Making the grade

More than a semester of practices, research and preparation will all come down to a 50-minute recital tonight that will determine Spencer O'Keefe's fate as a music student.

Courtesy photo

Eastern New Mexico University student Spencer O'Keefe played trumpet at ENMU's jazz festival in March.

O'Keefe is a trumpet player pursuing his bachelor's degree in music education from Eastern New Mexico University and his recital's performance puts his degree on the line. He is a senior scheduled to graduate in the winter.

"It's part of they're degree plan and they are required to pass their recital in order to graduate," said Dustin Seifert, chair of the music department at ENMU.

If students do not get a passing grade on their recital, they are required to prepare and perform it again, which is why professors advise students not to schedule recitals their last semester at ENMU.

"Solo recitals allow the individual to focus on self improvement," Seifert said. "Throughout the practice process they learn a lot about music and themselves as performers. They also learn how to teach others as they're teaching themselves."

O'Keefe took the advice of his professors to heart and put a great amount of preparation into his performance.

"From selecting pieces and hammering out difficult parts of the music in a practice room, to rehearsing with collaborative artists and polishing up the pieces, it took me since the middle of last semester to prepare for my recital," O'Keefe said.

After the majority of O'Keefe's practice and preparation, two weeks before the recital, O'Keefe performed his entire program for a small panel of music faculty that decides if a student is ready for their show by issuing a pass or fail grade.

O'Keefe has had a connection with music since childhood.

"My dad took me to a jazz concert when I was in elementary school and the way the trumpet players were able to scream high notes and create amazing jazz solos left me with a desire to learn how to play," said O'Keefe, who is Gallup.

O'Keefe appreciates music from every genre but he loves to listen to jazz. His favorite trumpet players include Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Chet Baker and Dizzy Gillespie.

"The ideas they convey through their instruments are amazing," O'Keefe said. "It blows my mind to think how much each of them must have practiced in their lives."

Inspired by jazz greats, O'Keefe has dedicated a lot of his time to try and make tonight's recital nothing short of amazing.

ENMU graduate Melissa Rice performed recitals as a music performance major while at ENMU and will be pursuing her master's in music performance this fall at Washington State University.

Rice, a clarinet aficionado, says people underestimate the seriousness of these recitals, stressing that she had to perform two full-length solo recitals to attain her degree.

Organization and coordination of deciding what pieces to play, working with accompanists, scheduling rehearsals for everyone, reserving the performance locations, advertising the recital, and organizing the reception with food and drinks, all fell on Rice's shoulders.

"Everyone that goes to listen to you on that night doesn't realize how much work went into your recital," Rice said.

But Rice says all the work is worth it and she plans to be a collegiate studio professor, making a career of what she loves most, music.

"Music is one of those things that can bring so much emotion to peoples' lives," Rice said. I feel like I'm doing a service by being a musician."

O'Keefe plans to be an educator too, and hopes the effort he's put towards this recital will be the same level of effort he exerts in his career.

"Passing on my love for music is something that I'll do for the rest of my life," O'Keefe said.

FYI

•Name: Spencer O'Keefe

•Classification: Senior at ENMU

•Instrument: Trumpet

• Favorite jazz piece: "There Will Never Be Another You" performed by Chet Baker.

"It's a beautiful melody with sweet lyrics. I really appreciate the fact the Chet sang the song, then got on his horn and started soloing over the chord changes. A very talented man he was," O'Keefe said.