On October 6th, 2024, Gulf Coast State College held a Faculty and Friends Recital. I attended along with many others to support and enjoy many talents. There were a variety of performances that included singing, guitar, piano, xylophone, and clarinet. The crowd was filled with excited family members, staff, and students. The opening act began with the Unity Choir of Northwestern Florida. The choir was conducted by professor Vincent Pelligrino and piano player Brad Thoreson. They sang 3 beautiful pieces of music, beginning with “Singing For Our Lives,” written by Holly Near, an all-inclusive song that became an LGBTQ anthem during the homosexual rights movement. It was written after the assassination of Harvey Milk, the first gay man to be elected to public office in California. They followed up with the song “Carry the Light” by Arr. Steve Huffins and Andy Beck. A few of the members performed a solo during this song. 

They finished off with “What the World Needs Now,” composed by Burt Bacharach, Arr. Lou Hayward, and Hal David. The next act was performed by John Divine on the clarinet and Dr. Steven DiBlasi on piano. This clarinet sonata by Francis Poulenc has three movements: Allegro tristamente, Romanza, and Allegro con fuoco. It’s a fast-slow-fast movement that displays agility to alternate sounds. Vincent Pelligrino performed the song “Only With You” from the musical ‘Nine.’ Vincent is an actor, musician, and singer who has performed on Broadway. He was accompanied by Dr. Diblasi on piano once again. The next performer is the talented David Stringer, who is also a professor at Gulf Coast. He played “Fantasia de Marina” by Francisco Tarrega on the guitar. I had the chance to interview him. “I’m David Stringer, Professor of guitar studies and understanding music. I’m here because I’m playing at the faculty recital at Gulf Coast State College, and I played Fantasia de Marina.” Unfortunately, that’s all I got from him. Dr. Steven DiBlasi returns to the piano with Martha Wingfield. She sang “If I Loved You” by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, a song from the musical “Carousel” about two people who know they shouldn’t be together but have a conversation and realize the genuine bond.

DiBlasi also played the piano for the next act, “Santa Lucia” by Teodoro Cottrau, an Italian song. David Watson performed it. Jordan Hale was next playing the xylophone along with Diblasi on the piano. They performed Tambourin Chinois by Fritz Kreisler. Leigh Bailey was the next performer. She played “God and God Alone” by Arr. Steve Green on the piano. Dr. Steven DiBlasi performed the following three songs. He played “Lolita Caprice Espanol” and “Arlequine” both by Cecile Chaminade. He also played “Sonata in E-Flat Major” by John Field. The last act of the day was performed again by DiBlasi on piano and Danyelle VanderHeide. She sang “Astonishing” from Little Women: The Musical by Jason Howland and Mindi Dickstein. After the event, everyone scrambled to give their praise to the talents. I was able to speak with Nathasha Mitchell, a student at Gulf Coast. “Im a continual education student here at Gulf Coast. Last year I was a student aid and actually helped with a lot of these events, so I came to support the faculty and friends.” I had a great time at the recital and will attend more in the future.

Adriana Cavanaugh

Student Writer - Fall 2024

This was written for DIG 2151: Writing for Media.