For one of his last times on Asbury’s campus, Parker Philips took the stage for his senior recital in Jameson Recital Hall. He was accompanied by Dr. Mary Ann Wilder on the piano. As with all senior recitals, this was a culmination of all that Philips learned in the Asbury Music program.
During his time at Asbury, Philips has been a member of the Asbury Chorale, Men’s Glee Club, and the Asbury Worship Collective as a songwriter for the 2024 album. Philips is a tenor and currently working on a music education degree.
Philips grew up singing and being part of a musical group ever since he was little. “I grew up in the Baptist church so I started singing in the children’s choir at my church when I was about ten,” said Philips.
The recital featured pieces in four different languages: Italian, English, German and French. The inspiration for the concert was the passage of time.
Philips said, “There’s a few songs that are very reflective, looking to the past and to the future. It’s just remembering all the good and bad things that have happened and realizing that those made you who you are.”
While the concert focuses on Philips’ musical abilities, he also wanted his own personality to shine through.
“As somebody who’s studied music and loves music, it’s my main passion, but it’s not my entire personality. When I was thinking about what I wanted to do for this recital, I wanted to make something that was popular or familiar to the audience,”said Philips.
Some of his songs are done by more well known classical artists, such as Handel and Mozart, but Philips also had the ability to choose pieces that he genuinely loved.
“There is a guy named Alessandro Scarletti, who did a lot of Italian music. I’m actually also going to be doing a Simon and Garfunkel song.”
He was also able to bring some of his personality in his performance, with one of his songs, “Kentucky Babe,” featuring a barbershop quartet. The quartet was made up of other members of the music program, Donavan Chung, Brennan Davis, Richard Sayre and Philips himself.
This recital is both a joy and a hard finale for those who have the privilege to perform.
About the emotions of performing in his last solo recital, Philips said, “It’s a lot of joy that I get to finally share what I’ve been working on, but it’s also sad because this is kind of the image at least for my undergraduate career. During these four years, something that becomes so regular kind of comes to a close and it comes quicker than you realize.” It marks the end of an era and a part of their musical career at Asbury.
If you have any questions about future senior recitals, you can direct your questions to the music department at JaneMargaret.Childress@asbury.edu.
Photo courtesy of Alanna May.
