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W&L Presents Senior Recitals The performance is free and open to the public.

Washington and Lee University presents combined senior recitals for Reeves Surgner ’18 on guitar and Ben Whedon ’18 on piano May 21 at 5 p.m in Lenfest Center. The performance is free and open to the public.

Surgner is a music major and French minor. He began taking guitar lessons at age 10, which led to his love of music. While he is not classically trained, a history of playing guitar and singing led to his initial involvement in music at Washington and Lee.

Surgner began taking music courses during his sophomore year, intending to minor in music. After one year of studying music, he changed his major from economics to music and became actively involved in the programs of the music department. He also spent a great deal of time performing with University Bluegrass Ensemble.

Whedon is a music minor at Washington and Lee who entered the department during his freshman year. Since then, his involvement in music has been as much a part of his experience as his actual classes and degrees.

Whedon has taken piano lessons since the age of four but quit all involvement in music before entering high school. He resumed his piano studies in the fall of 2015, hoping to prepare himself for the challenges of performing in the University Singers. This decision revived his love for the instrument, and he has since pursued it as an interest independent from choral work. In addition to his voice and piano studies, he is an amateur guitarist. He has also conducted the University Singers in rehearsal, and the University Wind Ensemble in live concert. Whedon will graduate from W&L with a B.S. in accounting and business administration and a B.A. in European history.