Beethoven festival continues at CSC

Providing CSC with  melodies this year are the recitals from the Beethoven Festival, a multi-concert event celebrating the 250th Anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. Performers, from around the U.S. and Chadron State College alike, will each play some of Beethoven’s sonatas and a few variations and extra pieces. There will be 14 concerts in total throughout the Festival. Each of the concerts will be in the Sandoz Center Atrium. The 5th recital was on Friday, the upcoming one is on Nov. 1. 

There will be 9 performers total, consisting of Brooks Hafey, Associate Professor of Music – Piano, Bobby Pace, Music Accompanist, and James Margetts, Dean of Essential Studies and the School of Liberal Arts, from CSC. Other performers will be guests from around the country and Nebraska colleges. 

There will be three ways to attend: 1) in person in the Sandoz Center Atrium, 2) in Memorial Hall (reserved for overflow), and 3) via live stream. Festival concerts will be free and open to the public. Masks will be required and social distancing will be practiced at these concerts, the maximum audience count has been set to 35. The live stream can be accessed through CSC Live, which also shows previous performances. 

Brooks Hafey, professor, who performed the inaugural recital on Sept. 9 and another recital on Oct. 5, is the mastermind behind the Beethoven festival.

“I started planning this two years ago,” Hafey said. Hafey said his intention for this festival was to, “show a major development of an artist through the course of his life.” Hafey explained that Beethoven’s music answered complex questions about life and portrayed deep and complex emotions. 

Hafey also gave behind-the-scenes information. “I have been playing Beethoven’s music since I was a teenager,” Hafey said. Hafey said he played his first sonata at 15 and has played ever since. “My personal favorites tend to be his last sonatas,” Hafey said, “Practicing as a faculty member is very challenging.” While some days practicing is impossible, Hafey said he is lucky to get between 15 minutes and an hour. 

In addition to a free performance, audiences can also take part in festivities. Dr. Hafey has created festival-themed loyalty cards, designed for a “punch” per concert attended. More punches will give attendees chances at winning Festival-themed prizes. Hafey said that minimizing papers that transfer from person to person was prioritized for this festival.