Dressed in a black suit and patent leather shoes, Patrick Brady ’11 entertained his audience by singing diverse pieces during his Senior Recital in the Timken Room of Graves this past Saturday.
“[Patrick’s performance] was the perfect hybrid between comedy, character and professionalism,” said Mandi Thran ’11.
Brady’s recital featured classical, heavy pieces in the beginning, picked by Allen Combs, Brady’s vocal teacher of four years, and later presented humorous musical theater songs, picked by Brady himself.
Brady said, “The goal of the concert was to display the dual nature of my musical taste.”
Brady opened the concert with a song from Jeptha by Georg Frideric Handel, an eight minute, technically demanding piece, which required Brady to sing in a highly stylized manner.
Brady ended the classical part of his recital with a selection of songs by Schubert and Tosti, during which he sang in German and Italian. Even though Brady speaks neither of the two languages, he enjoyed singing the Italian songs the most.
While Brady impressed his audience with his ability to sing such technically demanding pieces in different languages, he showcased more than his musical talents during the second half of his performance when he presented pieces in the musical theater genre.
Brady sang and acted “Mrs. Worthington” by Noël Coward in a British accent with amusing facial expressions. Saroj Gourkanti ’13 said, “‘Mrs. Worthington’ [was my favorite piece] because I found it fun and outrageous with his gestures and mannerisms.”
Brady also enchanted the audience and continued his British accent with, “On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady. When Brady reached a part in the song where he would have to reference Eliza Doolittle shouting, “Move your blooming ass,” Christopher Walter, Instructor in Music and Brady’s accompanist, stopped playing the piano and warned Brady that there were children listening, earning many laughs from the audience.
Later, Brady performed a duet with Combs in which the two of them sang “Agony” from Into the Woods. Brady also sang “Giants in the Sky” from the same musical. “[My favorite song] was ‘Giants in the Sky’ because I’ve been singing that song since I was ten years old. I was also in Into the Woods two summers ago under the direction of the majestic Burgess Clark,” said Brady.
The show’s finale featured a duet in which Brady and Andrew Schlager ’12 sang “We Can Do It” from The Producers. The piece combined singing and acting and topped off Brady’s already entertaining and successful recital.
Brady and Schalger said, “We’ve been planning on doing something together for a while, and we both have a pension for Mel Brooks.”
“When Andrew Schlager got up on stage, it was one of the most beautiful and sentimental moments. Pat Brady and Andrew have done it again,” said Miranda Haymon ’12.
This recital really captured Brady’s vocal and dramatic talent, and acted as a review of his successful performing arts career at Phillips Academy. Kristina Rex ’11 said, “I was expecting the best from Patrick, and he didn’t disappoint.”
