Collin Stern's Freshman Recital

At Oberlin, guitar students often play full-length solo recitals in their first years. It is part of my "more-recitals" theory of teaching, in which, when a student has suitable material that is properly prepared, they perform it, whenever that is. By following this plan, they will play three or four full recitals before graduating, rather than the required one and a half. (See More Student Recitals).

Collin Sterne, a dedicated freshman from North Carolina, did not think this plan would be possible in his case, but, thanks to his very hard work and seriousness of purpose (and talent!), he did it, in spades.

His program of familiar works was handled with distinction, particularly the Berkeley Theme and Variations, a work he dug into particularly deeply. He played in the acoustically extraordinary Fairchild Chapel. Here are a few photos and the full program:

Collin Sterne and Stephen Aron, after the recital