The evening of Thursday, February 25, the Figueroa Chapel Amphitheater was filled with mesmerizing melodies. As part of Presencias and part of the Serie de Jóvenes Virtuosos Puertorriqueños, Rolando Antonio Alejandro gave a piano recital. Rolando, a sophomore majoring in Piano Execution at the Conservatorio de Puerto Rico at fresh age of 17, came all the way from San Juan to play for the first time at UPRM.
At 8pm he greeted the audience and told them about the pieces he would play and what to expect. Then he began playing Sonata No. 2 in B-Flat Minor Op.3, Grave Doppio movimiento slowly filling the darkness of the Chapel amphitheater with such hypnotizing music that, if you were to close your eyes, you wouldn’t even know you were at Colegio.
As he played, his talent with the piano became increasingly exposed and apparent to the audience. It seemed like the notes would fill him, escaping through his hands, jumping on the piano, and delivering themselves to the ears of the listeners going straight to their hearts. Rolando’s passionate expression never left his face throughout the concert. As the melodies gained speed, it would seem like he would fall from his seat as he reached and jumped quickly towards the piano. He really lost himself in the music and gave it his all.
The audience was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; they all watched in silent awe as Rolando let his talent unfold. He made constant contact with the audience, pausing before every piece to tell what he would play; he made each and every one of the people from the audience part of his performance.