Vocal performance major Sophie Cortez is in her final semester at BYU-Idaho. Tomorrow, Saturday October 9, Cortez will perform in her senior recital where she will be accompanied by Anna Dunford-McCombie.
“I feel like singing is almost like going to a counselor, it’s kind of weird. It’s just taught me so much about myself,” Cortez said.
Cortez grew up in a family that wasn’t very musical. Her mother called her a prodigy because of her goal to learn every musical instrument. Cortez plays the piano and violin along with her formal training in opera singing.
After she graduates, Cortez plans on teaching private vocal, piano and violin lessons and wants to use the teaching tools she learned at BYU-Idaho to elevate her students’ learning from simply learning how to play music to learning to love music like she does.
Through analysis, Cortez said she enjoys learning the different classical techniques.
“It completely changes your perspective on things rather than just looking at the surface level,” she said.
In her recital tomorrow, Cortez will sing a selection of modern and classical pieces; for example, she will perform “Mein Herr Marquis” or Adele’s famous “Laughing Song” from Johann Strauss II’s “Die Fledermaus” and “Monica’s Waltz” from the modern opera “The Medium” by Gian Carlo Minotti where she plays two characters: Monica and the mute Toby.
Cortez’s recital will be held tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m. in the Snow Recital Hall. It will also be livestreamed from the BYU-Idaho live events page.