At 7:30 p.m. on March 3, the Jameson Recital Hall will host Asbury student Aiden Gaither’s guitar recital “Party Tricks,” the first of two senior recitals he will be performing this semester.
A double major in music and psychology with a minor in audio production, Gaither faced an obstacle when planning out his required senior music recital. Rather than try to fit both of his music emphases of guitar and composition into one hour, he instead decided to divide them into two separate recitals.
“All [composition] majors have to have a certain amount of minutes in our recital for composition and a certain amount of minutes for our instruments,” said Gaither regarding his decision. “For overachievers like me… it was easier to just separate the two.”
Thanks to the split, Gaither’s upcoming guitar recital will take up approximately 45 minutes, spanning musical styles from classical Bach pieces to some more folk-inspired pieces.
“I’m most excited for this collection of pieces called ‘Mountain Songs’ by Robert Beaser,” said Gather. “[It is] a guitar and flute duet where me and Abigail Reed are playing three of the movements, and they are just a ton of fun.”
On top of showing off the many hours of work that have gone into his education, this recital also gives Gaither the chance to continue growing into what it means to be a performer.
“Performance is a whole different ball game,” said Gaither. “You can practice your piece over and over again but you can’t practice performance without performing in front of people. My recital is like an extreme of that; putting very difficult stuff on stage.”
Even more than the practice for himself, however, Gaither expressed his hope that those who attend would share in the fun of the music he has prepared.
“It is going to be a weird list of songs,” admitted Gaither. “In one piece I will be doing something that you’ve probably never seen a guitarist do… and I think that will be fun. It will be a show!”
Gaither’s free recital will be open to all who wish to attend.
Article written by Sabina Boyer.
Photo courtesy of Aiden Gaither.
