By Kamaiyah Lineberger
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Pianist Chesed Hyatt and soprano Annah Poland took to the Recital Hall stage at Towson University Tuesday to showcase the piano and vocal talent that won them the Henry Sanborn Music Endowment.
Around 30 attendees sat in the hall with a few trickling in during applause. The audience included music students, parents and music department faculty.
The hall’s lights dimmed as Hyatt took the stage. She performed four pieces composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, Alexander Scriabin, Henry Cowell and Maurice Ravel. The pieces by Bach and Scriabin were as Hyatt described, dance songs, whereas the pieces by Cowell and Ravel have water themes.
After the first two pieces, Hyatt bowed as the crowd applauded and she walked offstage to prepare herself before the second half of the show.
“If there’s like a big change in style or mood it sometimes helps to walk off and just concentrate and kind of give my mind a break,” Hyatt said in an interview.
Concluding Hyatt’s 30-minute performance, the crowd erupted in applause and the hall’s curtains began a motorized drawing back that exposed the brick wall in the room. Poland said this is for acoustic reasons.
Alongside pianist Patricia Amato, Poland then took the stage and held onto the piano as she began what she calls the acting part of her performance.
“It’s definitely encouraged that [we] should be acting through our music, because at the end of the day, all of our songs are stories, and we’re trying to convey a storytelling experience to the audience,” Poland said.
Poland sang nine pieces from artists Déodat de Séverac, Richard Pearson Thomas, Victor Herbert, Reynaldo Hahn, G. Donizetti, Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann.
Poland said that she grouped her songs into sections by their language. The first section had one French and three English songs, the second section had three Italian numbers, and the last section had two German songs.
Due to the separation of the pieces, the audience wasn’t encouraged to clap until each section was over.
Lori Hultgren, assistant teaching professor for voice who has worked with Poland in getting her ready for this performance, was in the audience and led the applause at the end of each section for the audience.
After Poland’s performance, Hyatt was welcomed back on stage, and both students were recognized by Hultgren and piano professor Eva Mengelkoch for receiving the endowment.
“This scholarship is significant because it provides vital financial support while giving students a prestigious platform to showcase their talent,” said Jin Min, an associate professor of voice at Towson and a scholarship committee member. “It honors the legacy of Mr. Sanborn and fosters the growth of dedicated musicians in the piano and voice disciplines.”
Poland recalled being encouraged to apply for the scholarship by Hultgren. Hultgren said that the applicant pool consisted of around five to six candidates for the vocal endowment while Mengelkoch said there were two applicants for the piano endowment.
As outlined by the Memorandum of Understanding and stated by music department chairperson Melissa McCabe, both applicants for vocal and piano are required to create a 30-minute program containing multiple songs that they are prepared to perform. Applicants then audition in front of the respective piano or vocal faculty performing only a part of the program they prepared.
After the faculty members notify their winners, the chosen students begin practicing their entire 30-minute program to later perform at a recital as a part of the scholarship.
The scholarship was created in 1993 when Sanborn was an economics professor at Towson. McCabe says that he was a classical music lover and a pianist from a young age.
“He went to the BSO on a regular basis, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, [and sat] in the front row on the left-hand side so he could watch the pianist’s hands because he was just really fascinated with that,” McCabe said.
Sanborn died in 2015, and Towson held a memorial on campus for him in 2016. Min said he recalls members of the Sanborn family attending recitals a few years ago.
The recital aspect of the scholarship, McCabe said, is important because the recipients were rewarded based on their ability to perform.
Hyatt, a junior piano performance major who has been playing for 14 years, said this is her third year winning the endowment. Though she struggles with performance anxiety, she said that the repetition of auditioning and performing in front of others has helped calm her fears.
After graduation, Hyatt plans to pursue a master’s in piano pedagogy and theological studies. She hopes to teach music to kids in the future.
Poland, a second-year vocal performance grad student who has been singing since she was 5, said this was her first time applying for the scholarship. Poland said that winning the scholarship has been a defining moment in her college career.
“…In my undergrad, I felt very behind,” Poland said. “So, my graduate studies has really been about confidence and making myself feel like I belong. And I feel like [winning] was a very tangible example of like, ‘Oh, you actually are doing it. You are increasing your skill.’”
Aside from continuing to perform, Poland hopes to open her own studio to give children vocal lessons as well as attain her music therapy certificate.