• Tue. Dec 3rd, 2024

Is The Music Department Sinclair’s Best Kept Secret?

Plato once said, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” 

Here at Sinclair, the music department is where one can truly come alive. A major testament to that is due to the amazing team working behind the scenes to make sure the students succeed.

In an interview with The Clarion, Music, Theater and Dance Administrative Assistant, Sheri Fazzari stated it this way, “The faculty and adjuncts that we have are part of the reason that this department is great and still able to accomplish everything with fewer people. And they’re all just very dedicated to our students… The music department is full of talented and dedicated adjuncts, faculty, and staff.”

Sheri Fazzari, Music, Theater and Dance Administrative Assistant. Photo Credit: April Littleton

One of those talented and dedicated personnel is Michael Berning. Transitioning from teaching music and band at the secondary level for 34 years, Berning is wrapping up his second year as the Community Band Conductor and his first year as the Music Program Director.

“Music at Sinclair is a ‘best kept secret’ in many ways. We have amazing opportunities for students to begin their musical careers here and we just need to get that word out. The performing arts at Sinclair offer a great way for students of all abilities to continue their involvement in the arts or start something new altogether,” Berning said.

Michael Berning, Music Program Director. Photo provided by Michael Berning

Berning stated that he’s looking forward to Sinclair’s community bands hosting two high schools as their guests in the upcoming spring concerts. These free concerts will be in Building 2 – Blair Hall Theatre:

  • Monday, April 22 at 7 p.m. Sinclair Concert Band & Kettering Fairmont Wind Symphony
  • Wednesday, April 24 at 7 p.m. Sinclair Wind Symphony & Stivers School for the Arts Wind Ensemble

Fazzari shared, “We have scholarship auditions coming up, for incoming high school seniors that will be starting in the fall and also for our current majors for the next school year. I think that’s great because it’s just very fulfilling to send out letters offering them money because I know it just is really beneficial to them. So that’s very rewarding. It’s exciting to see them get that financial help that they might need.”

These auditions require two contrasting pieces to be performed. For vocalists that means doing one piece in English and one piece in another language. Some of the foreign languages that have been performed due to the music department’s classical music focus include Italian, French, German and Spanish.

To showcase this versatility of the current students, there will be free student recitals in Building 2, Room 2L15 on April 17 at 10 a.m., April 18 at 11 a.m. and April 19 at 10 a.m. Then, as part of the degree requirements, the free graduate recitals will be held in Building  2 – Blair Hall Theatre at 7 p.m. on April 30, May 1 and May 2.

These events are just a small selection of the performances happening at Sinclair. Here are some resources to learn more about the music department and their upcoming performances:

  1. Go to https://www.sinclair.edu/academics/divisions/lcs/mus/
  2. Contact the Music Program Director Michael Berning Michael.berning1@sinclair.edu
  3. Visit the music office located on Sinclair’s Dayton campus Building 2, Room 220

As Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Without music, life would be a mistake.”

Don’t make a mistake! Please stay connected.

April Littleton, Reporter