To attend one of NIU’s public music recitals is to be cascaded by massive aural waves and inspired lilts, tender as a heartbeat, of aspiring students paying homage to the staples of music and the music-education process.

In music schools around the country, many students’ most shining or nerve-wracking moments are associated with public recitals.

“It is the culminating experience of a music student to perform the public recitals,” said Tim Blickhan, assistant director of the School of Music.

Some of these inspiring and uplifting moments are shared by non-music majors watching their peers perform free shows – sometimes as often as twice a day during the final days of a semester.

“The recitals function as the equivalent of the final thesis of non-music majors,” Blickhan said.

Not only is there the sense of academic camaraderie to bring students in, but some of the musicians performing possess legitimate professional talent. Musicians from distinguished orchestras return for higher degrees, and there are many faculty recitals from well-established professionals.

So why don’t more students come to these recitals?

Tom Cappaert, a post-masters cello student and orchestra director in Naperville, performed select Beethoven Sonatas for a 21-person audience Friday, but he doesn’t blame the university or its students for the small turnout.

“I simply didn’t publicize,” Cappaert said. “I work in the daytime and have a family with two kids. I’m lucky my wife lets me practice as much as I do.”

Recitals are active parts of the music curriculum, whether heavily attended or not. They are either attended by a committee of related music faculty or a recording is made and later reviewed in a similar fashion.

The grading of the recital is based on the pass/fail system,” Blickhan said.

While music undergraduates have only to perform once for their senior recital, graduates or those students striving for their performers certificate are required to perform four recitals to graduate. Performers Certificates are designed to develop fully-independent, professional musicians.

JiaFeng Yan will perform for a Performers Certificate Friday at 8 p.m. in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall.

Yan will perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Music professor William Goldenberg will accompany him on a second piano.

“I’ve been practicing the material for this performance for four or five months,” Yan said. “But I’m not very nervous, just a bit excited. The entire piano faculty will be there. This is very important to me.”