Although many senior music majors consider their final recitals a farewell to college, senior Shenika Turner says it’s only the beginning of her life.

Performing in front of many of her friends, family and peers, Turner gave her senior euphonium rectial this past Monday evening.

Turner began the evening with her well-known piece Rhapsody for Euphonium by James Curnow. She did an outstanding job performing the piece. Delana Easley, staff accompanist, accompanied her on the piano.

The next song she performed was Song for Ina by Philip Sparke. The song was commissioned by Riki McDonnell in memory of of Ina Williams.

The piece was somber and was performed very well. “I wanted to perform a lyrical piece,” said Turner. “I wanted people to be emotional as I played. A lot of people came up to me after the recital and said that they did get emotional.”

Turner also performed Concerto in B-flat by Wolfgang Mozart. She performed the first and third movements of the piece, Allegro and Rondo respectively.

An interesting piece she performed on the euphonium was Pantomime also by Philip Sparke. The melody was somewhat slow with a somber mood. Turner played the low bass sounds exuistely well. Towards the middle of the piece, the piano picks up a quick melody. The ending was very dramatic with two high notes followed by a low bass note.

“It was very beautiful,” said Tamia Whiteside, a junior Music Education major from Crocket County. “The musicality of the song was very precise.”

For her finale, Turner performed Shapes in Bronze with Jason Eckford on euphonium, Johnny Allen on tuba and Gary Nichols on tube.

Shapes in Bronze is written by Walter Ross. It is a piece which he has written to be enjoyed by the performers playing the piece and also by the audience listening to the piece.

The quartet performed four movements in the piece, Lento Es “I thought she did an excellent job,” said Tamika Durham, a senior Nursing major from Memphis. “Not only did she do a beautiful job, but she is also a beautiful person.”

According to Turner, she chose music as a career because she wanted to help people through music by going into music therapy.

“I want to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Turner. “Kind David was Saul’s music therapist, I want to help people both spiritually and physically. I want to use the gift that God gave me, whether it be singing or playing music.”

After graduating with a Music Education degree from UTM, Turner plans on going to Florida State to work on her master’s degree in Music Therapy.

“I thought it was a good recital,” Turner said, “I’m glad to get it over with. It was a very good experience, but it doesn’t stop here if I want to continue with graduate school.”

“Her recital showed the musicality that she produced,” said Lewis Thompson, a senior Music Education major from Jackson, “not only through the music, but through herself.”

“It’s all about him [God],” said Turner, “not me.