On March 4, Kate Rawls, associate professor of music, performed a faculty recital in Union University’s Hartley Recital Hall at 7 p.m.
Rawls was formerly a Union student who graduated in 2008 with her B.A. in music education. After graduating, she pursued a graduate and doctorate in vocal performance. For the past two years, she has worked at Union University.
She showed her vocal skills in her faculty recital, in which she sang 13 songs. Terry McRoberts, professor of music at Union, accompanied her on the piano. Two other faculty members joined Rawls. Kay Dick, assistant professor of choral music education and worship leadership, sang Léo Delibes’ “Due de fluers” and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Pie Jesu” with Rawls. Daniel Joyner, adjunct commercial voice professor, sang “All I Ask of You” from “The Phantom of the Opera” and Johann Strauss II’s “The Watch Duet” with Rawls.
“The Watch Duet” was the final piece in Rawls’ recital, and she said it was one of the most fun songs to perform. The crowd laughed throughout the performance of the song.
Caleb Coleman, sophomore worship leadership major, is one of Rawls’ students who attended the event.
“The last piece with Dr. Joyner was definitely…the hardest I’ve laughed in a long time,” Coleman said. “It was very engaging, very fun.”
The faculty recital was a great opportunity for Rawls’ students to see her expertise in music.
“It’s good for my students to see what I do,” Rawls said. “I had one student come up to me and say, ‘you really can do all that stuff that you tell us to do,’ and I was like ‘yes, I am speaking from experience.'”
Coleman had voice lessons with Rawls the day after her performance and they discussed some of the things he had learned.
“I was watching a lot of the techniques she was using,” Coleman said. “The technique of staying in the emotion of the song and letting that show on her face. I was telling her how I really loved how she did that, how it kept the audience in the song. She never broke character. That was really cool.”
Rawls mentioned some things she wanted her students to learn from her performance.
“I also want them to realize what they can do because I was not able [to do what I do now] in college. But with lots of hard work, they can do it too,” Rawls said. “It’s not rocket science. It just takes work and commitment.”
“She’s showing the potential of where I can go,” Coleman said. “She’s really good, and so seeing her do what she does and master it and just be a master of it, it’s like ‘ok I can achieve that too’ with the same hard work and discipline and practice.”
Rawls said that on April 11-13, her opera workshop class will be putting on the musical “Once Upon a Mattress” which will be in the W.D. Powell Theatre. Information about the musical is at the link below:
