Cathy Rogers charmed the ears of listeners in Whitehead Auditorium with the divine sounds of her piano finesse and musical expertise on Thursday evening.

As part of the requirement for achieving her Master of Music in Collaborative Piano Performance degree at VSU, Rogers and several other skilled musicians brandished an array of instruments and dosed the crowd of approximately 100 spectators with a variety of tunes.

Assisted by Nicole Kessler on the flute, Rogers began her performance with a 20th century classical piece, “Sonate pour Flute et Piano” by Francis Poulene. Secondly, Rogers presented a 19th century classical selection, “Trio in A minor, Opus 188” for piano, oboe, and horn by Carl Reinecke, with the assistance of Chelsea Slagor on the oboe and Eric Fancher on the horn. Finally, Rogers brought it all home with a 20th century classical-jazz choice, “Blue Rondo A La Turk” for piano, bass, and drums by Dave Brubek, accompanied by Trent Harper on the double bass and Mason Davis on the drums.

Upon the conclusion of her performance, Rogers revealed a wide smile, took a noble bow, and then exited the stage amidst a hefty round of applause and a string of whistles and cheers.

“It was a very impressive performance,” Catherine Hughley, education major, said. “The piano was obviously the highlight, but all of the assistants were great too.”

Rogers’s charisma and skill did not just come to her overnight.

Beginning her musical endeavors at just six-years-old, Rogers is a student of VSU’s professor of piano, Dr. Lyle Indergaard, and has been playing for years – all the way up to VSU’s graduate level.

“I’m never bored,” Rogers said. “I really love studying different music from many cultures. There’s much to learn about people through music.”

Rogers enjoys playing many different kinds of music, particularly jazz, Latin-American, folk music from other countries, Appalachian folk, spirituals, traditional and contemporary church music, gospels, hymns, rock, and ballads.

Upon her graduation, she plans to continue her musical endeavors; hopefully through a job in collaborative piano or private piano teaching.