Marcinkevic to present senior voice, saxophone recital Dec. 5

Alec Marcinkevic playing the saxophone at the Holiday Concert in
December 2023.

Alec Marcinkevic of East Troy, Wisconsin, is performing his senior voice and saxophone recital in Demmer Recital Hall of Ripon College’s C.J. Rodman Center for the Arts, Friday, Dec. 5, at 4 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

“This recital means a lot to me,” Marcinkevic said. “It’s the capstone of everything that I’ve learned throughout my time here. It shows my growth in everything I’ve done, showing that I’m not only performing in my main instrument but also going out of my comfort zone and singing.”

The program will feature the three movements of Paul Creston’s “Saxophone Sonata,” including “With Vigor,” “With Tranquility” and “With Gaiety,” as well as “Paquito” by Andy Scott. He will also sing three movements from Robert Schumann’s “Dichterliebe,” including “Im wunderschönen Monat Mai,” “Die Rose, die Lilie, die Tauben, die Sonne,” “Ich will miene Seele tauchen” and “Falling Slowly” from the movie “Once,” written by Glen Hansard, as well as a secret encore that will be revealed at the recital.

“Each piece I am performing has a special place in my heart,” Marcinkevic said. “The Creston ‘Saxophone Sonata’ was one of the first pieces that my lesson instructor, (Adjunct Instructor of Music) William Nelson, gave to me to start playing for my juries. Each movement requires different techniques to play it as it was intended. Since I’ve played this piece for some juries, it was the starting point for my recital.”

He said that “Falling Slowly” portrays the relationship between two characters as they sing about falling in love and drifting slowly apart.

“I chose to do this piece because I wanted to do a duet with my girlfriend, Haley Young,” Marcinkevic said. “We both looked for pieces and eventually landed on this one, thanks to our lesson instruction, (Adjunct Instructor of Music) Isabel Celata.”

Marcinkevic started playing the saxophone in fifth grade and has been playing it ever since. He started singing lessons during his sophomore year at Ripon.

“I’ve enjoyed taking lessons and joining choirs,” Marcinkevic said. “It’s allowed me to come out of my shell and let me expand my education with music.”

He encourages people to come to the recital due to the diverse range of music genres he will be performing, which vary in difficulty. He said the pieces he selected are typically not featured in recitals.

Marcinkevic is majoring in music education and will graduate in the spring. He is involved in Theta Chi, Mu Phi Epsilon, Ripon College Paranormal Investigators, National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Singers and Concert Choir. He works as a music student worker, tutor and is an employee at Kwik Trip.