Student parades patriotic pipes

Author: Beth Connolly

Posters promoting Jennifer Guest's senior recital display Guest posed in a cowboy hat and checked Western shirt. Beneath the photograph is the title of her concert: "USA is A-OK! An evening of American Song." At first glance, I might have thought that the concert featured country music. That misconception was dispelled after listening to Guest's recital last Saturday night in the Center for the Arts. Guest, with a piano accompaniment provided by music instructor Cynthia Huard, took her audience on a journey through American music and the American musical.

Music has been a life-long passion for Guest, a joint music and political science major from Washington, D.C. (Though the political science major is something that "a lot of people think is strange," Guest was attracted to a liberal arts college, instead of a conservatory, because of the opportunity to extend her academic focus beyond music.)

"Even if it doesn't turn into a career, now I have an understanding of music that I can enjoy for the rest of my life," she said. After graduation, Guest hopes to attend a musical theatre graduate program in New York that incorporates voice, dance and acting. Other options include attending a voice conservatory in England or working as a paralegal in D.C.

Why American music? Guest was inspired by working on Aaron Copland's "Laurie's Song" for a past recital. "I love Copland for his ability to convey so much in simple melodic lines and harmonizations. 'Laurie's Song' in particular has a pretty distinct 'American' sound, perhaps because of its simplicity. I wanted to explore this in other composers and see what, if anything, distinguished their music as 'American.' The second half of the program developed out of my love for musical theater and was a way for me to narrow down the thousands of songs to choose from," she said.

Hence the recital included first a series of American classical compositions, followed by a selection from Broadway musicals. The opening section, with pieces by Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, and Leonard Bernstein, showcased Guest's powerful voice and sensitive approach.

The Broadway portion of the show included a mix of beloved classics and relatively unknown pieces; Guest attempted to "represent the major musicals and composers of the 20th century." Her choices included songs from "Show Boat," "Roberta," "Kiss Me Kate," "Thoroughly Modern Millie," and "Avenue Q," among others. Though many of the songs from "AvenueQ"deal with topics too explicit for inclusion in her recital, Guest managed to find one song that was appropriate. "There's a Fine, Fine Line," deals with the pain of unrequited love with sympathy.Guest also included a song from the groundbreaking 1970 Stephen Sondheim musical, "Company," a production hailed for its innovative structure in portraying middle class life and startling characterization. The recital's final piece was "The Beauty Is," from "Light in the Piazza." As Guest explained to the audience, she had a teacher who thought that she was perfect to play the main role in this musical. She was flattered until she discovered that the main character, Clara, was mentally unstable; she was kicked in the head by a horse as a child. Regardless of the true meaning of the "compliment' she had received, Guest took on the persona of the childlike main character convincingly,

In "The USA is A-OK," Jennifer Guest succeeded in her goal of exposing her audience to a stimulating variety of American songs. What does it mean for a song to be American? From Guest's recital, one might determine that it means a song may be based on themes of love, passion or escape, and sung with a distinct personality.