The Journal

Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: LifeStyle

Media Credit: Jamie Ford Paul DeMarinis, director of jazz studies and associate music professor, plays the flute while local jazz singer Valerie Tichacek performs March 9 in the Winifred Moore Auditorium.

Suzy Shepard approached the stage April 9 to say a few words about the scholarship she established. The scholarship fund, she said, was now serves as the fifth child in her will So after she dies, children can continue to receive the benefits of the scholarship.


"The program is so wonderful, so healing, so helpful," Shepard said. "You learn more than music. You learn to be authentic, to express your soul. There's no egotism here. They (Webster) truly encourage you to be all you can be."


The music department presented its 77th performance of the season to an audience of more than 80 people. The concert, "South American Sketches," raised money for the Suzy Shepard Scholarship. Shepard took piano lessons at Webster before establishing the scholarship in 1985. She is currently involved in social work as a teacher and counselor.


The scholarship award is based on financial need and excellence in jazz studies for Webster students. This year's scholarship recipients were Ryan Marquez, a sophomore jazz performance major, and Phillip Graves, a sophomore music performance and audio production major.


The show was a mix of music by Latin American composers who had an influence on jazz and world music after the 1950s. The show included three vocalists: alumna Erin Bode and music faculty members Debbie Lennon and Valerie Tichacek. Each vocalist performed four songs separately.


After a short introduction by associate music professor Paul DeMarinis, Tichacek began with the song "Brigas, Nunca Mais" accompanied by music professor Steve Schenkel on guitar.


"I think it's the best way to start the show with guitar and voice," Tichacek said to the audience after her first song.


Tichacek sang all of her songs in Portuguese.


The next performer was Bode. She sang all of her songs in English, except for the her song "Estate," which means summertime in Italian. Bode said the song was about a man lamenting over a love he lost and now wishes to forget.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools