Senior prepares for final performance

After practicing for countless hours and taking 12 years of lessons, senior Nathan Boone will be performing his senior recital.

Boone, a music education major at the University of South Dakota, is set to play Oct. 24 in Colton Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m.

Boone, who has been playing the trumpet since the fifth grade, said he feels prepared for his senior recital, a graduation requirement for music majors.

“I’m excited about it but it’s kind of an obstacle, too,” Boone said.

The recital, which ranges from 45 minutes to an hour, ended up being a very time-consuming endeavor, as Boone has been practicing an average of one hour each day for the last year.

For his recital, Boone will be playing Lenard Bernstein’s “A Simple Song.”

He said he is excited about playing it because it’s a vocal solo that has been transcribed to suit a trumpet so when he plays it, he will be emulating a male tenor.

There will also be a chamber performance, in which Boone will be playing alongside trombone player and senior Jimmy Bloomquist.

Boone’s trumpet professor Rolf Olson played a role in helping to select the pieces for the recital.

“I make suggestions, ensure that the students incorporate variety and are playing something they can be successful with,” Olson said.

Olson said he also aids the students in finding something they enjoy and want to play. Once pieces are selected, he helps them practice, interpret the piece and collaborate with the piano player or other musicians involved in the performance.

Senior Brandi Stueckrath, another trumpet player, said she will be attending

Boone’s performance.

“We go to support each other,” she said. “I’m excited to listen to him play and hear what pieces he’s picked out. He’s a really good player.”

Stueckrath, who is in the music education program alongside Boone, said the importance of a senior recital is to showcase what each student has been working on and to prove to the faculty that he or she is ready to graduate.

For Boone, a senior recital is the culmination of all the private lessons he’s taken with Olson since he was a freshman.

“It’s a chance to show what I’ve done to my family, peers and professors,” Boone said. “I love music; it has become my passion.”

Reach reporter Kati Stauffer at [email protected]