Gilbert Concert Series, Ft. Jane Eaglen

On Tuesday, Oct. 15, the operatic tones of soprano Jane Eaglen filled the Bowld. A renowned vocalist, Eaglen brought her decades of performance experience to a concert in honor of Clinton Gilbert ’47. Gilbert, who passed recently, endowed the Music Department’s Gilbert Concert Series in perpetuity over twenty years ago.The Gilbert Concert Series was founded to better music education at Exeter. “The series brings artists of national and international distinction together with the students of Exeter for performances, master classes, workshops and other learning experiences focused on musical excellence,” the concert description reads. “The primary aim of the series is to inspire … with the appreciation for musical accomplishment and the joy such musical understanding can yield.”Eaglen is among the most notable performers to ever perform in the Bowld. The Department of Music described her as having “one of the most formidable reputations in the opera world today.” She has performed for such organizations as the Metropolitan Opera and Seattle Opera, and her voice has been included in several film soundtracks.During her performance, Eaglen shared demanding repertoire, including pieces by Giuseppe Verdi, Henri Duparc and Alban Berg. She capped her performance with pieces she recorded for the film Sense and Sensibility. The choice of Eaglen was made by the Concert Series Team. “[We are] a committee of eight to nine music instructors,” Chair of the Music Department Kristofer Johnson said. “Our former concert series manager, Dr. Jessica McCormack, had a personal connection with Ms. Eaglen, which allowed us to ask if she could join us for the special concert last week.”Eaglen was selected due to Gilbert’s passion for opera. “Clint loved the human voice. He was on the board of the Metropolitan Opera Guild,” Instructor of Music Rohan Smith said. “Jane Eaglen’s performance tonight was an incredibly fitting one—it was one of the first concerts after Clint’s passing.”Several of Clinton Gilbert’s children were present at the performance. “I was simply flabbergasted by the music, the talent—how genuine she was, the way she delivered her arias,” Geoffrey Gilbert said. “We really enjoyed it. I know my father would just have the biggest smile on his face. This is exactly the type of music he liked to hear.”In his life, Clinton Gilbert sought to give back to the Academy. “[My father] was deeply formed by the teachers and the Harkness table—the whole master-student relationship … It was always Exeter that he came back to,” Geoffrey Gilbert continued. “As he began to gift money, he wanted to have a direction. He didn’t want to just write a check.” Thus, under the encouragement of Instructors in Music Rohan Smith and Peter Schultz, the Gilbert Concert Series was formed.Smith recounted his work with Gilbert fondly. “I was very lucky to work with Clint Gilbert from the very beginning—when I was a very new faculty member. I didn’t realize what he had in mind was a permanent Concert Series, at the scope that we now see,” Smith said. “I think what Clint really believed in was the transformative power of music for students… It came from the heart. He had faith that if we started this series, that we would make the most of the opportunity.” Smith described his relationship with Gilbert as a personal collaboration.Similarly, Nina Gilbert Pedersen stressed that her father intended the Concert Series to be interactive. “[Performers] cannot be stars in their own orbit—they cannot come and go,” she said. “They must come, engage and give. That’s what my dad would want.” Pederson hoped that students would learn from artists who had achieved mastery at their craft.Certainly, instructors use such concerts as teaching opportunities. “The music is often at the top of what you can achieve. I think students pick up the value of recitals,” Instructor in Music Petra Pacaric said. “I hope that students come again, looking for new repertoire, looking to discover. This is really high-level—it shows students what’s possible.”Vocalists gleaned much from the concert. “I was very impressed with the diction. I felt like I could hear every single word and match it to what I saw in the program, which was very impressive,” senior Paula Perez-Glassner said. “Specificity in performance is very important, and I think that I picked that up from this performance … She conveyed so much, and that was due to the specificity of dynamics, diction and expression.”Similarly, lower Daniel Han hoped to apply some of Eaglen’s techniques to his own work. “The quality of sound the artist produces, the way she produces it—it’s all very impressive. You can see the physicality in the way she uses her abdomen, her facial expressions,” he said. “It’s a very focused effort.”Musicians in other disciplines also found ways they could learn from the performance. “For my [Music Theory] class, we were asked to look at the use of intervals through the pieces. That is applicable to our study in class,” prep Zoe Chang said.However, the concert was certainly not exclusive to musicians. “It’s pretty cool to stop by, have a fun getaway from classes and extracurriculars,” senior Smaiyl Makyshov said. “I haven’t listened to classical music in a while. The concert was something different—I treat it as a leisure opportunity.”The concert also drew members of the broader Exeter community. “I was brought here by curiosity. We have a habit of coming to the musical performances,” Jim Reale P’22 said. “It has exceeded my expectations. I had no idea she was as accomplished as she is. The whole thing is tremendous … I’m not a particular fan of opera, but it was world-class.”Smith felt that such performances offered more than a lesson in music. “I think what we take from it is the power of personal connection. No matter how we work at technique, academic skill and cognitive ability—the emotion and art are the essence of who people really are,” he said. “That is the lesson we still carry with us from Clint and his Concert Series… Even though life is busy, we need to take time for the arts in our lives—in stopping, listening and being patient.”While the concert was open to the public, it had personal meaning to Pederson. “I saw this as my dad’s swan song. Tonight, I realized that there is no swan song,” she said. “He will bubble to the surface every time there is a concert that he has sponsored. He will outlive us all.”