Ewen Chan had an idea that he hoped would hit a sweet chord in the Kettering community. The junior in Mechanical Engineering from Toronto, Ontario, was aware of the musical talent among his fellow engineering students. He also knew that new University President Stan Liberty has been a professional musician since he was 13.

Why not showcase some of the Kettering community's musical skills? And so it was March 8 during a benefit concert called "Dr. Liberty & Friends." Chan both directed and produced the musical event in McKinnon Theater. The benefit concert supported Harvest House.

Chan and Chemistry Professor Reg Bell served as masters of ceremonies. The evening of music started with Kettering student Stephanie Thach of Flint performing Antonio Vivaldi's "Violin Concerto Op. 3, No. 6."

It was followed by Chan and Trevor Cook, a senior from Grand Rapids, sharing performance time on piano on "Moonlight Sonata" by Ludwig von Beethoven.

Yusuf Hasan, a senior in Mechanical Engineering from Mobile, Ala., performed two numbers on piano during the evening, both were hauntingly beautiful in the quiet of the large auditorium. He chose Claude Debussy's "Claire De Lune" from "Suite Bergamasque" and later returned to the stage to perform George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."

Cook, who is double majoring in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, also returned to the piano to offer his interpretation of Aleksandr Skryabin's "Vers La Flamme, Op. 72."

The youngest performer of the evening was Buke` Hiziroglu, an eighth grade student at Carman-Ainsworth High School in Flint and the daughter of Huseyin Hiziroglu, a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Her brief medley of classics featured Johann Sebastian Bach's "French Suite No. 2 in C minor," Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Viennese Sonata No. 2," and Johannes Brahms "Waltz No. 3, G-sharp minor, Op. 39." She ended with W.T.S. Garcia's "Maria Rosa de Valencia."

She wasn't the only member of Kettering's extended family to perform. Katherine Bolt, a junior at Flushing High School and the daughter of Susan Bolt, vice president for Administration and Finance, performed "Swinging in Fairyland" on the piano, a piece by Frederick Flaxington Harker.

The evening ended with a performance by "Dr. Liberty & Friends," as promised. President Liberty led the effort on piano, with Yusuf Hasan returning to the stage to perform on alto sax, and joined by Ari Greenwald on drums, Jordan Masters on electric bass and Tom Black on electric guitar. The group offered up "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise" from "The New Moon" by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II.

Chan and Bell closed the special evening with thanks to the Women's Resource Center and Phi Eta Sigma for helping make the evening a reality. Organizers estimate that $500 was raised during the benefit concert.

Written by Pat Mroczek
(810) 762-9533
pmroczek@kettering.edu