His Passion For Music

"Probably my last memory of Giancarlo is of his Senior Project performance. At his time each senior proposed a project he would work on in the Fourth Quarter. This was supposed to be an intensive project, equivalent to the amount of time normally allotted for Theology, Foreign Language, and Electives, all of which were canceled in the Fourth Quarter for seniors. The seniors left campus at noon with the expectation that they work on their senior projects. These projects and the extra free time were intended to give the seniors anticipation of college life and work.

Giancarlo’s project involved piano. He worked on a classical piece and a jazz piece and then performed them in the theater before a packed house. Beyond his virtuosity on the piano, Giancarlo wowed me with the breadth of his musical talent and even more with his personal interest. He clearly knew he enjoyed jazz piano and was pursuing that interest in a very sophisticated way. At that recital, Giancarlo represented the best of Cistercian students – a young man who had worked to develop his talent and had searched his heart to identify an interest or passion." - Fr. Peter Verhalen