By Brittany Shears
OPSU Collegian
Goodwell, Oklahoma – Starting college, every student has one common goal: to finish and receive a degree—and after four years, students in every field are asked to show what they have learned while attending college at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. This is done in different ways in different fields, but in the music department of OPSU, they put your talents and abilities in the spotlight. All music majors are required to perform a senior recital their last year of school—and that is what brings music major Evan Dye to the stage on which he will perform several pieces including J.S. Bach’s Cantata No, 82, La Bonne Cuisin (commonly called Four Recipes) by Leonard Bernstein, Votre toast, je peux vous le render (commonly called The Toreador Song) from Carmen by Georges Bizet, and the opening scene from Le nozze di Figaro (commonly called The Marriage of Figaro) by W.A. Mozart.
Being someone who suffers from a case of severe stage fright, I decided to talk to Dye about his senior recital and what it was about performing that he loved so much. However, I couldn’t help but start the questions with whether or not he ever got nervous, and to my surprise, he does. He said that taking a few deep breaths helps, but the best way for him to calm his nerves down is to get into character. In the end, it is all worth it; his favorite part about performing is connecting with the audience members and inspiring or moving them. When asked who he most aspired to be like while performing, multiple names came to mind and giving me the run down he answered, “That’s a tough one, but I would say my short list is Jussi Bjorling, Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, Ray and Marcus Arbizu, Heinrich Schlusnus, and Robert Merill in no particular order.” Dye also said that when it comes to small crowds versus large crowds, he prefers large ones—reason being is that the larger the crowd, the more energy in the room. While he says he has always enjoyed singing—however, maybe not always so publically—he fell in love with performing after being in a musical at the Guymon Community Theatre. While finishing my questions, there was one more I had to ask pertaining to his music career and that was what his most embarrassing moment on stage is, which turns out to have occurred during one of his performances right here on campus. “During a performance of Urinetown at OPSU, I somehow managed to skip a few bars of music and became out of sync with the band.” Dye is a music major studying vocal performance and mathematics with a minor in computer information systems. After graduating from OPSU this spring, he plans to attend graduate school in applied mathematics or computer science with a preference to programs that merge the two fields. As for what Dye has to offer in terms of wise senior advice, he says, “For music majors I would say, `Practice, practice, practice, and then practice some more.’ More generally speaking, I would say, ‘Take all your classes seriously, even those you don’t think you’ll ever use.'”
All are encouraged to come. Let’s give Evan Dye a large crowd for the performance that comes down to what he has been working on his entire college career.
Dye will be performing February 13 at 7:00 PM in Centennial Theatre at OPSU
Evan Dye is the son of Tom & Rachel Dye of Guymon, Oklahoma.
For those of you on a budget who cannot afford the $75, you can still make a lasting impression with the Salami Bouquet carry-out for only $50. And we all know that nothing says “I love you” quite like carry-out.
Tom Dye's Blog 