The McKay Auditorium lights shined a kaleidoscope of colors on Kristi Krause, a music major from California, as she sang various classical, musical theatre and pop pieces for her senior vocal recital on Nov. 9. According to Krause, she has been preparing for this performance since last year.
“For me [music] has been a lifelong pursuit because it gives me joy and happiness. When I was four years old I was diagnosed with Tourette [syndrome]. With that neurology disorder, I found that music really helps me have peace in my mind, especially with the anxiety and stress that comes along with Tourette’s. I look at music as my safe haven. It takes me out of hard times when I am feeling low. Music is deeply rooted in my soul.”
Although Krause is only a senior, she said she feels she is already living her dreams and her senior recital adds to her fulfillment. “I perform at Turtle Bay [Resort] a couple times a month. I have been actually doing gigs since I was 16. I am from San Diego and I started performing at coffee houses when I was 15. Then I started performing at county fairs. Then I worked my way up to doing gigs at restaurants and hotels. I was even on American Idol Season 11 and made it to Hollywood week.”
To begin the recital, Krause, accompanied by her pianist Stacy McCarrey, started her program with the German piece, “Wie Melodien zieht es mir” by Johannes Brahms, translated to “It Moves like a Melody.” After singing more classical German works, Krause invited Sarah Knight, a junior from California majoring in vocal performance, to the stage so the two could sing together the “Flower Duet” from the famous Opera “Lakmé.”
Keala Tomoama, a freshman music major from Florida, said the “Flower Duet” was one of her favorite pieces that Krause performed. “The ‘Flower Duet’ from ‘Lakmé’ is one of my all-time favorite pieces ever written for sopranos, and it is one of the hardest duets in classical repertoire. As soon as they were queued in, I got chills.”
Tomoama is in North Shore Winds and is studying piano. Because of her experience in music, she said she noticed Krause’s vocal technique to be very impressive. “In her operatic pieces she had the bell curve. The bell curve is the best way for your sound to travel. Even though [the bell curve] is hard to get, her sound was so crisp you could hear it throughout the auditorium.
Krause continued her recital with “Lascia ch'io pianga” from “Almira” by George Frideric Handel, an Italian aria. Then she sang “Nella Fantasia” by Ennio Morricone with Katya Jackson, a junior psychology major from Utah, on violin. After an intermission, the tone of the show changed when Krause started singing Broadway tunes such as “She Used to be Mine” from “Waitress” and “For Good” from “Wicked.”
Vanessa Tandiman, a math special instructor at BYU–Hawaii from Malaysia, said she was very impressed by different genres Krause put on exhibit at her recital. “I like how she put out a lot of genres by covering a lot of pieces. It does her voice justice by displaying different genres. It shows how much training she had been through because she is not just orientated by one specific genre.”
Krause’s recital shifted again when she told the audience she was going to perform an original song she wrote called “Stand Up.” “I wrote [Stand Up] in a period of my life where I felt I was being swayed in so many directions of who I was supposed to be. I have learned over time that being true to who you are is one of the most important things you can do in this life. I know that because when I am true to myself, that is when I am the happiest.”
During “Stand Up,” Patricia Tandiman, a sophomore psychology major from Malaysia said she connected to the song as the chorus went, “I want to feel for myself. I want to experience life and not have to worry. So don’t you try and put me in my place, cause I won’t be walking your way.”
Tandiman said she came to the vocal concert because she heard Krause sing at a devotional, and she liked her voice. Patricia also admitted this performance made her want to join a BYUH choir. She encouraged all students to come to these types of events, because after the program you feel changed.
Mikeila Aquino, a senior elementary education major from California, agreed with Tandiman and said Krause’s pure performance changed her. “It was really relaxing. I had a stressful week, and it was just nice to hear a pure voice that reaches the soul. This performance helped change the direction of my week.”
Aquino knows Kristi personally from being in concert choir with her, and she said she has been a great influence. Music, to Aquino, is indescribable and something that has power. “Music is able to express emotions we can’t say in words sometimes. Music is a beautiful way to let someone know how you are feeling. Everyone should make music apart of someone else’s life like Kristi does.”
To close her performance, Krause sang, “My Man” from “Funny Girl." The audience responded to the song with a standing ovation. Then Krause surprised the attendees when the stage lights projected a rainbow of colors as she did an encore performance of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
Writer: Noah Shoaf