Senior Ellia He performs Tomaso Vitali’s “Chaconne in G minor.”
Courtesy | Austin Thomason

Seniors Ellia He, Samuel Jarząb, and Ashlyn Linton will perform with the Hillsdale College Symphony Orchestra after winning the annual Aria Music Competition Jan. 25. 

He will join the violin section of the Symphony, Jarząb will be with the clarinets, and Linton will play piano in Markel Auditorium March 28. 

The college’s Aria Competition is an annual contest where distinguished instrumental and vocal students compete for a chance to perform with the Hillsdale College Symphony Orchestra. The competitors prepare repertoire with their individual music teachers and perform before a panel of three guest judges in Howard Musical Hall.

Though the students were competing against each other, Professor of Music James Holleman said they remained enthusiastic and supportive of their friends’ accomplishments.

“At a conservatory or major university, it can get pretty backstabbingly competitive,” Holleman said. “So to use the word ‘competition’ evokes kind of an edge that we simply don’t have here. Everybody’s going out there to do their personal best, and they are in complete support of their friends who have put in the same amount of work.” 

Jarząb performed the first movement of Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, and Ashlyn Linton played the first movement of Sergio Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 1 in F # Minor, op. 1. 

Ellia He was inspired to play Tomaso Vitali’s “Charconne in G Minor” while going through a difficult time.

“I first heard this piece right before Covid, and my family was going through a lot,” she said. “I was a very angry and bitter person at the time, and when I first heard the piece, there were daggers going through me. It was so sad, and I wanted to cry.” 

She said that the hours spent working on the piece brought back painful memories of her life, and made the piece a song of weeping. 

“Sometimes when somebody is grieving, it’s like a black hole,” she said. “Sometimes music helps or it can touch emotions that you don’t have the wherewithal to express.”

She said that to her surprise, audience members were also emotionally touched by her performance. They told her that they thought they heard a story behind the song she was playing, but were unsure of what the story was. In He’s case, the story she told was the grief she felt from family strife, and the comfort she found in music. 

“That really touched me,” she said. “I hope this piece captures the gratefulness for God’s love, and the sorrow and grief that love also bears, because I think it has equal parts of grief and joy and depths and heights, and this really is something incomprehensible and wonderful.” 

Senior Sophia LaBonte was the first runner-up for her mezzo soprano performances of Jules Massenet’s “Werther! Werther!” and Pietro Mascagni’s “Voi lo Sapete, o Mamma.” LaBonte said she had no formal vocal training prior to her freshman year. 

“I think the challenge for every performance is just meeting the song where it is in the moment and allowing the emotion to express itself there for the audience. It’s new every time,” LaBonte said. “There’s not always a ton you can do to prepare for that particular thing. When I’m doing something, I only think about that thing, because it doesn’t work to get stressed about all the things at once.”

Holleman told the audience he’s never before heard this level of competitive concerto performance. 

“This is my 29th year teaching full time,” Holleman said. “Here, it really gives me a chance to listen to the growth of what’s going on, the level of the students we’re recruiting. “And I’m able to see this evolution, this progress of our students and the quality of the teaching that’s going on in the studios.”

Holleman said when he was first hired at Hillsdale, others told him they wanted music coming out of every pore on campus and that over the years, the college’s music program has improved. 

“So many faculty members try to make the school they’re teaching look like the school they graduated from, and most of us are from large universities. If you try to apply that to a small liberal arts college, you’re going to fail,” Holleman said. 

Holleman said that many smaller schools have an all or nothing model, where students can only participate in music if they focus on nothing else but music. As a result, students avoid music because of their academics.

Holleman said Hillsdale’s music program opens its doors to students who want opportunities for musical involvement, while studying a different subject. 

“We say, oh, well, you still can grow as a musician, and we’ll work with you. We’ll work with your schedule, and we’ll maintain high standards for you,” Holleman said. 

Senior music major Hillary Kuhlmann said she attended the competition to support her peers. 

“I really enjoy seeing people put themselves out there and just give everything they have for music,” Kuhlmann said. “I love seeing performers perform. It’s such a human experience. And to share and connect the music on the stage that’s within the person, and have it come out and touch the audience is truly remarkable.”

Kuhlmann said she finds live music real and raw, as the performers can’t hide anything in front of a live audience. 

“You have to be the most ‘yourself’ you can possibly be,” Kuhlmann said. “Everyone does their best, and you hope mistakes don’t happen, but sometimes that makes it even better and more human.”