My capstone project is a 40–50 minute senior saxophone recital that represents the culmination of my growth as a musician at the university. This performance will present a diverse program featuring works by Paule Maurice, John Williams, Astor Piazzolla, and Barry Cockcroft. The primary audience is the faculty who will assess my musical maturity, technical proficiency, and artistic interpretation. This project matters because it demonstrates my readiness for professional performance settings, especially as I pursue audition pathways such as military band programs. By preparing and delivering this recital, I aim to synthesize years of training, refine my performance discipline, and create an experience that is musically expressive, personally meaningful, and aligned with my long-term career goals.
My mission as a musician is to be dependable, expressive, and intentional in both my playing and my ongoing learning. I strive to create performances that are both technically solid and emotionally meaningful, and I aim to communicate music in a way that resonates with listeners while showcasing the full capability of the saxophone.
The primary audience for my capstone recital is the faculty who will evaluate my performance. My intended outcome is to present a recital that communicates artistic depth, demonstrates a mastery of diverse repertoire, and reflects the musical identity I’ve developed over my years of study.
This project addresses the need for a culminating demonstration of musical skill, interpretive understanding, and personal artistic growth. Preparing a 40–50 minute recital requires sustained endurance, detailed score study, and reliable time management. One of the largest gaps I face is logistical: securing a confirmed recital date and time. Without this fixed structure, planning becomes more complex, especially when coordinating rehearsal schedules.
I have experienced and supportive collaborators. Dr. Osada, my pianist, who brings high-level musicianship and professionalism to rehearsals. Dr. Azuma, my saxophone professor and mentor, who provides technical guidance, interpretive insight, and performance coaching.
The major barriers include finalizing the recital date and space, balancing recital preparation with other coursework, and managing performance anxiety leading up to and during the event. Each challenge influences the timeline, rehearsal flow, and overall readiness. However, thoughtful planning, communication with collaborators, and consistent practice routines help manage these obstacles effectively.
The recital will take place in the Hayworth chapel, with the exact date to be determined. Regardless of the final scheduling, my goal is to be performance-ready by late February so that any official date set afterward will not impact musical preparedness.
Key Stages and Tasks:
Early Semester (January–mid February):
Intensive individual practice on tone, endurance, and technique
Detailed score study and interpretation planning
Continuing regular rehearsals with Dr. Osada
Weekly coaching from Dr. Azuma
Mid-to-Late February:
Full-length run-throughs to build stamina
Refining transitions, pacing, and recital flow
March or Scheduled Date:
Final rehearsals with accompanist
Hall run-through
Performance delivery and recording
Success for this capstone will be measured through four core indicators:
Faculty Performance Feedback:
Evaluation from my professor and faculty audience regarding tone, accuracy, musicianship, and overall presentation.
Musical Expression and Communication:
Evidence that I effectively conveyed the character, style, and emotional intent of each piece.
Audience Engagement:
Observations of listener focus, response, and informal feedback immediately after the recital.
Personal Reflection Using the Recording:
A post-recital review assessing strengths, weaknesses, and growth compared to earlier run-throughs.
Together, these measures will give a holistic picture of my performance quality, professionalism, and artistic maturity.
Throughout this semester, I’ve learned a great deal about myself as a planner, collaborator, and performer. Preparing my capstone has forced me to step back and look at the full process behind a successful recital. Not just the music-making, but the organization, communication, and self-management that make the performance possible. One of the biggest realizations I had was that thoughtful planning is just as essential as musicianship. Without a clear structure, it becomes much harder to make everything come together.
Collaboration was another area where I experienced meaningful growth. Working with both my accompanist, Dr. Osada, and my professor, Dr. Azuma, taught me the importance of communication and consistency. Rehearsals only go well when I show up prepared, clear about what I need, and open to feedback. I have also been reminded that collaboration includes respecting other people’s time, which means being reliable on my end. Something I’ve worked on consciously throughout the planning phase.
Some parts of this process came naturally. For example, the musical aspect. Practicing the repertoire, shaping phrases, and thinking about interpretation. These things always feel like the heart of the work to me. I enjoy refining tone, experimenting with sound, and discovering new layers in the music. What required more growth was balancing this artistic focus with the logistics: the scheduling, the decision-making, and the pressure of working toward an uncertain recital date. I’ve learned that I work best when I break the process into manageable stages and set early deadlines for myself, especially since my goal is to be fully performance-ready by late February.
A few strategies from this course were especially helpful. Tools like backward planning and mapping out stages of implementation kept me grounded when things felt overwhelming. Regular reflection, thinking through what went well in a practice session, or what still needs attention, turned out to be more useful than I expected. These methods helped me track progress in a concrete way and stay accountable to the goals I set at the beginning of the semester.
One of the biggest surprises was realizing how closely my mission as a musician is tied to the logistics of planning a recital. I’ve always viewed my mission in terms of expression, dependability, and skill development. But creating a successful performance requires logistical dependability as much as musical dependability. The way I schedule rehearsals, communicate with collaborators, and prepare ahead of time directly impacts my ability to express the music clearly in front of an audience. This connection has made me appreciate the practical side of planning rather than seeing it as something separate from the artistic process.
I still have uncertainties, mainly around performance anxiety and the unpredictability of scheduling. Not having a confirmed recital date introduces a layer of unknown that can be stressful. But my plan to be prepared early helps reduce that pressure, and I know that continuing mock performances and deep practice will build confidence. As for anxiety, I’m learning to treat it as something to manage rather than something to eliminate. The more I perform, the more I understand how to channel it into focus rather than letting it take over.
Overall, this capstone planning process has given me a clearer sense of who I am as a musician and what it means to take ownership of a major performance. It has strengthened my discipline, expanded my confidence, and prepared me not just for this recital, but for the professional performance path I hope to follow, including potential auditions for military band programs after graduation.