Name: Christine Hawn
Hometown: Hinsdale, IL
Major: Human and Organizational Development
Minor: Music Composition
Campus Involvement: Alpha Delta Pi, former Director of Standards and Ethics and former Music Chair; Vandy Tap That! Dance Director
Tell me about your upcoming senior recital.
My senior recital is an hour long recital of all music that I have written! I have a solo piano piece, a piece for woodwind quintet, a three movement tenor, soprano and piano piece, two choir pieces, and a piece for soprano, tenor, baritone and piano. I also have a piece for tap dance, marimba, and timpani. I will be tap dancing, but the other pieces will be performed by various Blair students. I’m so excited to get to share with everyone my favorite music that I’ve written in the last four years.
What genre of music do you compose? Who is your favorite composer?
It’s “classical” music in the sense that it’s not pop/country/singer-songwriter music, but I would say my music tends to be more in the impressionist style, but also contemporary. It’s hard to classify. I love impressionist music, my solo piano piece is called Self-Portraits and the three movements are Monet, Renoir, and Rembrandt; they are inspired self-portraits each artist did of himself. My tap dancing piece is probably a genre of its own. My favorite composer is Bernstein, but I do have a love for Chopin.
How did you get into composing?
I’ve played piano since I was five, and I’ve been singing in choirs since elementary school, so I’ve always loved music. When I was in middle school, my piano teacher did a project with all her students to compose something. My first composition was for oboe and piano; I had my friend perform it with me at my piano recital. I kept writing after that project because I loved creating music and creating something new. I’ve always loved creating something more than performing. In high school I shifted to compose a lot of vocal and choral pieces because I was in choir. My choir teacher was very supportive and we performed a few of my pieces at our choir concerts.
As former standards chair, which can get a bad rep, what do you want Chapter members to know?
Standards isn’t scary! As standards, I knew the rules inside and out, which made it really easy to change them to what I wanted them to be and use them to my advantage when I didn’t agree with what other people were trying to do. Knowing the rules makes you powerful. Standards is also there to help you out when you need it and give you extra support. That was my main focus as standards and I know that’s what the focus will continue to be.
What’s your favorite thing to do in Nashville?
Visit all the awesome restaurants and bars. I’ve also really gotten into hiking lately. Nashville is beautiful.
All photos courtesy of Christine H.