Arts

Funabashi, Versatile Musician and Composer

Mari Funabashi ’13, who not only sings and composes, but also plays guitar, flute, organ and piano, showed off her diverse musical talents in her non-traditional Senior Recital. Funabashi switched between multiple instruments during her recital.

“Mari is remarkable for the breadth of her skills. She’s a truly accomplished musician,” said Christopher Walter, who currently has Funabashi as a student in his Music 485 class.

Funabashi selected “Etude,” her mother’s favorite piece, as her opening piece on the guitar.

She then transitioned into “Sarabande and Prelude” from Bach’s first Cello Suite and finished with the energetic “Introduction and Variations” by Mozart.

After her guitar performance, the Andover Flute ensemble took to the stage and performed “Gena the Crocodile’s Song,” an original composition by Funabashi.

“I love the piece Mari composed. It’s actually based off of the Russian birthday song, so I recognized it, but she put her own unique twist on it and it was beautiful!” said Katherine Vega ’14, a member of the eight-student ensemble.

Funabashi closed her recital with “Litanies” by Jehan Alain on her favorite instrument, the organ.

“Litanies is a great showpiece; I get to play a fantastic chord progression at the end with all the stops out. After I play it I always feel like climbing Mt. Everest and doing a leaping jump,” said Funabashi.

Funabashi practiced non-stop in preparation for her recital. The week before the recital, she woke up at 4 a.m. so that she would have time to practice for 8 hours.

“I’ve learned how much I love music, and my limits of practice. I remember when I was young, my mom used to have to nag me to practice, and even then I would only play for barely an hour and would check the clock every five minutes to see if I could be done. So I’ve definitely grown from then. Music could never be a chore for me now,” said Funabashi.