Senior recitals are required for every student pursuing a music performance degree.

The Royal Purple sat down with  Dylan Ovanin who has been preparing for  concert since the fifth grade.

 Royal Purple: What instruments do you play?

Dylan Ovanin: Saxophone and occasionally doubling on flute or clarinet.

RP: What is this recital for and what will it be like?

Ovanin: Well, your senior recital is a requirement for your performance degree — it’s a final requirement. You need to do a junior recital your junior year and then a senior recital. So for a performance major, I have to have at least an hour’s worth of music and put on my own recital. That means choosing the music, getting the accompanist, scheduling rehearsals and organizing the program. Usually you have help from your studio professor.

RP: How long have you been practicing for your senior recital?

Ovanin: Specifically for the music for the senior recital, since the beginning of the semester. But in reality when every musician performs, they’ve been practicing and building their fundamentals, their technique and the basics as long as they’ve been playing their instrument. So in one way I’ve been preparing for the recital for two months, but the more realistic way to look at it is that I’ve been preparing for this recital since the fifth grade.

RP: What is your favorite part of performing?

Ovanin: One thing that I’ve learned through playing music is that it’s very much a human experience, much like an experience you may have bonding with your family or friends. Every time a musician gets on the stage to perform, they’re sharing a moment with the audience. It’s really just me loving being in that moment, being vulnerable on stage in so many ways. I’m performing and hopefully conveying the right type of emotion that I want to the audience. I like being up there in the moment.

Information compiled by Staff Writer Hilary Igl