The MFJS Reporter — Winter 2020 M-W

DENVER: On Sunday evening, students and faculty gathered to watch Lamont School of music student Thomasluke Florez-Mansi sing classical. He is a junior at the University of Denver from Santa Fe, New Mexico, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music performance.

Upon walking into the Hamilton Recital Hall, you see a cozy room, filled with the color red and honey brown wood. It is a small room, filled with people conversing, excited for the show to begin. A piano takes center stage, ready to spread the room with its melodies.

Around 7:33pm, finally Florez-Mansi, accompanied by pianist Beth Nielsen walks on stage. He approaches center stage with a smile, ready for his performance. The crowd breaks out in a long applause.

Nielsen begins with a soft beat, slowly growing in sound as it eventually fills the room and becomes strong. His lungs filled with air, Florez-Mansi lets out a powerful note of elegance and balance. He begins his performance with the classical song Messiah written by George Frideric Handel in 1741.

Florez-Mansi hits every note, soothing the audience with his voice. He displays quite a range and talent, as pianist Nielsen adds to the experience with her melodies.

At the end of the first song, a long applause roared. Then all was quiet as the next song started.

The next song he chose was Music for a while by Henry Purcell from the play Oedipus. This song had a longer piano opening and then goes right into long, higher notes. Florez-Mansi sings this with a steady, rocking beat.

The concert continues on with En Sourdine, Voyage a Paris, Lonely House, Nacht und Träume, Der Neugierige, Luogho Sereni e Cari, and finally Com’è Gentil. As he sang his last note, crowd roared in applause.

As the performance came to an end, the audience was invited for refreshments to celebrate Florez-Mansi’s accomplishment.

Perhaps the most talented aspect of these song choices is that they are almost all not in English past the first two songs. Languages include Italian, German, and French. Despite this, Florez-Mansi nails every word.

University of Denver student Meghan O’Reilly has never been to one of these concerts before. She says “I had no idea how talented the students in the school of music are. This was my first time seeing one of their performances and I was blown away by the fact he put together this whole concert. I do not usually listen to classical but Florez-Mansi was amazing!”

In the Lamont School of Music, every student pursuing a degree must participate in concerts. Tonight, Florez-Mansi’s performed to decide if he can stay in the school of music. It is also a good way to showcase various students’ talents, as they work harder than we may realize.

Students like Amelia Rider often attend these concerts. She states “The performances put on through the Lamont School of music are always of high quality. I attend them whenever I can!”

Florez-Mansi was excited and prepared for his performance, which he shows by the Facebook Event he created where he writes: “Come enjoy a short recital showcasing some of my favorite repertoire from the past few years that I’ve studied at Lamont. Hope you all can make it! Reception with food will follow the performance.”

As I look around the room, I see faces thrilled by Florez-Mansi’s accomplishment and effort put into the concert. What a way to celebrate talent!

These concerts put on by the Lamont School of Music happen often. You can find the schedule on their website.