Despite the fact that my flu induced tears were pooling into small lakes at the tops of my cheeks, I undertook the task of going to Slosberg this Saturday. There I had the fortune of attending the winter concert of Faculty member Frank Kelly; a performance one could only describe as beautiful.It is important for students to realize that the faculty of this school is a deeply talented group that can offer, through paradigm, a beautiful example of what one can become when joining avocation with vocation. For most of us, seeing one's own instructor perform is awe-inspiring enough. But to me, as the undying critic that I am, seeing tenor Frank Kelly and guest pianist Robert Merfeld perform an immaculate presentation of Franz Schubert's Die Schoene Muellerin (The Beautiful Milleress) was simply moving.

Schubert's pieces are particularly hard to harmonize, the notes being difficult and somewhat awkward at times. But as a great enthusiast of Tenor singers, I can honestly say that this performance was perfect, and the harmonic agreement of the two performers was delightful.
As I entered the Slosberg Music Hall a little before the concert began, I was quiclly moved by the beautiful and immensely powerful first verse from Die Schoene Muellerin, that tells a beautiful story of both wandering and lust. Kelly's vocal inclinations hit a surprisingly harmonic chord around this first verse, and drawing slowly on the somewhat skeptical audience, I found great appeal to this premier tenor, and fell (sickly) into my seat to bask in this beautiful performance.

I must admit to an aversion to the piece at first, not being used to the rough Austrian of the lyrics, but I warmed immediately around the verse entitled Mein (Mine), whose vocal sounds and piano solos I found to be particularly moving. Throughout the entire verse, audience members could be seen straining to hear every note of Kelly's crescendos and enthralling emphasis upon every syllable. The song was impressively provocative and displayed the power of pianist Merfeld well, moving and radiating from the stage for the entire song's performance.

As the concert drew to a close, I realized the power that the performance had on the audience, and I left the concert hall with a greater understanding of how much work must go into creating a voice like the one that Frank Kelly has mastered. Although difficult to warm up to at first, Kelly and Merfeld finished off strong. I believe it is safe to say that Brandeis musicians still have a great deal to learn from their faculty, and Frank Kelly is a prime example of what hard work and amazing talent can achieve.