Paige Rantz – reporter
On Sept. 22, Melinda Groves and Professor Isaac Hernandez awed their audience in McCray Hall playing a duo pianist performance. Groves and Hernandez took turns describing the different artists and pieces that they played. The recital held different pieces by pianists Arturo Marquez, Carlos Guastavino, Astor Piazzolla, and Ernesto Lecuona.
I Photo by Emily Ford
The two played nine pieces that captivated the audience. Frida Herrera, a graduate student who is majoring in school counseling psychology, and is HOT’s (Hispanics of Today) president, said she was “So excited to have this event be a part of Heritage month, and being able to collaborate with the music department for this series of concerts.” Many people from the community joined along with students to support. Herrera also stated that “It means a lot because it helps spread the word about Hispanic heritage month, through the music and organizing some new bands on campus for people to be a part of, and to also have fun and learn about our culture; it means the world.”
Christina Morales, a sophomore majoring in psychology and an emphasis in human resource, also HOT’s treasurer, said that this recital was “So beautiful, I loved it.” This was the first festival event she could attend. Both students agreed that their favorite piece Groves and Hernandez played was “Malagueña” by Ernesto Lecuona. Herrera said, “It gave me chills” while Frida saying she could feel the “Emotion and heart.”
The duo both worked together to create a recital that would not only captivate the audience, but express important aspects of Hispanic culture to the community. The first piece they started the show with, is one of the most renowned Mexican pieces that people know of today. It is significant and was written in 1994 to pay respect to music and culture. For their next couple pieces they performed Carlos Guastavino, whose works were meant to reflect the appreciation for the landscape, and to represent the pride that came with it. Hernadez relates his home country to looking similar to the plains in Kansas. Next, they played a series of pieces by Astor Piazzolla, an immigrant that lived in New York and was exposed to jazz and classical music, and after brought this style back to Argentina to share with others and make his own unique sound from. Groves had a special connection to the last song by Ernesto Lecuona. When Groves was just ten years old, she heard a duo group in her piano recital play this song, and she fell in love with it. Groves said, “When I get older, I am going to play that duet.” This song was a beautiful piece to end the show with.
Hernandez is originally from Mexico but has since settled in Pittsburg after getting accepted to Pitt State and moved his family here. Hernandez has now graduated from Pitt State with his master’s and is now an instructor within Pitt’s music department. One thing that Hernandez really wants us to take away from Heritage month and the show is “The happiness and emotion from Hispanic music, and to leave the concert with more energy than before, then we have accomplished the purpose of this festival.”
Groves has been exceedingly successful in her music career. She has performed both nationally and internationally and is the president of the Music Teachers National association and Federal Teachers of Music and fine arts. There is one takeaway that Grove said she really wanted the audience to have. She said, “I just hope that they love listening to it as much as we love playing for them.”