An appreciative audience gathered February 25 and 26 to listen to the extraordinary Student Showcase, an annual performance of some of the Joint Music Program’s finest student musicians directed by Scripps College professor David Cubek. Pianist Diana Ahn, Scripps ’12, and violinist Annie Aqua, Scripps ’14, were featured as soloists, performing pieces by AntonÃn Dvořák and Ludwig van Beethoven in Garrison Theater. Following their performances, the students received standing ovations.
“I really loved the performances,” said Vittoria Mollo ’14. “It was amazing to see; the music gave me goose bumps.”
The showcase opened with the dark and dramatic Egmont Overture, op. 84 by Beethoven, performed by the full orchestra. Annie’s piece was next, a lyrical exchange between the violin and the orchestra by Dvořák entitled Romance for Violin and Orchestra by F minor, op. 11. Diana’s piece, Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, op. 37 by Beethoven, came after intermission. The concert closed with a full orchestra performance of Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian Dances Nos. 1, 3, 10.
A psychology major, Diana has performed at several concerts at Scripps, including the Genius of Women Presidential Inauguration Piano Performance in 2010. Annie, a studio arts major, also considers music an important part in her life. Besides playing in the Claremont Concert Orchestra, she is currently preparing Mozart’s clarinet quintet and studying violin with professor Rachel Huang.