Summary of McCallie’s second annual “Afternoon Of Music” recital.

Michael Ake was driving to his car moments after the second annual An Afternoon of Music student recital, which ended in the chapel, when someone asked McCallie’s director of performing arts how he thought the event went.

“It was great,” he said. “The students really showed their talent with some talented performances.”

The event began with sophomore pianist Cameron Kitts’ performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C sharp minor on the chapel piano – a complex piece that highlighted his focus and dedication.

When asked if it was his favorite song, Kitts replied, “My favorite changes every year. Let’s hope that we will be able to repeat this recital in the spring. We planned it last spring, but it didn’t happen.

After a moving trombone solo by junior Simon Monen, alto saxophonists Anderson Ivey, a Chattanooga Christian student, and Dublin James, a Chattanooga Center for the Arts student, took the stage with two songs – Bernards’ Canzonetta and King’s Gigue. They had only a few weeks to create the duo.

“I practiced my part for about a week,” Ivey said. “Then we met for a few rehearsals to refine it.”

James, an eighth-grade student at CCA, added: “I spent about three weeks on my end. It was a lot of fun doing this.”

As is often the case when a McCallie musical event takes place at the Chapel, guitars dominated the production. Nathan Campbell of the Guitar Quartet performed Roland Dyens’ Tango en Skai solo. Junior Sid Cheemakoti then performed a lively rendition of Dyens’ Introduction and Dance from Saudade No. 3.

The quartet then joined forces – Colin Sanders and Walker White, as well as Campbell and Cheemakoti – to perform Andrew York’s expressive Pacific Coast Highway.

“We have been working on the Pacific Coast Highway since early September,” Cheemakoti said. “Last week was the first time we ran the entire paper, which was exciting.”

Although the quartet’s performance was strong, Michael Sutton’s rendition of Handel’s Passacaglia brought a moment of peace to the piano, preparing the Chapel stage for the final act of the recital, the VoCallie Ensemble.

The eight-piece group, made up of sophomore Thomas Hardin, juniors Elijah Cooper, Benjamin Jeong, Ellison Lord and Lincoln Olson, and seniors Nathaniel Johnston, Jack Schurr and Jake Studley, performed two Billy Joel classics – And So It Goes and The The longest time.

“We spent about a month getting these pieces ready,” said Lord, who won GPS/McCallie’s Got Talent last winter. “It was a great experience to practice this together. I hope we can do it again in the spring.”

When asked what gives him more pleasure – solo performances or playing in a group, Cheemakoti replied:

“Playing solo is fun because I can show what I can do, but it’s a bit nerve-wracking because every note counts. But it’s a great feeling when everything goes well. Playing with a quartet is a different vibe – I think more about how we all fit together in the song.”

This year, two new members joined the quartet, Campbell and White, who quickly settled into their roles.

“We had to adjust a little bit,” Cheemakoti said. “It was our first time playing together in front of a crowd with a new lineup, so I think we will only get better from here. We hope to showcase this in the spring recital.”

Sunday’s performance gave everyone a taste of what’s to come, and the spring recital should be just as memorable.