Clarinet recital marks student's return from injury
CHADRON – Bryony Trump’s solo clarinet recital Sunday, Sept. 30, at Chadron State College will be more than fulfilling a graduation requirement. Her performance will also represent months of recovery from a rollover accident north of her home in Sterling, Colorado. Trump’s recital will be at 3 p.m. in the Mari Sandoz High Plain Heritage Center’s Chicoine Atrium.
She said the accident gave her a new outlook.
“I’m more grateful for my support network and the people who believe in me. The accident amplified that for me,” Trump said.
Bobby Pace, accompanist, said he never doubted Trump would return to perform her recital.
“Playing clarinet is clearly what she is most passionate about, and she wouldn’t let anything get in the way of that. The only difficulty performing this recital after her recovery is stamina. It’s very difficult to play 50 minutes of music in a high-pressure situation, especially after you have been not able to play for an extended period of time,” Pace said.
Professor of Music Dr. Michael Stephens said he is impressed with Trump’s perseverance and dedication.
“She certainly seems to have made a complete recovery and having the time to live with the music has only strengthened her performance. I think she is in a great position to present a wonderful recital and we all are looking forward to it,” Stephens said.
Pace agrees the extra time has been a benefit for Trump.
“The time to live with a piece of music is something we are not often afforded in academia, as we are always under the deadlines of the semester system. This unexpected opportunity to live with these pieces had made Bryony more confident in the music she is conveying,” Pace said.
Trump, an applied music major, plays the clarinet in the wind symphony, the alto saxophone in the Eagle Band, the tenor saxophone in the Jazz Band, and sings soprano in the concert choir.
“I’m the person in the music department who does almost everything. I love that about CSC. I couldn’t do that at a lot of bigger schools,” she said.
Trump’s accident resulted in a fractured C1 vertebrae and bruises on her head and shoulders. After a scan at the Sterling Emergency Room, she was transferred to Greeley for treatment. After being released, a blood clot in her lung sent Trump back to the ER in Sterling.
“I’m really lucky. A lot of things could’ve been worse,” Trump said.
When Trump returned home, she utilized NAXOS, an online music service provided by the King Library, to repeatedly listen to the compositions she planned for her recital.
She said it has been a lot of work regaining and retraining her embouchure, the mouth and lip muscles used to play the clarinet. Even though she wore a neck brace until July 10, she took it off long enough to perform, by invitation, in a concert with the Sterling Master Chorale in mid-May.
Trump is set to graduate in May 2019, although she was unable to play in her spring performance classes. She is working on a complete with an incomplete status. She was able to complete an online course, History of Jazz, and a course in diction via email with the instructor. After graduation, she has plans to pursue a graduate degree in musicology or ethnomusicology.
“I try to not worry about the future. If I work hard, it’ll work out,” she said.
Category: Campus News, Music