Visiting Portland music instructors teach and perform in Smith Hall

Camille Lenning | Entertainment Editor

As part of the music department’s ongoing guest artist series, Western voice professor Claire Hudkins and visiting music educators Sarah Maines, Joannah Ball and Susan McDaniel will be hosting two workshops and a final performance in Smith Recital Hall. 

The first workshop is Feb. 10 in the Columbia Room of the Werner University Center and will be led by Joannah Ball, Willamette University artist associate and voice instructor at Pacific University and Reed College. This session is geared towards utilizing the piano knowledge all Western music majors must attain in order to apply it to the classroom. 

The second workshop, happening on Feb. 11 in Smith Hall, will focus on vocal health for classroom or studio teachers. This session will be led by University of Portland and Reed College adjunct professor Sarah Maines. 

While these events cater mostly to music majors hoping to go into teaching, the final concert is open for anyone to enjoy. Maines, Ball and Hudkins will sing a variety of songs from different genres — from classical to musical theatre to contemporary bluegrass — accompanied by University of Portland music lecturer Susan McDaniel on piano. 

According to Hudkins, every song being performed will focus on the theme of the concert, “Belonging,” inspired by the quote from American researcher, Brené Brown: “True belonging doesn’t require us to change who we are. It requires us to be who we are.” 

This idea, proposed by Maines, is meant to promote inclusion and self-acceptance. 

“Sarah came up with the idea of loosely having this (theme) of belonging, and how each piece of music that we’re doing, how that sort of fits in, whether it be around women’s rights or race relations or anything,” Hudkins said. 

The concert will be on Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Smith Recital Hall. Western students can attend for free, while general tickets will be $10.

Contact the author at howlentertainment@mail.wou.edu