By the time saxophonist, Yevgeny Dokshansky, and pianist Eunmi Choi had reached Sergei Rachmaninoff's passion-filled Vocalise, the Theatre 2 NAPA audience was in no doubt about the musical excellence on display courtesy the UTT Musicians ensemble of faculty artistes.
The occasion was a Faculty Recital hosted by the UTT Academy of Performing Arts on March 1 featuring Belarusian born, American conductor, Dokshansky; Choi, who is a music lecturer attached to the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC); and trombonist, Aidan Chamberlain who lectures in music theory and history at UTT.
To reference Dokshansky and Choi's moving rendition of Vocalise, followed by their interpretation of Paul Genin's Variations on a Spanish Theme as arguably the high points of the evening's programme, would not be to diminish the value of a musical treat which opened with Inez McComas' three movements of Descending into Light.
Later noting Dokshansky's "astonishing (and exhausting) technique," Chamberlain treated the audience to an unscheduled performance of Leonard Bernstein's foot-tapping Elegy for Mippy II between sets, while the saxophonist caught his breath.
The mix of 20th century and 18th and 19th century common practice classical music on the programme brought to the untutored in the audience a rich sampling of contrasting styles. For example, Canada-born McComas' Descending into Light was composed just three years ago and is often performed against a backdrop of visual enhancements.
This was followed by 20th century French composer Paule Maurice's Tableaux de Provence, all five movements of which were played by Dokshansky and Choi.
Then came Chamberlain and Choi's rendition of French composer Alexandre Guilmant's Morceaux Symphonique which was written with the trombone in mind.
The brief evening closed with Dokshansky and Chamberlain playing jazz musician Ralph Martin's arrangements of Johan Sebastian Bach's Inventions 2 and 3 which were said to have been composed by the famous German composer as challenging exercises for his students.
Chamberlain joined the UTT Academy for the Performing Arts in 2009. He teaches individual brass lessons and co-directs the Academy Brass Ensemble and Big Band.
Dokshansky is an assistant professor of music at UTT and has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician and conductor throughout Europe and North America. Choi is South Korean and teaches piano at USC.
The UTT Musicians ensemble was founded in 2010 and has performed in scores of concerts across the country. Its mission, according to the programme circulated at the Napa recital is to "contribute to the cultural life of T&T by presenting regular performances of a wide variety of repertoire that encompasses a broad range of musical genres."