It was an emotional Saturday afternoon at Whitmore Recital Hall as students, families and friends gathered to remember the lives of MU students Jeremy Porter, 19, and Sean Radcliff, 20, at a memorial concert.
Sean Radcliff and Jeremy Porter were killed in a car accident June 26. Radcliff and Porter were both devoted brothers of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, as well as members of Marching Mizzou. The two saxophone players met through Marching Mizzou and became close friends.
Leo Saguiguit, MU’s saxophone professor, was in charge of organizing the memorial concert to honor the lives of Porter and Radcliff.
“The fact that it happened over the summer didn’t give our School of Music community an opportunity to honor them, so this concert is our way of celebrating their lives and memories,” Saguiguit said.
The response of various service groups on campus, students and departments and schools outside the School of Music showed the impact Radcliff and Porter had on the university.
“There has been an overwhelming response from performers from the School of Music, the music service organizations and also the Columbia Handbell Ensemble,” Saguiguit said.
The concert included the Columbia Handbell Ensemble, the Phi Mu Alpha Ringers, Sigma Alpha Iota, University Singers, the MU Saxophone Ensemble and the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
“I was friends with both Sean and Jeremy,” Kristen Cash, former Marching Mizzou Member and clarinet player for “Ave Maria,” said. “Sean was my neighbor and shared the same major as me. I had been friends with Sean for the past two years. I have known Jeremy since he arrived at Mizzou, and sadly felt like I was only just getting to know him.”
The performance lasted about an hour, and included “The Whistle Song,” because, as the audience was informed, Radcliff always liked to whistle.
Josh Atkins, a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, conducted “Ave Maria,” and performed with the Phi Mu Alpha Ringers as well as his fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
“I knew Sean and Jeremy through our fraternity,” Atkins said. “The concert was a wonderful celebration of the lives of two outstanding men. The performers were excellent and it provided a great opportunity for all the members of the School of Music family to contribute to a lasting tribute to our friends.”
Family members of Radcliff and Porter were also in attendance.
“Both Sean and Jeremy’s families commented to me about how much both Sean and Jeremy would be so proud of everything that was happening,” Atkins said. “And both families were deeply grateful to all the performers for sharing.”
Among the songs closing the memorial was the “Sinfonia Parting Song,” which brought on a very emotional response in the audience.
“I believe this event was very successful and know Sean and Jeremy would have loved it,” Cash said. “Everyone played and sang with so much meaning and emotion, it was music in its most powerful form. Music is what they both loved, so this recital honored their memory very well.”