Eastern Connecticut State University alumna Adella Carlson ’20 will make a welcome return to the Fine Arts Instructional Center (FAIC) Concert Hall on March 9 to perform a recital of contemporary works for clarinet titled “Rise Up.”

Eastern music faculty are hopeful that this will introduce an annual series of recitals performed by Eastern alumni. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for our current students to hear from a recent alumnus who is continuing their performance studies at the graduate level,” said Emily Riggs, associate professor of music.

After earning a bachelor's degree in music at Eastern, Carlson enrolled at the University of North Carolina – Greensboro, where she is in her second year of the Master of Music program. Her recital will include works by Jenni Brandon, Stacy Garrop, Roshanne Etezady and more.

How did this opportunity come about for Carlson? “I guess I invited myself,” she said. Andy Hudson, one of her professors at UNCG, suggested that she email faculty at Eastern requesting to perform the material from her master’s degree recital at Eastern as an alumni recital.

Carlson credits her experience at Eastern for preparing her to tackle a master’s program. “Being involved in many different things at Eastern definitely gave me the time management skills to get through the demands of a master’s degree,” she said.

“My work in the University Honors Program prepared me well with research, writing and communication skills, and studying clarinet with Chris Howard gave me the applied performance knowledge I needed to join a large, competitive studio like what we have at UNCG,” she continued.

UNCG’s campus and programs are larger than Eastern’s, which means that “everything is more competitive,” said Carlson. This environment has lent itself to more performance opportunities for Carlson, as well as enabling her to expand her network.

When asked what she misses most about Eastern, her response was simple: “I miss the music faculty at Eastern and look forward to seeing them and catching up!”

To learn more about “Rise Up” and other events on Eastern’s campus, please click here.