Poster for Penelope Michua-Brooks’s Senior Recital (Photo Courtesy of the Sunderman Conservatory)
By Ainsley Green, Staff Writer
On Nov. 10, Penelope Michua-Brooks ’25 performed her senior recital in Paul Recital Hall at 2:30 p.m. Michua-Brooks is a music education major, with oboe as her primary instrument. She also has an avid passion for composing original pieces. This recital represented a milestone in her music career at Gettysburg College, and a large audience came out to show their support. Michua-Brooks will begin student teaching next semester as a requirement for the Bachelor of Music Education degree.
“Preparing for my recital was a very unique moment in my studies,” Michua-Brooks reflected. “I got to create something over an extended period of time that was special to me, and really captured my growth as a student, musician and person.”
The first piece on the program was “Four Personalities” by Alyssa Morris, accompanied by collaborative pianist at the Sunderman Conservatory Dr. Scott Crowne. The four movements, entitled “I. Yellow,” “II. White,” “III. Blue” and “IV. Red,” are named for not only these colors and their emotional connotation, but also after the Hartman personality types. Michua-Brooks showcased many moods in their performance of the piece on oboe to correspond with the titles. The next piece was “Suite in B” by Ulysses Kay, which featured just Michua-Brooks on oboe. The two movements, “I. Prelude” and “II. Recitative and Air,” had an aesthetic value that Michua-Brooks wanted to capture.
Michua-Brooks chose to take the composition route during her undergraduate career, studying under Dr. Avner Dorman in addition to the rigorous course load of the music education degree. She incorporated an original piece, “Worthy of Loving” for English horn, bass clarinet and euphonium, to display this talent in her recital. It also conveyed a message of gratitude for the support she has received from family, friends and peers while on a journey to being her most authentic self over the years, as indicated in the program notes. Michua-Brooks was accompanied by Kyle Lordi ’25 on euphonium and James Humphrey ’26 on bass clarinet.
Finally, Michua-Brooks performed “Solo pour Hautbois” by Emile Paladilhe, once again accompanied by Crowne on piano. This piece is a standard in oboe repertoire and was an exciting closing piece for the recital. Michua-Brooks received a standing ovation after the performance for several minutes, the audience celebrating this accomplishment.
“I enjoy being around other musicians who are all so different from me, but share a common love of music,” Michua-Brooks reflected on their experience being a Conservatory student and reaching these milestones with friends and peers. “Looking back, my colleagues and I have changed so much, and that’s really beautiful.”
Michua-Brooks has plans to apply to graduate programs for composition and enter the teaching field. “My musicianship, teaching, conducting, knowledge, and professional skills have grown exponentially,” said Michua-Brooks. “Being in an undergraduate Music Education program has been the best decision of my life.”
“I know it sounds cheesy, but I have grown so much by just being authentic to who I am,” Michua-Brooks said in advance to sharing some advice for future Conservatory students: “Your best may not always feel successful, but that’s why we practice. Be patient with yourself, and you’ll be just fine.”
Michua-Brooks has had an exciting month of musical premieres in addition to this recital, including “Cosmos,” where she guest conducted the Wind Symphony at their concert “X” on Nov. 17, and “Cancion de la Gente,” where she guest conducted the Symphony Orchestra on Nov. 22. Both performances took place at 8 p.m. in the Majestic Theater in downtown Gettysburg and showcased the hard work of Michua-Brooks and the Sunderman Conservatory ensembles.
