Ben Troxler performs at Vol State

by Michaela Marcellino
Ben Troxler, Bass Vocalist, per- formed in a voice recital at Volunteer State Community College on Oct. 18. This performance took place at the Steinhauer-Rogan-Black Humanities Building and lasted from 2:30-3:30 p.m., and Troxler was accompanied by Matt Phelps on piano.
Troxler graduated from Vol State with an Associate Degree and from Austin Peay State University with a Bachelor of Science in Composition, and currently serves as the Director of Music Ministries and pianist at Glendale United Methodist Church, and is the bass section leader in the Sanctuary Choir of West End United Methodist Church.
This recital started with Troxler singing “Arm, Arm Ye Brave” and “Si, tra i cieppi” that are both writ- ten by George Frederic Handel. After the rst two songs, Troxler then sang Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “In diesen heil’gen Hallen” from “Die Zauber oete.”
I thought that those songs Troxler sang showed an upbeat mood which
I really like. I loved the way how the chords would change when Phelps would play the piano on “Si, tra i cieppi,” and also how calm and nice Troxler sounded when he sang “In diesen heil’gen Hallen.”
Troxler then performed Johannes Brahm’s “O wiist ich doch den Weg zurück” which had a much darker mood than the first three songs. Also he performed Jean Baptiste Lully’s “Bois épais” written by Jean Bap- tiste Lully and Gabriel Fauré’s “Les Berceaux.”
What I like about those songs is how emotional Troxler and Phelps sounded when they played those songs from Phelps’ piano playing and
Troxler’s singing.
After Troxler performed “Les
Berceaux,” Phelps played Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Sonata no. 2 in B- at minor, Op 39 in the second movement in non-allegro-lento.
Then Troxler sang a series of songs all composed by Aaron Copland to close the recital, and those songs were “The Boatmen’s Dance,” “Long Time Ago,” “Simple Gifts,” “At the River,” and “Zion’s Walls.”
I really enjoyed how uplifting these songs sounded in the recital, especially in “The Boatmen’s Dance,” which Troxler sounded con dent with his singing.
Annabelle Lee, former adjunct professor, said that Troxler and Phelps performed well in the recital, and that he performed the pieces effortlessly and communicated effectively with his audience.
“I thought that performance was
wonderful,” said Benjamin Graves, Assistant Professor of Music.
“Troxler and Phelps were fantastic in their performance, and I especially enjoyed the Brahms selection as well as the Copland songs, and even Phelps’ performance of ‘Sonata no. 2 in B- at minor, Op 39.
“ I loved how rich and warm Troxler sounded with his voice which made it easy to listen to for the audience, and kudos to Nancy Slaughter for hosting these wonderful musicians,” continued Graves.
“I thought this performance was well-done with Troxler’s spot-on and correct vocal technique and Phelps’ piano playing,” said Nancy Slaughter, Associate Professor of Music. “Troxler told me that it was great to perform at Vol State, and personally it was lovely to see him perform since he was my student in 1999.”