EDMOND—Herbert W. Armstrong College seniors Hannah Estebat and Jamie Hawkins sang seven numbers apiece for an audience of 150 during a voice recital on March 27 at Armstrong Auditorium. Music director Ryan Malone accompanied both singers on the piano for the one-hour performance, which represented the culmination of three years of musical training for each singer.

To prepare for the recital, Estebat and Hawkins practiced 10-12 hours a week, double their normal practice time. Both said they have learned valuable lessons from such a large time commitment.

“It’s taught me why God has given us talents,” Hawkins said. “There are so many spiritual parallels. Every single day, you practice 30 minutes to survive, an hour to thrive. You need that teacher—that mirror—to show what you’re doing wrong. It’s up to you to put instruction into practice.”

Estebat started the recital with four numbers in German, Italian and Spanish. She sang numerous melismas, single syllables stretched across several different notes. “It portrays the technique [HWAC voice instructor Paula] Malone has been working on with me,” Estebat said. She added, “Those songs have never been easier.”

Hawkins sang the next four songs. During Franz Schubert’s Gretchen am Spinnrade , she imitated a daydreaming seamstress, with Mr. Malone’s piano accompaniment characterizing the rhythmic, consistent motion of her spinning wheel. Hawkins said her opening set of songs showcased diction, emotive interpretation and effective breathing that can sustain long phrases.

Estebat followed Hawkins with two more works, including Mr. Malone’s Philadelphia Singers piece, “The Fortress. ” Estebat gradually increased her vocal power throughout, ending with the thought-provoking line, “And soon we’ll break the silence, and the world will come to know the family of God from the hills of stone.”

Hawkins finished her night with three songs. In her finale, The Girl in 14G, she switched rapidly between three characters: the quiet, orderly girl in apartment 14G; a bellowing opera hopeful in 13G; and a wannabe soulful jazz singer in 15G. “It’s showcasing the ability to change the mood if you have to,” she said.

Estebat built on the humor of Hawkins’s finale in her own. In Alto’s Lament, she exaggerated the plight of altos who never get to sing the melody in famous Broadway productions. “Please pull a few strings for the melody,” she pleaded. “Don’t care if the solo is teeny.”

At the end of the performance, the audience gave the performers a noisy and lengthy standing ovation.

Going into the recital, Estebat and Hawkins praised Mrs. Malone, who has been their voice instructor for three years. “She teaches me as if I’m going to teach this,” Estebat said. “She likes to ask me questions to make sure I’m getting it.”

Hawkins said Mrs. Malone deeply impacted her at the start of her sophomore-year voice lessons. “One of the first things she said to me was, ‘You have a good instrument, but basically what I’m going to do is break you down and rebuild you again.’”

Hawkins will attend hwac for an additional year, supplementing her education with three or four music classes, and a theology class.

Both Estebat and Hawkins plan to continue applying their musical training beyond this academic year. After graduation in May, Estebat will move back into the field, where she said she hopes “to do special music and eventually teach how to sing.”