Senior Recitals Continue Even in the Face of COVID - CCCK Skip to content

Senior Recitals Continue Even in the Face of COVID

This spring the Music Department celebrated four senior recitals. Due to Covid-19, the students creatively explored options to present their music in a virtual format, and each recital was slightly different.

EmmaLee McDonaldEmmaLee McDonald presented a guitar recital on Youtube, performed at her house on Saturday, March 28th. Her performance included the hymn “It Is Well” and “Fantasy,” a piece written by her instructor Dr. Jacob Kaufman. The set also included classical selections “Waltz” and “Allegro” and jazz selections “My Favorite Things” and “Always.” The recital concluded with a few pop songs and praise songs, and the entire recital showcased a diversity of styles. McDonald is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Science: Health Science. EmmaLee’s recital can be found here: (PART 1), (PART 2).

Charis Ball

Charis Ball’s piano recital was similar to EmmaLee’s and performed at the McPherson Free Methodist Church on Saturday, April 28th. It included three sets consisting of classical, songwriters, and praise. The classical set included “Golliwog’s Cake-walk” by Debussy and “Tarantella” by Pieczonka. The songwriter’s set included four original songs, and the praise set concluded the recital.  Charis, a student of Dr. Brett Janssen, is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Worship Arts and was awarded the CCM Musician of the Year. Charis’s recital can be found in three parts here: (PART 1), (PART 2), (PART 3).

Emily (Widiger) EppEmily (Widiger) Epp’s piano recital took place Monday, April 27th, and she took advantage of the unfortunate situation to video and audio record her performance from a few different angles and produce the recital, which was then released on Youtube. The recital consisted of a movement of a Haydn Sonata, three Liszt Consolations, a Debussy prelude, and Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in C# minor.” To complement the diversity of the classical set was a songwriters set. Emily is a student of Dr. Brett Janssen and she is awarded the Traditional Musician of the Year award. To watch Emily’s senior recital go to YouTube.

Priscilla CastilloPriscilla Castillo’s guitar recital was yet a different format than the others in that it was streamed Facebook live on Sunday, May 17th. Due to the loosening restrictions of Covid-19, Priscilla held her recital at Revolution church (McPherson) with an attendance of ten people. The classical set included works by Aguado, Ponce, and York, which was followed by jazz standards “My Favorite Things” and “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” which showcased a variety of styles. The final two sets included three songwriter’s songs and three praise songs. For her senior year, Priscilla has been a student of Ms. Jean Kennedy.

About Central Christian College of Kansas

Central Christian College of Kansas is a four-year collegiate institution that strives to offer Christ-centered education for the whole person – heart, mind, body, and soul. Its history dates back to 1884, and it is located in the friendly town of McPherson, Kansas. Central is a strategically small college that offers over forty areas of residential study and a thriving online program for non-traditional students. To learn more about Central go to centralchristian.edu/about. Visit the events calendar to find the next music event on campus.

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