Drake’s grand finale

By: Dustin Looney
Features Editor

On Sunday, Oct. 1, at 4 p.m., Monmouth College senior Adam Drake presented his senior project at the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium.

Drake, who is a music education major, conducted a choir of 12 Monmouth College students. They performed Mozart’s “Missa Brevis G Major K.V. 140.” “Missa Brevis” stands for “brief mass.”

Every music education major is required to put on a senior project which includes a lecture and a performance. Drake said he was extremely happy with the final product.

“It [the recital concert] could not have been better,” Drake said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better turnout from the campus and I couldn’t have asked for a better choir.”

Over the past month, Drake has spent three days each week teaching the 12-member choir, which was made up of a group of volunteer Monmouth College students.

They learned the piece under Drake’s direction, and their first and final public performance was at the recital last Sunday.

“I couldn’t have been happier that a group of my peers would stand by me and sing and rehearse basically for a whole month for me,” Drake said. “I’m indebted to them forever.”

Before Drake led the choir in “Missa Brevis,” he presented a mandatory pre-concert lecture.

Drake discussed the life and musical background of the world-renowned composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and his relationship to Emperor Joseph II of Austria.

Mozart was a child prodigy who stunned the established musical world of his time with his innovative classical style. He toured Europe as a child and was held in great favor by Joseph II, eventually being named the royal court’s chamber composer.

Although Mozart died in poverty, he has been recognized as one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time.

The lecture and choir presentation lasted less than an hour, and Drake was especially pleased with the large number of people in attendance. Drake said the recital provided some great experiences for him, and he was very grateful for the support that he received from everybody involved.

“I’d just like to thank the Monmouth College music faculty for sticking by me,” he said. “I’d also like to thank all my friends for dealing with me even though sometimes that could be a hard task.”