Mario and Luigi drove through the Rainbow Road, tripped over bananas and collected power ups on screen at Crill Performance Hall on Feb. 28 while being accompanied by Point Loma Nazarene University student Ben Wodarczyk’s music at his senior recital. A non-required recital turned into a full-scale production as Wodarczyk brought together 18 performers for a program that blended classical repertoire, jazz standards and a video game encore.
Commercial music majors at PLNU choose from four concentrations and are required to put on a senior show as part of their degree. However, students pursuing a general music degree, like Wodarczyk, are not required to do this.
Wodarczyk, a fourth-year double major in music and political science, chose to still organize the recital as a way to capture his involvement in the PLNU music program.
The program had two sections. The first featured classical works, including selections by Alexander Guilmant and Lars-Erik Larsson. The second half transitioned into jazz, where Wodarczyk performed alongside a full ensemble.
“I’ve always loved jazz,” Wodarczyk said. “It’s a game — you can do whatever you want and just call it a jazz note.”
In addition to a trombone trio, the show included a brass quintet, a jazz combo of four trumpets, a rhythm section and a full band, ranging from fellow students to professional musicians. Wodarczyk said he practiced some songs for a couple months, while others he had been practicing for five years.
“The thing I’ve learned the most is how to work with people and organize details,” Wodarczyk said.
The concert drew an audience of about 100 attendees, including PLNU students and members of Wodarczyk’s home church, many of whom traveled from Escondido to attend.
The most memorable moment came at the end, Wodarczyk said. As an encore, he arranged a live performance of “Coconut Mall” from Mario Kart Wii, complete with gameplay projected on screen while audience members controlled the race. Musicians performed the soundtrack live, incorporating sound effects from the game.
The recital went beyond creativity, as it was a heartfelt tribute to Dr. Daniel Jackson, whose memory impacted Wodarczyk throughout his time in the music department. “I do want to address the reason I even did a recital in the first place. My inspiration was Dr. [Daniel] Jackson and his memory, who recently passed away last summer.”
Jackson was a music professor at PLNU for over 20 years, where he directed choirs and played a major role in shaping the school’s music program. He died on July 11, 2025, after multiple battles with cancer, leaving a strong impact on the PLNU community through his mentorship and faith.
Jackson, before his death, had convinced Wodarczyk to become a double major and become more involved in the music program by his third year.
“It’s been his ‘evil scheme’ to get me to be a music educator after I graduate, instead of going into what I was going to do — law,” Wodarczyk said. “The entire time I’ve been here, he’s been pushing me toward classes where I would be with other music educators, pushing me towards friends with [music majors], and he’s also been pushing for me to do a recital. I decided I had to do a recital; I did recently change career paths, and I am going to be a music educator. So, he won.”
Zoe Golden, a third-year instrumental performance major and Wodarczyk’s friend, attended his recital that night. She said the recital perfectly mirrored Wodarczyk’s interests and personality.
“He was able to talk so much and be himself, which really spoke to me,” Golden said. “Music can be very freelance and performances can be freelance and not as sophisticated as I’ve really thought up in my head. There’s a lot of musicians in the professional world outside of Point Loma that have such a level of sophistication and productivity, but it’s really good to know that that’s not like every single performance that you’ll ever see.”
Adee Tulcan