On Friday, Dec. 2, Drew’s music department held their final Music at Noon event of the semester. While the Music @ Noon concerts are departmental events, they are a chance for students in any field or level of study to perform for their peers. As such, these events often display a wide range of musical genres, styles and skills.
This event featured performances from Drew’s current Jill Spur Titus Ensemble; vocalists Amelia Tirey (‘25), Brynn McCarthy (‘25) and Nicole Verga (‘23); pianist Maddie Ortiz (‘24) and The Automatics, a local band composed of Drew students Dean Graham (‘24), Matt Shermann (‘24) and Daniel Wu (‘24).
“I think there are a couple goals. One, give students the opportunity to perform for an audience, for their peers, for staff, for everyone. And also, I think presenting these concerts, we’re trying to track people who are interested in music but maybe aren’t aware of what we do here or think we only do classical music. That’s why, as much as possible, we try to attract as many students as we can with many different musical backgrounds to show that we are a music department and not a specific-genre-of-music department. But I think the most important thing is, if you’ve got talent, we want to share it, and share what Drew has,” said Professor Trevor Weston, the head of Drew’s music department, about the importance of the Music @ Noon events.
Music @ Noon is a wonderful opportunity for Drew students to showcase their musical talents to an audience of peers and teachers alike. No affiliation with the music department is required to participate. The opportunity to perform on stage is a rare and valuable one indeed, and although many of the performers tend to be music students, the Music @ Noon events offer this opportunity to anyone with the courage to give it a whirl. This open spirit is greatly appreciated by both the performers and the Drew community.
“I really like that it’s very low-key and there’s not a lot of pressure when you perform at them,” said McCarthy, who performed Joseph Hayden’s “The Mermaid Song,” about the relaxed and encouraging atmosphere of Music @ Noon. “It’s a nice space to get to perform your pieces that you usually wouldn’t get to perform anywhere else. And you get to see your growth as a student, and your teacher gets to sit there and watch you perform, and I think that’s always encouraging.”
If you’ve never attended––or, if you’re so inclined, performed––at a Music @ Noon, the events will be continuing next semester.They are a perfect opportunity to test the waters and get involved in music at Drew!
Chloe Gocher is a sophomore majoring in English creative writing and minoring in Spanish.
