Classical Scandinavian music will be played by two professors from the School of Music in a faculty recital at Smith Recital Hall on Sunday at 3 p.m. 

“We will be playing modern classical music by composers from Sweden and Denmark,” Michael Stroeher, professor of low brass, said. “Even though they written in the twentieth century, all the pieces are accessible and listener-friendly.” 

Meanwhile, Henning Vauth, professor of keyboard studies, said that he will be providing piano accompaniment for Stroeher in the recital. 

“For most instruments, if they play a recital or perform a recital, they have piano accompaniment,” Vauth said. “So, this is a trombone recital with piano accompaniment. It’s really collaborative, so the piano part is very difficult as well, but the solo instrument is the trombone.” 

Faculty members in the School of Music are active performers and have many opportunities to perform both on and off campus. 

“We have lots of opportunities outside of campus too,” Vauth said. “If you look at our calendar on our website, there is a recital right now every day—sometimes with faculty members and sometimes with students—so there is always something to do if you want to listen to good music.” 

“Most of our faculty are very active performers regionally, nationally and even internationally,” Stroeher said. “The School of Music presents over 200 performances a year featuring faculty, students, ensembles and guest artists.” 

The recital will be performed in front of a live audience and, unlike some performances by the School of Music, this event will not be live-streamed or have a virtual option.  

“I have really missed performing in front of a live audience,” Stroeher said. “It’s good to be back.” 

“This is like our lifeblood for performing musicians,” Vauth said. “You feed off of the interaction with the audience because music is essentially a language.” 

“So, what we want to do is we want to communicate and if you communicate into an empty screen, that is very different from having a live audience,” Vauth said. “I think it’s amazing what technology allows us to do these days. My personal preference is in-person.”