The Waynesburg University Fine Arts Department Music Program will be presenting Chamber Works I on Thursday, Feb. 24 at noon in Roberts Chapel. 

The program will be presented as a lunchtime recital. Students from the Applied Music Classes have been practicing since the beginning of the semester to put on these noontime performances.

According to the director of the music program Dr. Ronda DePriest via an email interview, usually three to five ensembles perform in each Chamber Works concert. DePriest said that the smaller ensembles help the students to grow in their confidence. 

“Smaller ensembles require that each member is ‘on their game,’ because chamber music is written with one player on a part,” DePriest said. “The technique our students gain by being members of a smaller ensemble, or a solo artist, aids them in growing a heightened confidence in their individual performance abilities by taking on a variety of roles as a player in a smaller ensemble.”

The Music Program has been holding these events for 14-15 years and hosts two Chamber Works concerts per semester. 

At the time of the interview, it was unknown how many and what kind of ensembles will perform at the concert.

“I suspect the flute, brass and percussion ensembles will have presentations for this one,” DePriest said.

All students from the Applied Music Studios class will be performing, and while it is for a grade, DePriest said that the grades are not the main concern.

“It’s an opportunity to share what they have learned,” DePriest said. “There are grades involved, but that certainly is not the students’ prime concern.”
The diversity in the music performed at these Chamber Works concerts is what makes them different from other concerts hosted by the music program.

“It is a part of a well-rounded music program … educational for solo musicians, small group musicians and large group musicians,” DePriest said. “Each of those types of presentations is a bit different from the other, displaying music of a variety of standard instrumentations. So, the diversity is very enjoyable for performers and audience members alike.”