Applause echoed throughout the Center for Music and the Worship Arts Concert Hall as 11 students performed Thursday, March 26, from 7:30-8:30 p.m. at the annual Piano Music Showcase.
Audiences heard nine solos and one duet, featuring pieces by composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Frederic Chopin and Serge Prokofiev. The showcase was part of the Center for Music and the Worship Arts’ 2026 recital series.
The concert was described as a celebration of accomplishments, featuring classical, pop and jazz music. About 15 students submitted digital auditions three weeks beforehand, and a panel of faculty judges selected the 11 students who performed at the concert based on their average scores from the audition.
Coordinator of Piano Keyboard Studies and Professor of Music Taeseong Kim, who organized the concert, said he hoped music students attending the concert would be motivated by their colleagues’ performances.
“This is (a) great opportunity for performers to play on a bigger stage,” Kim said.
Kim also said that he hoped audience members who may not play music themselves would take insight away from the performances. He hoped their expectations about the specific sounds would be challenged.
Some of Kim’s favorite pieces were “How Great Thou Art” and the pieces by Russian composers Sergei Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev.
“I like the hymn arrangement on the ‘How Great Thou Art’ … (it) is my favorite hymn,” Kim said.
Senior Charity Parrott performed “Etude Op. 10, No. 12,” in C minor by Frederic Chopin. She said she practiced for about two hours a day for two weeks in preparation for the concert.
Parrott, a biomedical student, said she wants to continue playing piano after graduation, potentially by both teaching and performing. She explained that while piano is outside of her major, she is very passionate about it.
“I was so nervous before I went out … I prayed right before I sat down and played,” Parrott said.
Parrott said she handles preperformance anxiety by trusting God to help her through and knowing she put in the practice and work to be prepared.
Parrott played “Revolutionary Etude” by Chopin.
“I love that piece, ’cause it’s very bombastic and fast,” Parrott said. “So, when you get up there and play it, it’s such an adrenaline rush. And I always have just loved fast pieces, ’cause they’re a good challenge.”
For more information on School of Music concerts and recitals, visit www.liberty.edu/music/events
Danilson is a campus news reporter for the Liberty Champion.