What a weekend! – a Chapter Six concert Friday night, an opera simulcast Sat. afternoon, playing organ for church this morning, honors convocation and recital this afternoon— but the high point for me was the Sr. recital of ‘Sluss’ – Nic Sluss- Rodionov Saturday night.
Some years ago, (it feels like ten years ago but I know it wasn’t quite that long ago) I remember a friend of mine from church telling me that a really nice and very promising young man named Nic Sluss Rodionov was going to be auditioning for us and that she really hoped it would be possible for him to come to Carthage. Well, Nick lived up to the hype and then some- playing both piano and french horn in his Carthage audition and wowing us with both. (Only later did we learn what a promising singer he was.)
Nic has gone on to be a really important part of Carthage’s music family. . . partly because he has been there quite a long time (his education was interrupted by a stint in the reserves) so it sometimes feels like Nic’s time at Carthage spans several generations of students. It doesn’t, actually, but he has been there long enough to remember the end of my stint as director of the Carthage Choir (He sang with me in Chamber Singers.) and he has befriended a wide array of fellow musicians there. But more important than that, Nic is one of those students who has managed to grow as a musician and artist beyond what he probably thought was even possible. I especially like that Nic seems to appreciate the faculty and what we have to offer on a most profound level- and I feel like Nic has learned not so much in classrooms and in actual courses. but has probably done some of his best and most valuable learning in the doorways of various faculty offices. He has peppered me with more than a few intriguing questions over the years. I also love the very intriguing mix in Nic’s personality of down-to-earth, plain-spoken, “real-ness” combined with a very keen intellect and restless inquisitiveness.
Sometime fairly early on in Nic’s Carthage career, he began singing – but it was only in the last several years or so that Nic began studying voice with me and really exploring what he was capable of as a vocalist. What a delight to teach someone so gifted and so excited about singing; he was like a kid who had discovered a new cookie jar and the wonderful contents inside of it. Nic never sang a voice recital at Carthage (he didn’t need to) but he did take on a very challenging scene from Verdi’s Don Carlo for the senior recital of Aaron Steckman. Here was Nic going toe to toe with one of Carthage’s most accomplished vocal performance majors – and holding his own and then some! Nic is now one of the paid core of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus and I predict more good things in Nic’s future if he continues to sing and study.
Anyway, Saturday night at last was Nic’s senior piano recital- which had been postponed at least twice and probably more. But it was worth the wait; Nic really did some sensitive and impressive playing that night- in music of Mozart, Debussy, Schumann and someone else but it escapes me. Bach, maybe? It all sounded great and at the end of it all, the applause in Siebert was especially warm and heartfelt. I think people really appreciate his talent, and his work ethic- which started out somewhere between acceptable and okay and eventually became downright spectacular. I think they also appreciate how Nic is just a plain ol’ nice guy who is genuinely interested in other people and a blast to be around.
There are a bunch of people I am going to miss terribly when they graduate this May- and Nic is towards the very top of that list. I’m just hoping that he will remain in the vicinity for awhile; there is still a lot which I want to teach him about singing- and more selfishly than that, I want to continue to have the pleasure of making music with him and of just plain talking about music and all that it adds to life. Life does not get much better than that!
Quick addendums: The Chapter Six concert was fantastic Friday night, and not just because I won a free DVD for answering this question correctly: Who was the first U.S. President to live in the White House? (My hand shot up so fast, it’s a wonder I didn’t dislocate my shoulder.) Answer at the bottom. . .
Today’s honors events were fun – especially to see Aaron Steckman named as Outstanding Senior Music Major. This award is primarily given for someone who has contributed to the well-being of the department by his or her service to it. Aaron has certainly focused his energy and passion in music in a way that I hope has been an inspiration to some of his fellow students- especially those who seem determined to sit on their lazy butts and wait for the Fairy of Fine Singing to sprinkle some sort of miraculous dust over them. Aaron has known for some time now that the only way from Point A to Point B – from mediocrity to magnificence – is hard work. with all your heart and soul.
answer: The White House first opened its doors in 1800, when our second president, John Adams, was in office.
(By the way, the line for autographs forms to the rear. Please, no pushing or shoving; I promise to get to all of you if at all possible.)