Toward the end of each quarter, Cal Poly music students put their studying and preparation to work by offering free recitals for the Cal Poly community.
The recitals have been held for approximately 20 years and everyone is welcome to attend. They provide an alternative for students who might not be able to afford attending expensive events in the Performing Arts Center.
In an effort to bring in more audiences, the music department notifies different departments prior to the recitals. However, most people learn about them through word of mouth rather than official notice.
“We have pretty good attendance, but we’d like it to be more well-known,” said Jacalyn Kreitzer, Cal Poly music department lecturer and producer and director of Opera Workshop.
Typically, four recitals are held at the end of each quarter, many of them during Cal Poly’s weekly UU hour. They include both vocal and instrumental recitals, which include performances from various musicians and singers from the music department.
Besides supporting their fellow students, Kreizer said the recitals allow students to witness different kinds of music that they may not have the chance to if they weren’t free.
“I firmly believe that mankind does not do well without being exposed to the humanities, the arts, and music and that it’s good for the soul and good for the mind,” Kreitzer said. “It’s great for students to go out and hear all these new types of music.”
Some music students study and prepare pieces for these recitals as part of their finals. Some classes require the recitals, which provide music students the ability to share what they have been working on all quarter.
“There is a real camaraderie within the department just because you are in the same classes with people all four years,” said music senior Patrick Little. “You’re also getting to sing with them in things like choir and play with them in different ensembles, so you get a lot of interaction and you really form bonds with them.”
Little performed in his senior recital this past Saturday, which featured an accumulation of classical pieces he had been working on during his time at Cal Poly. Little is not new to the recital scene. As a vocalist, he has sung in the vocal recitals every quarter for the past four years.
“Coming in as a freshman, I was really intimidated by classical music, but these last four years I’ve really grown to love it,” Little said. “I’m singing about things in these songs that are a couple of hundred years old, but they are still relevant today.”
The next recital will be held Thursday, Dec. 4 at 11 a.m. at the Davidson Music Center in room 218.