Chloe Tomasso ‘25

*Tia Bowen ‘25, Julian Day ‘24, and Julian Cotom ‘25 join Bowen’s set. Photo by Anya Tucker.*

On Apr. 6, a community of Sarah Lawrence students came together to spotlight the college’s singer-songwriters. With the help of the residents of Slonim Woods 3 and a Syracuse student duo called The Recital, four sets of student performers were given the opportunity to perform an intimate acoustic concert that evening. Performances of the night included Alyssa Sage ‘24, Tia Bowen ‘25, Julian Day ‘24 and student band NEJ.

*Alyssa Sage ’24 preforming. Photo by Anya Tucker*

Alyssa Sage ’24 opened the set with her sweet somber guitar melodies, the highlight an original song based on the Disney movie, “The Rescuers.” Sage commanded the attention of every single audience member in the room as soon as they stepped up to the mic. One word to describe Sage’s songwriting is nostalgic; many of her songs focus on longing and retrospect, which highly resonated with the crowd.

Tia Bowen ‘25, also known as “bunnygirl”, performed a mix of original songs and covers, captivating the room with every single song. The highlight of their set, however, was their closing song, a cover of “Iris'' by The Goo Goo Dolls. Julian Cotom ‘25 of NEJ enthusiastically rushed from the crowd to join Bowen onstage to play along on guitar . Bowen’s rendition of “Iris” honored the original version, but added a contemporary twist. Every single person in the audience sang along to the chorus and shone their phone flashlights along to the music.

The third performer, Julian Day ‘24, accompanied both Sage and Bowen on drums and bass, and continued to show her versatility with her own performance. Day’s songs are eclectic and soft, showcasing their whimsy and free-spirited nature. Members in the audience danced along to the sweet harmonic sounds of Julian Day. Before the show, Day expressed their excitement about being featured in The Phoenix by sharing a beautiful quote, “Gazing out at azure sky, meadows thinking.” Day is a poet at heart, and this line only exemplifies what her art is all about.

*Georgia Marshall ‘24 and Julian Day ‘24. Photo by Anya Tucker.*

NEJ, consisting of students Noah Rozenblatt ‘25, Elijah Melvin ‘25 and Cotom closed out the concert with funk-infused tunes to end the show on a high. NEJ is no stranger to diverse sonic arrangements and styles, describing themselves as a “ performative tour-de-force.” At this point in the set, the crowd was fully immersed in the show, dancing along to the music. They were the perfect choice to perform the finale with a bang.

*Elijah Melvin ‘25 of NEJ. Photo by Anya Tucker.*

Syracuse University seniors Corey Chun ‘24 and Maria Nido ‘24 started their concert series, The Recital, about two years ago, when they felt that Syracuse was not giving a large enough platform to student singer-songwriters. Chun and Nido host acoustic sets that feature college student talent from their area, and have officially begun to branch out from beyond their university. The show at Sarah Lawrence is the duo’s first stop outside of Syracuse, which they booked thanks to a friend of Chun’s, who is a student here.

“I’ve been to a bunch of Sarah Lawrence concerts and it’s the same energy…very tight-knit, a lot of the same bands performing. I had this setting in my mind and I knew the potential it had, and our whole concept is living rooms, mainly. It’s just really cool that there are all these little cottages on campus,” Chun exclaimed.

With the help of the Slo 3 residents, Chun and Nido set up the small communal space with makeshift lighting and decor, as well as a merch table to create the proper ambiance of the show. Nido says that to them, the decorative and stylistic details are an important part of the success of their shows.

“We really care about the way the space looks. We carefully hand pick our decorations, we ensure that we have flowers or any sort of motifs to go along with the show and to be set up up front. I think that’s just a detail that we really care about. How people feel when they enter the room, the lights that are on, the clothing that we wear. We tend to coordinate even in our dress.” Nido explained.

“We love a good theme,” Chun added.

But The Recital is not just an aesthetic entity. Chun and Nido place a large emphasis on the importance of community.

“The Recital has always stood as a place where people can actually be heard and play their music. I feel like that’s not very common on college campuses… It’s a space where musicians can be heard and feel like their craft is respected,” Nido explained.

Chun and Nido are graduating from Syracuse soon, and hope to continue hosting shows post-graduation. Currently, there are no successors ready to take over at their university, but they are confident that the culture will continue even after they leave.

“There’s always going to be a demand for this kind of scene and it’s definitely going to morph in its own way,” Chun assured.

The duo would like to thank the Sarah Lawrence community for being welcoming and enthusiastic about their passion project.

The Recital has an upcoming show in Nashville at Belmont University on Apr. 13, and they hope to bring their project to many different places.

The Recital Comes to Sarah Lawrence: Celebrating Student Songwriters