Tenor gives his last performance

On Saturday evening, Joshua May, lyric tenor, had his third and last performance at von der Mehden Recital Hall. 

May displayed musical talent early back in his childhood. “I have always loved show choir and band in high school,” he said. He started his path of music at University of Florida, where he double-majored in music and pre-med. He received his masters at New England Conservatory. Now, he is a candidate for a Doctor of Musical Arts in voice performance at the University of Connecticut. 

As a D.M.A. Candidate in Voice Performance, he is required to perform in three professional recitals. As this is his last requirement and last professional recital at the UConn, many people from the music department, as well as friends and family, came to support him and watch this special performance. 

Joshua May performed a broad range of classical music, including three selections of Henri Duparc, 1848-1933, three selections of Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1873-1943, and five Shakespeare songs, Op. 23, by Roger Quilter. 1877-1953. These styles of music range from the Baroque period to the Romantic period to the 20th Century, each with a different singing style. 

“Singing the selections of Sergi Rachmaninoff was my favorite part of the performance. I really liked this style of music as well as learning the sounds of the Russian language from the lyrics,” said May.  

 “My favorite pieces out of the musical selections he performed tonight are the Russian songs by Sergi Rachmaninoff,” said Ellen Autes, a 5th semester vocal performance major. As a fluent speaker of French, Joshua May teaches French Diction at the University of Connecticut. “Singing a different language is very challenging. Even though he does not know Russian, his pronunciation of the Russian lyrics in the Russian selections was so fluent and with so much emotion and expression,” she added. 

 “As this is his last recital, this must be one of the best recitals he has ever performed,” said Noelle Curvie, a 7th semester vocal performance major. “He was very expressive and clearly knew how to perform each selection.” 

“After I receive my D.M.A. in Voice Performance, I will continue to be an active performer nation-wide,” said May. “I love performing and I’ve been performing for so many years already so I don’t want to stop that. However, my future goal is to become a professor in music. I love working with young singers. I would love to teach them how to sing different styles of music in different languages and watch them grow into becoming professional singers.”

Some upcoming performances that Joshua May will be performing in are “Male Chorus” in “The Rape of Lucretia” and Samuel Parris in “The Cruicible.”