The Outdoor Lunch Concert hosted by the Music, Art, and Theatre Department will return to USAO for the second time Friday, Oct. 4 at 11:30 a.m. This event will take place in front of Davis Hall on the outdoor stage in the sculpture garden and will last approximately 40 minutes to an hour.
This concert will host various performances ranging from solo and duet performances, a theatre monologue, an opera scene, and a special performance to celebrate the college hymn’s 100th anniversary.
“One of the neat things about this event is it’s not just a choir concert, it’s not just a band concert, it’s a little mixture of everything. It allows for some fun to see something different and create an experience that’s enjoyable for all,” Joshua Smith, assistant professor of music and coordinator of the Music Department, said.
This year’s performance will be the first or second time for some of USAO’s Visual and Performing Arts students to perform. With their limited experience, Smith said he hopes each student will gain valuable knowledge and have fun during their performances.
“It kind of gives them a chance to test the waters on how that goes and allows it to be a moment to have a fun opportunity to perform. One of the reasons we do it is to connect with the campus community and to perform for them, making it something entertaining in the middle of the day that do a pop up in performance that doesn’t happen every day,” Smith said.
Isaiah Young, a senior illustration major with a minor in composition, sung and played the piano in last year’s concert, performing “Let You Break My Heart Again” by Laufey. He will perform the song “Please Be Kind” in the style of Sarah Vaughan in this concert. He said he is excited about providing a bit of diversity in the program’s performances.
“One thing I really like about my position here in this program is that I’m doing jazz and more contemporary things. We’ve got a lot of classical singers, and we’ve got the choir going, but then I’ll come in and do a little something to shake it up and do some jazz,” Young said.
Mason Alldredge, a sophomore double music major in vocal music education and piano performance, had a solo piano piece from Nicholas Hooper called “Danza Americana”, a Latin-American inspired piece at last year’s concert. This year, he collaborated with a few groups in the previous performance and will carry out a voice duet and piano solo of Beethoven’s 18th Sonata, “The Hunt.”
Hailey Burgess, a sophomore biology and music double major, didn’t perform in last year’s outdoor lunch concert but will be performing two duets with senior instrumental music education major Jaden Johnston. Burgess first came into the Music Department with a minor but ended up double majoring after learning about the culture of the music program.
“The Music Department is just so friendly. It’s literally like a little family. And I didn’t expect that because if you’re a band kid and you did Allstate, then you know, people are mean. I’m now a double major in both music and biology because of how welcoming this community is,” Burgess said.
Johnston will be performing again this year and has participated in each of the ensembles and many music program events. She will be performing two flute duets with Burgess and the concert choir. Johnston said her favorite part of being in the Music Department has been the small ensembles that performed during her time at USAO.
“My first semester here I did a chamber ensemble for woodwinds, which was amazing. It’s all the small groups that really make it feel so much more like a family and like a community,” Johnston said.
If you have any questions regarding this performance, contact Joshua Smith at jsmith@usao.edu.
Hayla Wilson is a first-year communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
