Senior Spotlight: Amanda Herold, Flute
Amanda Herold ’22 (Photo provided)
By Laken Franchetti, Staff Writer
Amanda Herold ’25, a music education major with a peace and justice studies minor, held her senior recital on Nov. 13 at the Paul Recital Hall. The flutist included selections from living composers such as Ian Clarke and Anne Boyd while also paying homage to more classical pieces, such as the alluring “La Flûte de Pan” by Jules Mouquet. Herold spoke on how her love for music, and specifically the flute, arose.
“I started playing music in sixth grade, and I found such a great sense of community within it. When I went to high school, I immersed myself in all the music programs there, and I realized it was something I didn’t want to give up.”
While her primary instrument is the flute, Herold has taken secondary lessons in clarinet, euphonium, percussion, and composition. When she began her music journey in the sixth grade, flute was her second choice after the violin. Once she was assigned the flute, she quickly came to love the instrument, and her passion for the flute has only continued to grow ever since. Herold’s senior recital contains all music that she selected herself.
“I started picking the music going into the spring semester of my junior year,” the flutist explained. “I looked for newer music intentionally. I also wanted to play music that I thought different audiences could enjoy if they weren’t necessarily attuned to music, [so they can] just appreciate listening as an audience.”
Her performances were certainly appreciated and received long bouts of applause. One of these pieces was “Deep Blue.” Composed by Ian Clarke, this piece is inspired by the ocean and whale song. The mysterious sounds are meant to resemble the vast expanses of the ocean, and the overall intriguing nature of the piece illustrates an oceanic soundscape for the audience. Having listened to and admired Clarke’s music in high school, Herold was eager to include this piece in her recital.
Herold’s final piece of the performance was “Rituals,” a favorite of hers to perform. Composed by Blaz Pucihar, this piece is a one movement work with four distinct atmospheres. Herold’s performance resulted in a minutes-long standing ovation.
“It takes a lot of these traditional Slovenian folk songs from [Pucihar’s] culture and mixes a taste of jazz with them. It’s very interesting and takes you through different atmospheres,” Herold explained. “It was a lot of work to build up. It’s the longest piece in the recital, and it’s been a challenge to work on all the techniques. I definitely think I’ve grown a lot as a musician learning that.”
The Sunderman Conservatory has contributed greatly to this growth as a musician, and Herold noted that the professors are a large part in the impactful experience she has gained while at Gettysburg College.
“They’re really willing to share all of their knowledge with you and are willing to build a close relationship,” she said. Herold mentioned that her experiences working closely with Director of Bands Dr. Russell McCutcheon and Associate Professor of Composition Dr. Avner Dorman have been particularly rewarding.
Herold shared insightful advice for future conservatory students in saying, “If there’s something you want to do, make it happen. See what you can do. If something interests you, seek it out.”
Following graduation in the spring, Herold plans to become a music educator in order to pay back the experiences she received.
“The feelings I had, being in those [music] classrooms, is something I want to be able to spread to other children and schools… My hope is to get a job teaching instrumental music at a K-12 institution.”
Further down the road, Herold intends to attend graduate school for conducting.
