Southeast Music Department alumni took the stage at the Shuck Recital Hall to perform instrumental pieces for the public.

Southeast’s River Campus hosted the first alumni concert in the Sundays at Three Series Sept. 27, 2020. Alumni and distinguished guests performed solo and chamber music selections for a live audience. The event featured chamber music for winds, viola and piano in various combinations from a variety of composers such as Norman Dello Joio and Max Bruch.

The event organizer Gabrielle Bafoni, with the help of faculty member Matt Yount, came up with the idea of having the alumni concert.

“[Yount] brought up the idea of getting together a project of alumni. I thought it sounded like a great way to celebrate graduates of our program and get them to come back to our campus,” Baffoni said.

The organizers of the series did not expect to host the first alumni concert in the middle of a pandemic. This required changes to be made for the program.

“Since the current state we’re in regarding the pandemic, we had to make the program smaller, in terms of length and group size. Maybe we’ll do something larger for future alumni concerts,” Baffoni said.

The alumni concert featured mostly wind players performing the pieces. Since wind instruments are played through the mouth, the performers utilized different techniques for playing their instruments to limit exposure. Some of the musicians like the alum playing the trumpet played through their mask while other performers like the alum playing the clarinet covered the instrument in a sack while playing it.

“It’s a special kind of challenge for having to play with a mask, especially for the people that are playing a trumpet or a clarinet,” Yount said. “They have to figure out a way to have two masks or a mask with a lip over the bottom.”

“Playing for a live audience again would be the best part for me. That’s my craft, and I've missed it,” Alumna Rebecca Hill said about her favorite part of performing at the concert. “Next in line to that would be being able to see everyone again.”

Yount also spoke about his favorite thing about the concert.

“Over the quarantine, we weren’t allowed to be out in front of people and perform. So being able to perform and also see other alumni that I haven’t seen in a long time was a very exciting part of having the concert,” Yount said.

The next performance in the Sundays at Three Series will be Violon d'Ingres, an art celebration with music written for two violins and piano on March 28. You can find tickets at the River Campus Box Office or the River Campus website.