By Kayla Ellis, Staff Writer
(Poster Provided)
For the audience on Mar. 19, Anderson Gray’s ’23 senior recital was an audible, visible, and emotional production. Flanked by two Greek-style pillars and draped in a deep red gown, Gray performed emphatically in five different languages over the course of forty minutes. The stage, minimalistic in its design, consisted of a grand piano and its dutiful player to the left, while Gray operated in the center, with a table stocked with flowers to her right.
Beginning with light, loving French pieces from Reynaldo Hahn’s “Les feuilles blessées and Mélodies,” Gray moved on to darker German and Italian sets (“Auf dem Land und in der Stadt,” “Aus Faust,” and “Se non piangi un’infelice”).
She then went on to sing sweeter melodies in both English and Spanish (“Among the Fuschias,” “The Jungle Flower,” “Worth While” in English and “Asturiana,” “El Paño Moruno,” and “Nana” in Spanish). She closed with belted modern Broadway numbers (“So Anyway” from “Next to Normal” and “I’m Here” from “The Color Purple”).
Oscillating between joyous, scorned, enraged, and liberated, the chosen songs captured the unique feelings that reverberate throughout campus for each graduating senior. Gray’s skill was recognized with rapturous applause heard in between the individual sections as Gray and the pianist exited and re-entered the stage.
The “beautiful and skillful” piece represented the “culmination of four years of dedication,” said Emma Fee ’23. Leaving in tears, Fee emphasized the “emotional power” of the performance.
Gray shared that, “getting to see all of my hard work pay off” at the recital was rewarding as well as emotional.
“I was able to truly express and accept myself by doing what I love: singing,” said Gray
