ֱ State College students, Matthew Sumner and his wife Stephanie Jarrell Sumner, will perform in their Senior
Recital on February 20th at 1:00 p.m. The event is free to the public, and refreshments will be served following the event in the GSC Fine Arts Center Auditorium.
âOur senior recital is the culmination of four years of practice and preparation. It is important to be able to demonstrate your own musical ability so that you will be able to effectively teach it to your students,â said Stephanie Sumner.
âThe GSC Music Department is always very busy preparing for performances, and the professors are always there to support us,â said Matthew Sumner.
Matthew is a Music Education Major (K-adult) with emphasis on euphonium and a minor in voice. He is from ֱ, and his parents are William and Sherri Sumner. He graduated from Gilmer County High School in 2005. At ֱ State College, he has been involved in the Brass Ensemble, Concert Choir, Marching Band, Concert Band, Chamber Singers, and the National Association for Music Education (MENC), and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). He is also a part of the Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble which performed at the 24th Annual Tuba and Euphonium Conference in Washington, DC in 2007. He has also been invited to perform at the 2010 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference in Tucson, Arizona in May.
âOne of the things I really like about GSC is that most of the professors are very personable and know their students by name; we're not just a number,â said Matthew Sumner.
Stephanie is a Music Education Major (K-adult) with emphasis on trumpet and a minor in voice. She is from Gassaway, West Virginia, and her parents are Dennis and Starla Jarrell. She graduated from Braxton County High School in 2006. At ֱ State College, Stephanie has been involved in the Brass Ensemble, Choir, Concert Band, Chamber Singers, Jazz Band, Marching Band (was the field commander this past season), Percussion Ensemble, the National Association for Music Education (MENC), and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). She is also a new member to the Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble.
âI feel the GSC Education and Music Department have both prepared me well to go out into the school systems and teach my own classroom,â said Stephanie Sumner.
The Sumnersâ Senior Recital set list includes: âRhapsody for Euphoniumâ by James Curnow - a standard in the Euphonium repertoire, âFantasy for Euphonium and Pianoâ by Hiroshi Hoshina - a beautiful Japan influenced piece, âLatin Holidayâ by Lennie Niehaus - a Latin style piece with several different styles, âSuite Bergamasque: Preludeâ by Claude Debussy, and vocal duets from the musical âSweeney Todd.â
For more information about this event, contact Fine Arts Department Assistant Sheri Skidmore at Sheri.Skidmore@glenville.edu or (304) 462-4130.