Students Present Original Compositions

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Illinois Wesleyan students will present a series of music compositions in concert on Thursday, April 18 at 8 p.m. in Presser Hall’s Westbrook Auditorium.

The concert will feature a piece by music education major Maxwell Arnold ’19; “Wielder's Vow” by music composition major Eion Connolly ’22; “To All The Boys I Have Regretted Hooking Up With Before” by music education major Brigid Broderick ’19; “Curtain Music” by music education major Dan Drake ’20; “Homeostasis,” “Metastable Moods” and “Songs that Haven’t Happened Yet” by mathematics and physics double major Paul Johnson ’19; and “The Indigo Beyond” by music education major Lauren Schaff ’22.

Some students found inspiration from past composers, such as Drake, whose main influence for “Curtain Music” came from 1960s composer La Monte Young, while others based their music off personal experiences.

“The piece symbolizes my first year as a college student and the terrifying yet beautiful and inspiring idea that so much about the future is mysterious and unknown,” shared Schaff about her piece “The Indigo Beyond,” which will be performed by cellists Juliana Hill ’21, Kira Gurovich ’21 and Rob Reinbrecht ’21.

Student composition concerts provide a unique opportunity for students such as Broderick to try their hand at composing music. Her piece “To All the Boys I Have Regretted Hooking Up With Before,” which utilizes only a loop pedal and her own voice, will be her first composition at Illinois Wesleyan.

For more information, please contact the School of Music at (309) 556-3061.

By Rachel McCarthy ’21