The sound of an organ reverberated through Auer Hall as Peter Rogahn performed his doctoral recital.
About 30 people attended the recital at 5 p.m. Monday. Before Rogahn, 32, began the show with Marcel Dupré‘s “Carillon, Op. 27 No. 4," the lights above the audience dimmed as he walked out to say a few words.
“Thank you so much for being here on this beautiful day,” Rogahn said jokingly in reference to the rain.
He then said his performance was dedicated to his father, who died earlier this year.
Rogahn lives in Indianapolis and is a full-time student at IU. He is an organist, pianist, choral conductor and a teacher, according to his LinkedIn. Rogahn said his first memory was hearing a pipe organ in a church, and he has been drawn to it ever since.
“Initially when I got into music it was for just the pure emotional expression, and that’s still the case,” Rogahn said.” “But I also now enjoy the hyper-intellectual aspect that is learning music and trying to figure it out. It’s kind of like a puzzle you have to break apart and then put back together, and I enjoy that process.”
Rogahn played six pieces during his doctoral recital. Between each piece, he stood up and bowed as the audience clapped for him.
Patrick Fischer, an organ curator at the Jacobs school, said he goes to events like recitals to support the students.
“I work for the organ department, so I take care of the instruments and deal with scheduling,” Fischer said.
Some of the audience members were faculty members or people stopping by to see Rogahn perform, while others, like junior organ student Carolyn Craig, were fellow students.
“Peter is in my studio, and I’ve watched him learn this music and get to express it,” Craig said. “I think in general, classical concerts express a lot, especially instrumental music, more than words can.”
In addition to getting his doctorate with the Jacobs school, Rogahn is currently a precentor at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Indianapolis. He plans music for worship services and is an organist and a choir director.
“Church music is something that organists end up getting involved in a lot of the time,” Rogahn said. “The nature of going into music is that you have to combine so many different careers of performing and teaching and doing church music to make a career in music.”
After his performance, Rogahn bowed and walked away three separate times while the audience’s clapping continued. He finished by blowing the audience a kiss.
