On April 29th, 2019 I attended Christopher Calderón’s graduation recital titled “Yo soy canción”. It was performed at the Emilio S. Belaval theater at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I liked the recital very much, specifically for three things, the intensity and emotion of the songs, the integration of several instruments in it, and the great vocal talent that we all know that Cristopher Calderón possesses.
First of all, it is important to mention that all the pieces of the recital, (except one song), were composed by Christopher. By listening to the lyrics you could notice that Christopher had a specific intention with every word he said, he did not throw empty words into the air, unlike many of the artists we see today triumphing in the industry. His songs dealt with real issues and / or themes with which we could identify. For example, there was a piece that mentioned the bombings in the Middle East (Syria) and war, and the suffering of the inhabitants of those places. In fact, all of his compositions were great, and even more so with the instrumental accompaniment that each and every one of them had.

The second aspect that I really liked about the recital is that, in addition to having Christopher as a vocalist, percussionist, bassist and guitarist (Yes, he sang and played three instruments), he had a complete band. He had chorus singers, percussionists (congas and drums), a bassist, a guitarist, a pianist and a flutist. In short, the complete combo. This made the experience much more richer and enjoyable. Likewise, the genre of music that Christopher interpreted required that it be so. Unlike a classical music recital, having only one piano was not going to be enough for Christopher’s pieces to have the strength they needed. The instruments complemented and took his vocal performance to another level.

The third aspect that I have to mention is Christopher’s vocal technique. First of all, he has a very sweet voice, but very resonant. During the whole recital I did not notice that Cristopher had any difficulty singing. His diction was practically perfect, I did not hear him struggle for air at any moment, I did not hear any difficulty when trying to reach the high notes, etc. His voice was expressed with complete freedom. Apart from the technical aspect of his singing, it should be noted that one as a spectator could feel the passion and feelings Christopher was experiencing when interpreting the musical pieces. Nothing felt forced or monotonous. Even in one part of the recital Christopher’s guitar stopped playing and he continued to sing “acapella” as if nothing had happened.

Christopher Calderón’s recital was excellent. I enjoyed it a lot and the music was great. It left me wanting to see what the next music students will do in their graduation recitals. I’m anxious to see what’s to come next.