The Belmont School of Music presented the 16th Annual Commercial Music Showcase Mon., Feb. 4 in Massey Concert Hall. The free, one-hour concert featured the best solo performers, arrangers, instrumentalists, background vocalists and crew in the Commercial Music Program.
Senior Mary Maples made her second appearance in the Commercial Music Showcase. The Cookeville, Tennessee native will receive her degree in Commercial Music with a Music Business emphasis in May. Mary’s performance focused on classic and modern R&B: Aretha Franklin’s “Until You Come Back to Me,” Chaka Khan’s “Your Love Is All I Know” and Amy Winehouse’s “Tears Dry on Their Own.”
Prestonsburg, Kentucky native Kory Caudill is a senior Commercial Music Major with a Piano Performance emphasis. He performed Bruce Hornsby’s “Spider Fingers,” traditional hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and Stephen Still’s “Love the One You’re With” and received a standing ovation.
Senior Jordan Dean, a Commercial Music major with a Music Business emphasis who hails from Lexington, Ala., describes his sound as “new nostalgic rock.” He offered The Strokes’ “A Vision of the Vision,” George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” and an original, “Same Old Tricks.”
Cheryl LuQuire, a junior Commercial Music Major with both a Performance and a Music Business emphasis, is from Meridian, Mississippi. Cheryl’s performance paid homage to her R&B musical favorites: Gladys Knight’s “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination,” Aretha Franklin’s “Ain’t No Way” and Natalie Cole’s “This Will Be (an Everlasting Love).”
In September, 45 students auditioned on the first of two nights of try-outs in front of a diverse group of music industry professionals for one of the coveted showcase performance spots. Ten students were called back for the second night of auditions, and four students were selected for solo performances.
The Commercial Music program is designed for students who wish to study contemporary/non-classical styles of music. The solo performers in the Commercial Music Showcase are indicative of the broad range of Belmont’s Commercial Music program. All of the music charts for the concert were arranged by the students of Belmont’s composition and arranging classes.
