The Violauta Duo performed “Rossiniana 2” on Thursday in Studio 143, making them the first School of Music event of the semester.

Before the recital began, both members of the Violauta Duo, Wendell Dobbs and Júlio Ribeiro Alves, talked and shared jokes with the crowd.

Dobbs and Alves opened with a piece called “Serenade, Op. 109, no. 1.” Before every piece, Dobbs gave a brief background and what the piece conveys and the translations of them.

One of the crowd’s favorite was “Vieni fra queste braccia” which translates to “Thieving Magpie.”

“’Thieving Magpie’ tells the story of a woman and a lost silver spoon,” Dobbs said “She gets blamed for the silver spoon going missing and is about to go jail when they find the spoon in a magpie’s nest.”

Dobbs and Wendell have been performing together for a little more than 10 years now.

Jason Dandelet, senior guitar major at Marshall University, said that they are “absolutely just as passionate” in the classroom when they teach as they are about playing.

“I saw them perform Rossiniana last year and they were just as good as they were tonight,” Dandelet said.

Rossiniana is a term that originates from the 19th century guitarist Mauro Giuliana to honor the world-renowned opera composer Gioachino Rossini. It is a set of nine pieces, and the Violauta Duo performed three of the pieces. Rossini was a popular performer in his time, gaining attention in America and Europe.

“He played in Paris in 1821nand took the world by storm,” Dobbs said.

The Violauta Duo finished the recital with “Grand Sonata, Op. 85.” During the fourth and final movement of the piece, Alves overdramatized one of his solos making the audience laugh and even Dobbs had to put his flute down because he couldn’t stop from laughing.

Rachael Cook can be contacted at [email protected].