By Travis Richmiller

On Friday, March 24, Quincy University senior Jacob Schumacher performed his senior and final recital at the Connie Niemann Center for Music.

He was accompanied by Laura Kammerer on piano during the recital. Together, they played pieces from famous composers such as Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig Van Beethoven. He also performed four sketches by Gordon Jacob.

Schumacher has been preparing for this evening all year long.

“As a music major, we tend to practice daily,” Schumacher said. “You prepare so much for something that will be over an hour long.”

Afterward, he felt very confident that his recital went very well.

Roughly 50 people were in attendance to see Schumacher’s recital, and everyone loved it.

One of the people in attendance that evening was QU’s Assistant Professor of Music Christine Damm. She is Jacob’s bassoon instructor and was a large help in preparing him for his final recital at Quincy University.

Damm and Schumacher chose the pieces for the recital and have been practicing them all year long in preparation for this event.

Damm loves seeing her students play at recitals, but the senior recitals are extra special.

“It’s always a touching moment since I work one-on-one with those students,” Damm said. “It’s heartwarming to see them show off their hard work but also bittersweet knowing that they’ll be graduating soon and will be moving on.”

Damm has some advice for future students who are preparing for their upcoming recitals as well.

“Pick music that you love and want to practice. That will show off the skills that you’ve learned,” she said.

The final piece performed that evening was “Three Duets” by Ludwig Van Beethoven.  Damm accompanied Schumacher on clarinet on that piece.

It was also the first piece of music that they ever played together.

“We both chose to end with the piece we started with,” Damm said.