(Photo courtesy of Tim Trumble)Professor of music William Reber was honored with a gala concert in the Evelyn Smith Music Theater tonight at 7:30 p.m.
This performance was meant to commemorate a career with the Lyric Opera Theater program that spans 24 years and thousands of music theater and opera performance students.
Before Reber, there was only one director of the program, Kenneth Seipp. Seipp founded the program in 1964.
Read more coverage of the LOT's 50th season finale here.
"The reason why we’re successful was that the basis of what he had set up was so rock solid that all I had to do was take it and run with it," Reber said in an interview with The State Press last April.
Reber's retirement came at an awkward time for the School of Music after fallout from a performance of the musical "Rent" for high school students.
Tonight's performance, however, was overwhelmingly positive and downright fun. Interim director of the LOT program and professor of opera and musical theater Dale Dreyfoos stressed the alumni support for their former professor. About 60 performers were involved in the gala.
The gala's composition and organization were kept secret from Reber so as to surprise him in an elaborate ruse. It was hard to keep that knowledge from him, Dreyfoos said, due to the number of performers — and the fact that his wife was a special guest performer.
"We started this process back in October and sent out invitations to all alumni," he said. "People have come in from Seattle, New York City, from Tucson and from Salt Lake City, plus lots and lots of performers from throughout the Valley."
Not only was the origin of the performers diverse, but the repertoire spanned nearly every century and every genre of music performed over the last quarter-century of Reber's tenure.
(Photo courtesy of Tim Trumble)The pieces were targeted towards Reber because the current and former students either enacted the pieces that they studied with him or paid tribute to him with their performances, Dreyfoos said.
This concert was a greatest hits of musical theater and opera, featuring everyone from Wagner to Mozart to Strauss in the first half to modern Great American Songbook composers Bernstein, Rogers & Hammerstein and Gershwin in the second half of the performance.
The gag in the second song of the night was definitely one to remember, and contributed to the family reunion vibe of the evening. A sporano and mezzo soprano performed "Ah, guarda sorella" from Cosi Fan Tutti, an opera by Mozart. Turns out, the two were serenading pictures of Reber and Dreyfoos.
Theater junior Kate Leonard worked with Reber in the past as stage manager, so she came out to enjoy the show and help out. She also stressed the importance of the monumental change in the program after 25 years.
"There’s only ever been two people with this position, so I think each person has brought something very different, but it’s always been towards progress," she said. "Reber has done wonders for this program, so I hope whoever comes in and takes his place keeps it going!"
Reach the reporter at pnorthfe@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @peternorthfelt
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