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Owen Cary Presents Senior Recital Featuring Original Works and World Premieres

FARGO, N.D. — North Dakota State University composition student Owen Cary presented a senior recital of original music on November 23, 2025, in Beckwith Recital Hall, featuring performances by fellow NDSU students, faculty collaborators, and guest performers from across the Challey School of Music.

The recital, presented in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Music degree in Composition, showcased a diverse collection of works written during Cary’s undergraduate studies and highlighted the collaborative nature of contemporary music creation.

The program featured compositions for solo piano, marimba, brass quintet, and chamber choir, including three world premieres: A Lithe Breath, We Call, Rustic Oaks, and White Moon. Additional works included Bread and Butter, a rhythmic étude for piano; Cold Spring for solo marimba; and selections from Baby Got Brass, a brass quintet album project developed through NDSU’s Music Entrepreneurship curriculum.

One of the recital’s featured works, White Moon, marked Cary’s first composition for choir. Based on Sara Teasdale’s poem Morning Song, the work was performed by a chamber choir assembled specifically for the recital under the direction of Shawn Neisen.

The recital also highlighted the entrepreneurial opportunities available to composition students at NDSU. Selections from Baby Got Brass originated as part of a recording project developed in MUSC 385: Music Entrepreneurship, where students explore professional skills related to artistic careers, including recording, production, promotion, and project development.

Cary studied composition with NDSU Composer in Residence Kyle Vanderburg and developed many of the works through collaborations with fellow student performers. The recital featured performers from across the Challey School of Music, including The Baum Brass Quintet, percussionist and fellow composition major Caleb Roth, members of the Neisen Chamber Choir, and Cary himself as pianist and composer.

The event served as a celebration of student creativity and a reflection of the NDSU composition program’s emphasis on collaboration, performance, entrepreneurship, and the creation of new music.

For more information about composition studies at North Dakota State University, visit ndsucomposition.com.