Abigail Martin, a senior French hornist majoring in music education, said, “Although it sounds corny,” she loves the high she gets from performing.

“I like how music can bring people together,” Martin Said. “It’s like a universal language. I’m never met someone who doesn’t like some form of music.”

Martin will share her passion for music with a recital at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in Light Recital Hall, where she’ll perform three classical pieces. One will be a solo piece and for the other two Martin will be accompanied by fellow music majors.

“I’m looking forward to it because of all the hard work that everybody has put into it,” Martin said.

First Martin will play two (of the four) improvisations from “Traveling Impressions” by Vitaly Buyanovsky, “Scandinavia” and “Russia.” Martin will be the only one on stage for this solo horn piece.

The second piece, “Sonata” by Josef Rheinberger, will feature Martin accompanied by pianist Emily Baumgart.

“That piano part isn’t just an accompanist part, it’s basically like she’s playing a solo too,” Martin said. “It is hard. It’s 38 pages of an incredibly difficult piano part … [Baumgart] has been amazing.”

The third piece of the performance, selections from Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” arranged by Jack Gale, will feature Martin accompanied by the Whitewater Student Brass Quintet.

“I’m glad they decided to help me out because it’s a really hard piece and they stepped up,” Martin said. “They’ve been doing a great job, so I’m excited about it.”

Martin will be the main performer at this recital, but she said that a lot of people stepped up to help her put this show together.

“I’m really grateful to the people that have helped me,” Martin said. “And the professors who have come in and sat-in on our rehearsals and coached us. So I’m looking forward to sharing that with everybody.”

Martin has been playing the French horn for eleven years. Her father began teaching Martin and her brother to play as children growing up in Johnsburg, Ill. Martin’s first experience at UW-Whitewater was in middle school when she attended the Fall Horn Festival on campus with her family.

Aside from being familiar with the campus, Martin said part of her reason for choosing this school was the world-class professors here.  One of which is Linda Kimball who Martin said has been like a “second mom” to her here on campus.

Kimball has been Martin’s professor for the past three and a half years, and has known Martin for six years through the horn festival.

“Abby is an excellent hornist, and musician,” Kimball said. “Her hard work has paid off, and I think she will be very successful as both a hornist and a music teacher.”