Music department celebrates Mozart's birth

Shaleen Spulio
Assistant Features Editor

   Do you know anyone who began playing the piano at age four, wrote a symphony at age eight and then composed an opera at age 12? If you were born about 250 years ago, you might have witnessed such a miracle. Now you can party in remembrance. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the great Austrian composer, was born on Jan. 27, 1756. His life's work gave us well-known musical pieces such as "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Cosi Fan Tutte."
   Mozart was born to Leopold and Anna Maria Pertl Mozart. Leopold was "one of Europe's leading musical pedagogues." He was musically inclined from birth, and his talent flourished throughout his life, according to Wikipedia.org.
   Tomorrow, the music department will hold a "Mozart Marathon." Events will include continuous musical selections played by both faculty and staff, birthday cake served at noon and sing-alongs of Mozart's most famous choruses, such as "The Marriage of Figaro" at 4 p.m. "The beauty of Mozart's repertoire is its breadth," E. Douglas Bomberger, professor of music, said. "There is something for every taste and skill level."
   Bomberger is the chair of the Fine and Performing Arts (FAPA) department at Elizabethtown College. "It wasn't easy fitting everyone's busy schedules with the program," Bomberger said, but he hopes it will be a smooth celebration, honoring one of history's greatest figures.
   Students participating in the program also share Bomberger's enthusiasm for the celebration. "It's a great opportunity for students to perform and listen to a variety of Mozart's music," junior Jess Walsh, who will be playing the flute, said.
   Mozart created more than 600 works in his lifetime. He died at age 31, allegedly because of typhoid fever, having written some of the most memorable music of the Classical Era. He has been called "the most universal composer in the history of Western music."
   "The 'Mozart Marathon' will be a great opportunity for students to hear the diversity of Mozart's music. Participants will find themselves tapping their feet or humming along to many favorites that they have heard throughout their lives whether in concerts, in movies or in cartoons by the prominent composer," junior Kevin Hahn said.
   Sophomore singer Sarah Brodbeck described the "Mozart Marathon" as a great way for students and faculty to relax, enjoy and experience the beauty of Mozart's music and the amazing talent present in the music department.

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