean canvas for the next part of the concert. Her brush strokes followed the rhythms of the music, and her colors were reflections of the tones and sounds being made.

Gottschamer and Roggow performed “Requiem Aeternam” by Mozart.

“I think Jacob [Roggow] and I really connected with the piece—it was beautiful and moving. I think we did a good job of expressing the piece overall. It was just a neat piece,” Gottschamer said.

Grimpo said the theme came about randomly in a meeting.

“I met with (Don) Robson to see how we could get all the fine arts involved, and I just threw it out during the meeting,” Grimpo said.

Grimpo hopes that those that attended and those that were involved with the event took away an impression of the arts.

“All of the fine arts, they are expressive, and they are also an expression of each other,” Grimpo said.

The paintings are on display in the Music Center lobby. A recording of the concert is available here.