Some of the world’s most well-known celebrities are musicians. They are praised for their talents and applauded for their performances. However, many people do not realize that great musicianship does not come naturally, but rather the opposite. It takes determination, commitment, dedication and perseverance.
Jim McCutcheon, a retired band teacher who repaired instruments at Northwestern State University of Louisiana decided to recognize the hard-working, astounding student musicians by offering a financial prize to those selected to perform in the Honor Recital dating back to 1998.
Now renamed to The McCutcheon Honors Recital, this year’s recital will be held this Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. It will feature NSU violinist Carlos Diaz del Valle, saxophonist Cullen Goscienski, soprano vocalist Brooke Jones, percussionist Harmony Marsh, tubist Pattie Murr and organist Lydia Orme.
Each of these students are music majors who have been awarded the McCutcheon Honors Recital scholarship for having the most outstanding jury performance within their instrument category this past fall semester.
A jury serves as one of the final exams for music majors. During a jury, students perform in front of music faculty members while being graded. Many non-music majors do not realize the effort these students put into their performances, especially their jury.
“At least 40 hours were dedicated specifically to my jury performance,” Pattie Murr, junior tuba player and music performance major, said. “And then I practice between 30 and 50 hours a week.”
Murr is dedicated to improving their tuba-playing skills. Instead of taking a break after being awarded the McCutcheon’s Honor Recital Scholarship, they continued to practice and refine their technique.
“I took it as a kick in the rear to keep going because, if I can win that award and if I keep working harder, then who knows what I can win in the future, you know? That’s my dream: to win a tuba job and play my instrument for the rest of my life,” Murr said.
These students have a passion for, not only their instruments and the music they play, but the music program they are a part of. Harmony Marsh, sophomore percussionist and music education major, received this opportunity both her freshman year and this past fall semester.
“It is such an honor to get chosen because my colleagues work so hard, and they’re right here with me,” Marsh said. “It’s an opportunity for me to represent the work of the percussion studio and what we’re capable of because we do so, so much.”
Marsh recognizes the work that all musicians put in, specifically her fellow members of the NSU percussion studio. She practices and performs, not only to show off what she has been working on, but to exemplify her colleagues’ efforts as well.
“Being an education major is something I’m super passionate about, and it’s such a rewarding major because I get to play music, be honored at things like this and get all these special opportunities to perform,” Marsh said. “It’s something I’m really grateful to get to do at NSU.”
Each of the students performing in this recital challenged themselves and made a commitment to prove their progress as a musician. Instead of performing for a jury this past semester, junior soprano performance major Brooke Jones had her junior recital where she performed 30 minutes of songs she had prepared since her freshman year. Because of her presentation, she won the McCutcheon Honors Recital award.
“I felt a sense of relief,” said Jones when describing her feelings after receiving the award. “I can struggle with imposter’s syndrome sometimes, so this award allowed me to tell myself, ‘You’re doing great–Your hard work is paying off.’”
Being a performer can take perseverance and talent, and the McCutcheon Honors Recital award is an opportunity for musicians to receive recognition for their efforts.
“To any underclassmen or prospective voice majors, don’t give up,” Jones said. “It’s tough and tedious work–There will be days where you question if you are worthy to be in this field, but if you have the passion and drive, you will flourish. Just keep working and remember you have many friends, colleagues and teachers supporting you along the way.”
Cullen Goscienski, junior saxophonist and music performance major, adds to Jones’ advice after having performed five juries in his college career so far.
“For anyone that performs juries, we know that nerves often get the best of us as musicians, but if you just do the best, you can in that very moment and tell yourself that you’re going to kill it, you’re likely going to do very well,” Goscienski said.
Goscienski knows that feelings of nervousness can get to the best of musicians despite their hours of preparation. Taking his own advice and hyping himself up beforehand allowed him to present a notable jury performance, which faculty thought was the best of all other woodwind juries presented this past fall semester, he said.
“I was very excited when they told me I had received the award, but also a little surprised because I didn’t go into my jury expecting to win this–It’s not something that you really think about,” Goscienski said. “When you’re playing your jury, you’re just trying to do the best you can to show the music faculty what you can do.”
After doing his best, Goscienski’s musical growth shone through his performance. Woodwind faculty recognized this, as other faculty members recognized it for Diaz del Valle, Jones, Marsh, Murr and Orme.
“Definitely come to the recital to see all the different kinds of music that the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) department has to offer,” Goscienski encouraged. “It will be very exciting to see a recital of woodwind, brass, vocals, strings, percussion, etc.”
This Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall, all of these students will be performing the pieces they worked hard on, and which earned them the McCutcheon Honors Recital scholarship. The performers invite NSU to an evening of hard work in song.
