Flute Recital Final

Sarah Tauchen, a music education major at the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, ended her honors recital in the Music Hall of the Arts and Communication Center by playing an emotional flute rendition of “Danny Boy” for her parents Sunday.

“There’s this flutist named James Galway,” Tauchen later said. “One time my dad turned on the T.V. and this guy was playing ‘Danny Boy.’” And since he’s been saying she should play it.

Back in September Tauchen picked the pieces for her flute recital, which she intended on naming “Legends and Beyond,” though the title did not make the program. The music has been her main focus of study since.

About 40 people came to listen to the recital, which began at 5 p.m.

Tauchen, who’s been playing the flute since sixth grade, chose the pieces because they “explore legend.”

“I think it’s exciting to tell a story or use imagery when playing the flute,” she said.

Three of the five pieces on the program are influenced by classical Greek, Native American and Romantic German mythic stories, giving her intended title a fitting backdrop.

Tauchen said the toughest part of the recital was putting it together with the accompanists – especially with pianist Thomas Willecke on André Jolivet’s “Chant de Linos for flute and piano,” the third piece she played that night.

Tauchen, who is from the studio of Assistant Director of Flute Dr. Mihoko Watanabe, came out wearing a deep red dress with her cello accompanist, Breanna Fiedler, also a student. Immediately they began playing “Sonata in A major for flute and cello” by Giuseppe Maria Cambini.

Her next piece was “Kokopeli” by Katherine Hoover. Slow and mysterious, this was done with no accompaniment.

Jolivet's piece followed, for which Tauchen was accompanied by Willecke, whose page turner was Nancy Schmalz of Oshkosh.

The piece burst with violence and rapidity between slower parts before Tauchen ended on a high note. Claps and cheers erupted from the audience as intermission began.

The beginning of the second half featured a stage with a large soft spotlight on Tauchen as she played her favorite piece of the night, Dutch flutist and composer Wil Offermans’ “Honami for flute solo.”

The piece “creates imagery of blooming rice fields in Japan,” Tauchen explained, and it has many examples of what are commonly called “20th century sounds.” Climaxing into a fast string of notes, the piece ended with a sudden high note aided by a quick, unexpected foot stomp and finished with a somber low tone.

For the last piece on the program, “Sonata ‘Undine,’ Opus 167 for flute and piano” by Carl Reinecke, the stage was again fully lit. Schmalz accompanied Tauchen this time, with Willecke as page turner.

Once the four-movement piece was finished, Tauchen and Schmalz bowed and exited to a standing ovation. Tauchen walked back on stage to bow once more and received flowers.

She ended the night with the additional song, “Danny Boy.”

Friends and family awaited Tauchen’s arrival afterward outside the music hall, treated to punch, crackers, bars and brownies. Tauchen was greeted with cheers and loud “woos.”

This is Tauchen’s fourth year at Oshkosh. She will graduate in May 2006 with a bachelor of music degree in music education, for which a senior recital is necessary.