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(04/15/04 5:28am)
Expectations were high for "Peter Grimes," the final show of the 2003-2004 opera season. Between the reputation of director Colin Graham and the difficulty of the show itself, the cast had a very lofty standard to live up to. \nThough IU prides itself on its professional quality performances, it cannot be ignored that it is a training company for singers who will become some of the top-quality performers in their field. "Peter Grimes" is one of Benjamin Britten's greatest works and also one of his most complex -- both musically and dramatically. Therefore, it is a difficult opera for professional companies filled with performers of many more years of experience. So to expect perfection from a collegiate group would be foolish. It was an exceptional learning opportunity for both the cast and the audience and can be equally appreciated as such.\nPerhaps because of the difficulty of the show and the necessity of a more mature tenor than most students possess, Mark Duffin, who played Peter Grimes in the April 9 performance, is not a student at IU, but a hired professional. Though the distinction is not noted in the program, the other Grimes, Christopher Freeze, is a student, and will be performing at the performance April 16. \nDuffin's duet with IU student Rachel Holland, who played Widow Ellen Orford, was a tense moment of the show. This extremely difficult duet in the prologue, which is both musically awkward and sung in a cappella, was surprisingly well-executed, particularly when the dissonant lines managed to resolve on pitch with the orchestral entrance.\nThe mark of a skilled chorus, such as this one, is it manages to remain engaged for the entire duration of the show, even when the focus is shifted elsewhere. Some moments were slightly overdramatized, such as one where the blocking was more reminiscent of a Broadway musical than an opera. Overall, the chorus managed to stay in constant touch with the action and also capitalized on the natural build of tension between the townspeople and Peter Grimes.\nEspecially notable were the "nieces," played by Kristen Robinson and Emily Ross-Johnson. The "main attraction of the local pub," and one of the greater attractions of the show as a whole, drew all the attention women in their profession ought to. Their vocal qualities were well-matched, so the ingenious lines of Britten's writing were exposed for the audience. These are so closely related in pitch and mimicking in their motions an overly-wide vibrato makes the pitches difficult to hear and can lose the effect. \nTrying to select individual moments out of a show designed to be a continuous narrative is difficult and made more so by the seamless orchestral score. The audience was able to both hear and watch as Peter Grimes' mind began to fracture during the second and third acts, and although it would be hard to say exactly when it happened, somehow the audience knows it's coming. The orchestra was essential in creating the unspoken character of the opera -- the presence of the sea and its fickle nature. The orchestral interludes or "sea interludes" were often as engaging and emotional for the listener as the times when there was action on stage.\nThis is certainly not a show designed to inspire and uplift, but even tragedy can be inspirational when placed in a package of dedicated talent and hard work. \n"Peter Grimes" will also be playing this weekend at 8 p.m., April 16 and 17 at the Musical Arts Center.
(04/12/04 1:15pm)
The IU Opera Theater will close its 2003-2004 season this weekend with a performance by the English opera "Peter Grimes." The opera, composed by Benjamin Britten, marked a new direction for English opera. \nIt is the story of a fisherman from a small village who is accused of murdering his young apprentice while out to sea. Although he is acquitted of the crime, the gossip-mongering of the small town and its persistence in believing he is indeed guilty drives him to suicide.\nThis emotionally-charged work is most often noted for the depth of the characters, whose torment is made apparent to the audience not only though the text but also through the score. \nEspecially notable is the unusual role of the chorus. Having a group of people acting as a single entity hearkens back to a much earlier tradition.\n"We act a lot like a chorus from a Greek play," said Annie Gill, a senior majoring in vocal performance and member of the opera chorus. "We serve as the final word of judgment for 'Peter Grimes.'"\nThis particular production is most anticipated due to the reputation of its director, Colin Graham. Graham is known as an authority on Benjamin Britten as a result of his collaboration with the composer himself. Graham has directed the premiers of the last eight operas written by the composer and has also directed "Peter Grimes" five times. \nAlthough this will be Graham's first time directing the opera for a student company, he said he has a very clear vision of his purpose here at IU.\n"My main task is not really to produce a fascinating production," Graham said. "It is to instill into the singers the need to think. It is unfortunate that opera singers are not often taught to think, only to act." \nGraham said a lot of thinking goes into singing for a production composed by Britten.\n"They need to understand what Britten meant by all the markings in the score and how to produce the characters he would have expected. I want this to be a learning experience, not just a doing experience," he said.\nThe cast has spent a lot of time rehearsing and working with the production. \n"This is definitely by far the most difficult opera chorus I've ever performed in," Gill said. "It is difficult not only musically, but dramatically."\nIU Professor David Effron will conduct this production and said he is feeling the emotional effects of the opera on everyone involved.\n"It's an incredible investment of emotion," Effron said. "You're drained every single time you do it, and there aren't very many moments of respite."\nThe collaboration between Graham and Effron is aided by Graham's clear understanding of the role the orchestra plays in this emotional work.\n"What separates Colin from many directors is that he has an incredible understanding of music and drama together," Effron said. "He knows the score as well as any musician would know the music. The whole experience has been a joy for me."\nThe orchestra has a particular role in the opera due to Britten's inclusion of six "sea interludes," purely orchestral works that are often performed independently of the opera. \n"If you play them separately, you can't get the full impact of Britten's intentions," Effron said. "You can approach them the same way, but you can't understand how they fit in the bigger picture."\nTickets areavailable for the four showings of "Peter Grimes," at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 9, 10, 16 and 17. The shows will be preceded by free informances at 7 p.m. on the mezzanine. For more information, call the Musical Arts Center Box Office at 855-7433.\n-- Contact staff writer at Claire Blaustein at cblauste@indiana.edu.
(03/30/04 4:21am)
The image of the Gypsy is held as part of our popular culture -- a view of people in peasant skirts and vests traveling around the eastern European countryside in brightly painted wagons. The Kálmán Balog's Gypsy Cimbalom Band's "Music of the Gypsy Sprit" concert gave audience members a new perspective on the tired gypsy stereotype through a presentation of its music.\nOriginally, the Gypsy -- or Roma -- people came from the lands of northern India. They began migrating to the West a thousand years ago for reasons unknown. Since that time, people of Gypsy descent can be found in almost every country in Europe and in the U.S. This pervasive culture is as apparent in their geographic locations as it is demonstrated in the variety of different influences in their music. \nThe concert began with a recorded voice telling the folk tale of the origin of the Gypsy people in their native language. It was accompanied on the recording by a drone instrument which sounded very much like a tanpura -- an instrument used in Indian music. It was also punctuated by rhythmic chanting that bore another distinct resemblance to a tradition in Indian music, the practice of sol katu, by which a player will speak the rhythm to be played later on percussion instruments. \nIn addition to the recording, one of the live performers played the cimbalom, an instrument similar to the American hammer dulcimer. It basically resembles the stringing of the inside of a piano, but is played by striking the strings with two small mallets. This produces a very beautiful and resonant sound similar to the plucking of a harp.\nAfter the presentation on the origins of the Roma people, the rest of the band joined the party and the music began in earnest. They played a variety of pieces, some large ensemble ones, consisting of four violins, a trumpet, clarinet, accordion and other smaller pieces which used just voice and guitar.\nNo matter what music the band was playing, there was a constant feeling the music related to that of some other culture. One sounded vaguely like klezmer, another like Russian music, another almost like American country. Because the Roma music predates or was developed with many of these styles, it was fascinating to see how pervasive their musical culture has been.\nBloomington is blessed with an abundance of world music. It was a nice change, however, for the University itself to sponsor such an ambitious undertaking and to bring such talented musicians within such easy reach of the student body. The departments of Central Eurasian studies and folklore/ethnomusicology should be commended for their efforts and encouraged to continue with such enjoyable educational projects. \nIn the introduction to the concert, the speaker emphasized how the widespread nature of the Roma people created a balance between the adaptation of their music into the local customs of the places where they had settled and a preservation of their own unique folk customs. With each of the different pieces, the public could be delighted with a glimpse of the wonderfully diverse and dynamic nature of the Gypsy spirit.
(03/25/04 5:14am)
The International Vocal Ensemble specializes in bringing music of diverse cultures to IU's campus. This weekend, however, cultures will cross further as the IVE hosts the Fukushima Kodály Choir. \nThe Fukushima Kodály Choir is an ensemble made up mostly of primary school teachers from the northern provinces of Japan. The group is named after the famous music educator Zoltán Kodály, whose intent was to develop better methods for teaching music in order to promote a happier life for those who learn it. \nBoth the Fukushima choir and IVE recreate music from many cultures. According to its Web site, the Fukushima ensembles repertoire "covers a wide range, from Gregorian chant to modern a cappella European choral music ... as well as Japanese traditional folk music, folk dances and folk customs." \nFor its concert here at IU, the group will be collaborating with IVE on a number of pieces, including music intended for festivals, folk songs, and also music of Ainu people, an aboriginal group originally populated the island of Hokkaido.\nThe connection between the two groups stems from a meeting of their directors. Professor Mary Goetze, director and conductor of the IVE, met Miyako Furiya, the director of the Fukushima Kodály Choir when both were in Amsterdam in 1996. \nGoetze recognized similarities between her group and Furiya's. \n"We both recognize the importance of respecting and sustaining the diverse musical traditions from around the globe," Goetze said. "I was looking for vocal music that IVE could perform. What I knew of Japanese music was that it wasn't very choral, but she brought to my attention different forms that we could work with."\nA few years after the initial meeting, Furiya invited Goetze to come visit her in Japan, and together they started gathering materials to produce a CD-ROM on Japanese music. \n"I had already done a CD-ROM prototype of music from South Africa," Goetze said. "Then Miyako and I made plans for a similar project on Japanese music." \nThe CD will be in both English and Japanese, so it can be used by educators both here and in Japan.\nThe IVE used this CD to learn some of the pieces it will perform this Sunday. \n"The CD-ROM was great because the music is broken down so we can hear the parts and learn them more easily," said Amy Appel, a member of the choir and second-year graduate student studying music education. "We have been listening to the music and had some time to familiarize ourselves with the music and the culture."\nWhile this way of learning music may seem odd for a choir, using audio visual materials is par for the course for IVE.\n"When you are doing music that isn't always written, the learning process must be different," Brett Floyd, a senior guitar major said. "We use lots of AV, and very little score. It's kind of nice, but frustrating sometimes, because there is lots of repetition."\nThe two choirs will not get a chance to meet until Friday, just two days before the concert. IVE has been learning phrases in Japanese in order to greet its guests, but members are unsure of how the melding of their sounds will be.\n"I'm most looking forward to hearing what they think of our reproduction of their music," Floyd said, "and also getting to hear them live, rather than through a video projector."\nThe collaborative concert Sunday is only one of several activities the Fukushima choir will be participating in. At 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the group will participate in a gospel workshop with the African-American Choral Ensemble, led by James Mumford, which will be in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.\nThe final concert is at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 28 in Auer Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
(03/01/04 5:33am)
Most operas are lucky if they can get a half-hearted chuckle out of an audience, and it is even more impressive if a real laugh is produced. The audience for the IU Opera Theater's production of "The Turk in Italy" sounded more like the laugh track to a Friday night standup comedian than an opera.\nGioacchino Rossini's " The Turk In Italy" is an opera buffa, or a comic opera. It stands in contrast to the other operatic genre of the period, opera seria, which generally were the more stereotypical operatic plots. In opera seria, the boy and girl fall in love, sing and eventually everyone dies -- the normal operatic downer. The tradition of opera buffa is not only comedic, but also self-satirizing. One of it's common targets is opera itself. This tradition is well-played in "Turk." \nProsdocimo, the main character played by Chris Carducci, a graduate student studying voice, is a poet desperately searching for a new subject for his opera buffa. Everything he has thought of has already been done, a comment on the repetitive nature of most operas at the time. While drowning his fruitless efforts in a large bottle of wine, he stumbles upon a group of gypsies. He discovers that the beautiful fortune teller Zaida, played by Hyoonsoo Sohn, an artist diploma student, was once a slave in an Erzerum harem and fell in love with the prince, Selim. The two became engaged, but jealous rivals convinced Selim she was unfaithful, and she was forced to flee for her life. \nOf course, coincidentally, a Turkish sultan is due to arrive in Naples that very day, and, lo and behold, it turns out to be Selim. Of course, setting foot on shore, he immediately falls for a beautiful Italian woman, Donna Fiorilla, played by Marcy Richardson, a graduate student studying voice. Fiorilla is married but sees no problem with entertaining the affections of other men. This love triangle, with the added effects of a jealous husband and a jealous suitor, gives the poet more than enough material to manipulate the lovers into a wonderfully comedic plot for his opera.\nThere is always the potential for opera to be taken a little too seriously. Oftentimes, the respect for the composer and the craft are taken too far. Fortunately, this production showed no such tendency for respect whatsoever.\nIt boded well that the mixed gypsy chorus written by Rossini was played entirely by men. The beginning of the opera erased any pretense of seriousness with the comedic physical acting by the entire chorus, especially the "women," whose manipulation of pregnant bulk was surprisingly graceful.\nFiorilla's admirer, Don Narciso, played by Bryon Grohman, a doctoratal candidate studying voice, was a delight to watch, despite his brief stage time. While his character is designed to be amusing, Grohman's over-the-top affectations made the role stick out among all the chaos. \nCarducci deserves praise for his unusual role in an opera. Since it is a part that has no aria of its own, he did not have much opportunity to display his vocal skills. Though, as an actor, he was unsurpassed by the rest of the cast. Obtrusive and crafty, blunt and manipulative, Carducci captured the character of the poet perfectly.\nAt one point, the poet pronounces, "Because I am Italian, I like to do things just as they were done in days of old." This opera may date from 1814, but this production employs a decidedly modern sense of humor. The array of sword jokes, men dressed as women and women fighting like men assures "Turk" to be a delight.\nTickets are still available for next weekend's performances at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Musical Arts Center. Tickets are $15 to $30 for the general public, $10 to $20 for IU students with a valid student ID. For more information contact the MAC Box Office at 855-2255.
(02/12/04 5:37am)
In the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, Room 167, a heated basketball game is being played and the screech of sneakers on polished floors and yelling teammates is audible from the hall. \n Further down the hall, the ambient noise changes quite a bit. Looking in H169, you see girls donning heels instead of running shoes and boys practicing spins and back steps on the side of the court. It is a meeting of the IU Ballroom Dance Club.\nThis particular meeting is a callout for the new semester, where free lessons and open dancing are offered for the evening. The club officers identify themselves with maroon T-shirts and come proffering information packets and release forms. They reassure everyone the forms are only a formality and there is no imminent danger of the "damage to personal property, catastrophic injury or death" outlined in the form. There are only a few stepped-upon toes.\n There is a large crowd -- and not just of boyfriends being dragged along by their girlfriends (although there are a few of those). There are plenty of groups of friends, both girls and guys, and a lot of students and Bloomington residents alike who just came by themselves to see what was going on.\nMany of the students found out about the callout through their HPER E109 class -- Introduction to Ballroom Dance. Sophomore Robin Barker had been in class and came to the callout, boyfriend in tow, for a little extra floor time.\n"We've had a lot of fun with it (in class)," Barker said. "All the students seem to enjoy it, and it will be good to know later for events, you know, weddings and such."\nFreshman Morgan Dunbar came on her own and had some trepidation about the whole experience.\n"I signed up for the ballroom e-mail list on their Web site," Dunbar said. "I've been dancing since I was in second grade, and I've been doing folk dancing at IU more recently. I think this could be fun, but I'm not really sure what is going to happen tonight."\nDespite any concerns the dancers might have, after about a half-an-hour, the party is well underway. Andrew and Michelle Tate, guest instructors for the club, lead lessons for the night. \nThe dancers all stand, line dance style, with the girls facing one way and the guys the other. The Tates demonstrate the moves for the guys and then the girls, while marking time with the music. They start with the Cha-Cha, a basic Latin dance step. The name Cha-Cha comes from the move, which works in a step-step, cha-cha-cha pattern, where you step forward (or back, depending on whether you are the guy or the girl), bring the feet back together and then take several steps in place.\nIn a very short time, everyone is grooving to the music and some are even getting a little adventurous and adding variations of their own. \nBut this callout is just the tip of what the Ballroom Dance Club is involved in. Besides free dance nights, there are also organized classes for beginners through advanced students. Along with these recreational activities for Ballroom Dancing, there is a part of the \n sport with a more competitive edge. \nIn a competitive setting, ballroom dancing is referred to as DanceSport. The national organization for competitive ballroom is the U.S. Amateur Ballroom Dance Association, an organization that oversees the development of ballroom dancing as a competitive sport and sets the standard for which styles and types of dance make up each of the many competitive levels. \nMany of IU's club officers and members are competitive dancers themselves who travel around the area to meet with teams from other universities.\nCarrie Capone, president of the club, is a member of the competitive team. \n"I got started in ballroom eight years ago when my cousin got married," Capone said. "They played a lot of ballroom music, and I loved dancing already, so I made it my goal to learn."\nCapone danced at Ohio State University last February and placed second in the Argentinean Tango competition. \nFreshman Jasmin Quasniczka, the club treasurer, has also been competing for several years. \n"I took a course when I was 14 when I lived in Germany," Quasniczka said. "When I came here, I knew I wanted to keep dancing. I've taken private lessons and now I dance with Joe Ehlers, our staff advisor." \nEhlers has been dancing for four years and has been competitive for the last three.\n"It brings dance to a whole other level," Ehlers said. "It's very physically challenging, but you have to make it look effortless."\nQuasniczka described the competitions as being fairly similar to most other intercollegiate sports.\n"You go and pay a registration fee, then you sign up for which events and levels you want to compete in," Quasniczka said. "The couples for each event all go out on the floor and dance while the judges watch. You are eliminated by round, and at the end, you win gold, silver or bronze."\nThe sport has been deemed physically challenging enough to be considered for the Olympic Games. The International Dance Sport Federation was officially recognized by the Olympic committee in 1997 and participated as part of the closing ceremonies in 2000. \nThe competition on the collegiate level can lead to far bigger things in the world of DanceSport, as it did for instructors Michelle and Andrew Tate.\nThe Tates met and began dancing at University of Illinois in a club setting very similar to that of IU. They have been partners now for seven years.\n"That club was my first experience with ballroom," Andrew Tate said. "It's a really late start for serious competitors, but plenty of people get involved with college classes and then go from there."\nThis past August, they won the title of US National 10-Dance Champions at the 2003 USABDA National DanceSport Championships competition. A 10-dance champion needs to perform all 10 of the dances outlined in the International Standard and Latin categories of the USABDA official syllabus: Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Viennese Waltz, Cha-Cha, Rumba, Samba, Paso Doble and Jive. \nMichelle and Andrew base their teaching out of Indianapolis but come to Bloomington Tuesday nights for the IU Ballroom Dance Club where they teach classes for intermediate and advanced students. \nTheir teaching at this particular venue was met with fabulous results, as everyone seemed to have a great time, including those who were a little nervous to start.\n"It was a lot of fun and lot easier than I imagined," Dunbar said after the callout. "Mostly because a lot of other people didn't know what they were doing either. I am definitely coming back."\nWith two parts of the club, recreational and competitive, the main goal is for everyone to have a good time. \n"The best part of dancing is that you get out there where everybody loves what they are doing," Ehlers said. "That's what it's really all about"
(02/11/04 5:04am)
So fleet the works of men, Back to the earth again. Ancient and holy things, Fade like a dream."\nThese lines of poetry written by Charles Kingsley, a 19th century poet, grace the front of the scrim shade that opens "The Ballad of Baby Doe." \nThe scrim, painted with a scene of a mountain vista, is a replica of the one that hung in the Tabor Grand Opera House in Denver, Colo. These few lines encapsulate the life of Horace Tabor, who had everything but in the end lost it all except the love of his Baby Doe.\nThe production was impressive, led in great measure by the beautiful sets, designed by C. David Higgins. The front scrim was only the beginning, as it gave way to a revolving turntable, so the audience could watch as the sets moved seamlessly from one locale to the next. Credit must also be given to the crew, who managed a huge amount of furniture and props with ease.\nThe outer proscenium was designed to emulate a hall like the Tabor Grand Opera House, and had the added touch of combining 19th century class with modern technology, as the frame reached up to include the super title screen. On either side were large columns, decorated with photographs of the original Horace, Augusta and Baby Doe. The real images served as a reminder to the audience that the story unfolding had actually happened, albeit with a lot less dancing in the streets.\nHorace Tabor, the wealthy silver miner, played by Scott Skiba, was convincingly pompous. Baby Doe, the beautiful miner's (ex)wife, played by Erin Kelly, had a incredibly sweet and tremulous voice well-suited to the golden curls and vaguely insipid nature of her character. Despite a few difficulties in the upper vocal range, most of her arias were appropriately plaintive, and it was easy to see why Tabor would be drawn to her from the far harsher character of his wife, Augusta.\nAugusta, played by Margaret Nilsson, captured the brusk and stern nature of her character in every moment on stage. In all, she was most adept at displaying the many dimensions of Augusta, from the harsh taskmistress at the opening, to the wounded wife when she discovers her husband's affair, to resigned and proud woman at the end. \nA constant problem with the IU Opera is teaching 25-year-old women to create a convincing aura of age. Nilsson was very successful at not only adopting mannerisms of an older woman, but of projecting an air of authority for all of her stage time. \nEven with the strong main characters, it was really the supporting actors who made the show. The quartet of Augusta's friends, played by Brigid Berger, Carrie Reading, Anna Noggle, and Sarah McCormack were beautifully spiteful throughout. Also, Jessica Vanderhoof was incredibly engaging in her portrayal of Mama McCourt.\nThe final scene, where Horace reflects on his life as the most important figures from it appear behind the scrim brings the true passion and devotion of the story to the fore. While there are plenty of moments where drama takes over from a sense of realism and can often be a little much to handle, the reality of the love of Horace Tabor and Baby Doe does come through in the end. \nTickets are still available for shows running at 8 p.m. Feb. 13 and 14.
(02/06/04 5:33am)
Most operas have plots that seem larger than life -- more comedic or more tragic than reality could ever be. With the IU Opera Theater's newest production, the drama may be larger than life, but it is grounded in a true story.\n"The Ballad of Baby Doe" by American composer Douglas Moore premiered in 1956 in Central City, Colo., near where the story actually took place.\nThe plot revolves around "Silver King" Horace Tabor, who went from rags to riches overnight in 1878, when he struck silver in Leadville, Colo. His wife, Augusta, had a hard time adjusting to her husband's excessive wealth. \nThe IU Opera Theater is making a particular effort with this brand-new production, and the show has a local history in Bloomington.\nAt the premiere, the part of Augusta was played by Martha Lipton, who would later become faculty of the IU School of Music. Now in her 90s, Lipton is working with the two young women who will play Augusta in this performance.\nLipton focused more on the creation of character than the vocal aspects of the role in her meetings with the singers.\n"We talked more about deportment than vocal aspects," Nilsson said. "Augusta is such a strong character -- she has to look strong in the way she walks, the way she stands and the way she interacts."\nMichael Ehrman, guest stage conductor, has also helped the actors get inside of their characters.\n"He gives us motivation for every movement," Nilsson said. "He doesn't give just the top layer of what we were saying but everything that goes on underneath. He's been a joy to work with."\nThe vocalists are not the only ones receiving special attention. The scenery is a completely new design, created by IU Professor C. David Higgins.\n"Designing a new show is a long and involved process," Higgins said. "We started about a year out in advance of the opera."\nGiven the historical basis for the opera, the set had a certain obligation to follow.\n"I'm usually accused of doing Walt Disney-like sets," Higgins said. "But I tried to capture a sense of the period without it being cartoony. Many of the sets are of places that actually exist, but there is a certain amount of theatricalism for the opera."\nTim Stebbins, head of the paint department at the MAC, said he was excited about the opera because of its familiarity.\n"The nice thing about doing 'Baby Doe' is that it's an American piece," Stebbins said. "So we all feel a little more familiar with the architecture and the feel of the show."\nConductor David Effron also felt he had a personal connection to the production.\n"I did 'Baby Doe' in Colorado back in the 70s," Effron said. "When I was there, I went to Leadville and saw all the sights where it took place. It makes it closer to you when you can visit."\nEffron has been working with the University Orchestra for this production.\n"We had had an unspoken policy not to let this mostly-freshmen orchestra do operas," Effron said, "But I thought if we found the right vehicle for them, it would be a really valuable experience."\n-- Contact staff writer Claire Blaustein at cblauste@indiana.edu.
(01/15/04 6:00am)
The IU Steel Pan Ensemble, led by percussion graduate student Pat Hernly, is the newest addition to the roster of ensembles at the IU School of Music. While it is common on campus to see graduate students teaching or assisting classes, it is unusual for them to develop their own program. \nBut it was Hernly's interest in teaching and love of the steel drum that inspired him to do just that. \nHernly started steel drumming as a freshman at Miami University of Ohio. He liked it enough that in June of 2002 he purchased his own set of drums.\n"I had intended to start a private steel school," Hernly said. "The plan was to just play orchestral music in school (at IU) and run the steel band on the outside."\nThat is how the ensemble started, with a small group of students meeting after hours at the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington. Recent IU graduate and lead pan player Joe Galvin discovered the ensemble while picking up dinner. \n"I was at this Chinese restaurant and saw a poster advertising the ensemble," Galvin said. "I called the number and started talking to Pat (Hernly), and it went from there."\nWhile running this group, Hernly met up with Steve Houghton, a jazz percussion professor in the music school who showed a considerable interest in the program. \n"Houghton really wanted to get world percussion going on at the school," Hernly said. "So last spring I taught the class here for free. Professor Cirone, head of the percussion department, saw us and really liked what it brought to the department and had an interest in making it a more permanent part of the program."
(01/15/04 5:42am)
Bear's Place will be more sacrosanct tonight than one might normally expect of a bar on a Thursday evening. The weekly Jazz Fables concert will feature a tribute to J.J Johnson, one of the foremost trombone players of the Bebop era.\nBebop, a style of jazz that came out of Harlem during the World War II era, is distinguished by its fast and difficult solo sections. \nJohnson is renowned for his incorporation of the trombone into the Bebop idiom. The sheer distance a trombone player has to cover to change notes was considered an impediment to the kind of quick playing typical of the style.\nThis tribute will be led by Professor David Baker on cello, along with Linda Baker on flute, Tom Walsh on sax, David Miller on trumpet, Luke Gillespie on piano, Joel Kelsey on bass and Deno Sanders on drums. \nThe tribute has a personal significance for Baker.\n"J.J was a teacher and a close friend," Baker said. Johnson and Baker attended the same high school.\nIt might seem unusual that a tribute to a great trombone player would be played by a band with no trombones. Baker himself was a trombonist early in his career until an injury forced him to give it up. It was then that he picked up the cello.\n"I started on the cello because it has the same range and the same general color as the trombone," Baker said. "I'll be J.J's stand-in for this concert, in as much as that is possible."\nThe concert will consist of classics by Johnson, such as "Kelo", "Short Cake" and "Sweet Georgia Gillespie", as well as new arrangements of his tunes by Baker.\n"J.J. was a classy person and it showed in his playing and it shows in his tunes," said sax player Tom Walsh.\nAlthough the concert is to honor a past jazz legend, Baker himself holds a reputation equal to that of Johnson and is held in very high regard by colleagues and students alike. \n"I'm pleased to play with such a person as Mr. Baker," drummer Deno Sanders said. "He's really a living legend. I was under his tutelage for eight years as a student, and it's a pleasure to still be in his company."\nThe Jazz Fables series has been in existence for about 25 years, and Baker has great respect for David Miller, who started the series.\n"We would all be greatly impoverished people if David (Miller) hadn't done what he did," Baker said. "Nobody is more dedicated to the preservation of this music than him."\nBaker is emphatic about the value of these tribute concerts to keep the music of the great performers alive. \n"People have short memories," Baker said. "I want to keep (J.J.'s) name in people's consciousness."\nThis non-smoking concert will begin at 5:30 p.m., tonight at Bear's Place, near the corner of 3rd St. and Jordan Ave. Admission is $7. \n-- Contact staff writer Claire Blaustein at cblauste@indiana.edu.
(12/10/03 5:13am)
With Christmas coming up, many stores are using Christmas carols to complete the ambiance of holiday cheer. The IU Auditorium is also getting into the sprit with "Chimes of Christmas," a concert performed by IU's Singing Hoosiers, along with the Symphonic Band and the Trombone Choir at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the IU Auditorium.\nThe Singing Hoosiers, "IU's ambassadors of song" according to their Web site, are a widely touring show choir.\nMichael Schwartzkopf is the director of the ensemble and a former Singing Hoosier from the class of 1969.\n"There are two goals I try and meet when planning a concert such as this," Schwartzkopf said. "First is an educational value for the choir, and also to provide entertainment for the audience."\nSchwartzkopf said the concert will start out with more traditional choral repertoire and progress to more popular music by the end.\nSenior Joli Dorman, a third-year member of the Singing Hoosiers, said she expects a good assortment of pieces.\n"There's a great variety of rep(ertoire) on the program," Dorman said. "A bunch of traditional stuff, but also a lot of exclusively Singing Hoosiers arrangements."\nOne of these, is an arrangement of "Jingle Bells," a piece that has become a tradition of "Chimes" in the last several years according to Dorman.\nAlthough the Singing Hoosiers are play a significant part in organizing "Chimes," the instrumental ensembles are of equal importance.\nThe Symphonic Band, conducted by IU Professor of Music Stephen Pratt, will accompany the Hoosiers as well as perform some works on their own.\nThe Symphonic Band strives to get the same mix of repertoire that the Hoosiers are looking for. \n"It will be more of a mix of lighter music with other more serious pieces," Pratt said.\nThe Symphonic Band combines both genres of Christmas music and traditional band repertoire with the piece "Stars and Stripes for Christmas," Pratt said.\n"(It is) a mix of John Phillip Sousa and holiday tunes," Pratt said. \nThis concert has been a Bloomington tradition for the last 40 years, and every year the Singing Hoosiers try to do something a little bit different. The surprise this year is also a big secret.\n"(This piece is) an interesting interpretation of a classic work," Dorman said. \nAs with all the Singing Hoosiers concerts, "Chimes of Christmas" is a family affair, complete with an appearance by Santa himself. \nThe family atmosphere is one pervading not only the Singing Hoosiers performances, but the ensemble itself, Schwartzkopf said.\n"It's a close-knit group of people who honestly support and care for one another." Schwartzkopf said.\n-- Contact staff writer Claire Blaustein at cblauste@indiana.edu.
(11/19/03 5:12am)
"Indiana Review," a literary journal published by IU, is currently working on its upcoming summer issue. While they normally print works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, this time they plan to give their readers something they might not expect -- a comic book.\nIR often includes visual art in its biannual issues, but this is the first time it will include an insert of comic art.\nThis particular issue, according to IR's Web site, wants comics "that explore and complicate the ways race, gender, class, national identity and sexuality collide and overlap."\nThis theme is particularly difficult, said Danit Brown, editor of IR. She said she believes it is well-suited for comic art.\n"It's been my sense that comics have done a lot of interesting work exploring margins," Brown said, "and comics have often been marginalized themselves as a legitimate art form."\nIn the comic world, much of the innovative work outside of mass market publishers like DC and Marvel is self-published and often hard to obtain. Brown said she believes including comics in "Indiana Review" will bring them to the attention of a new audience.\nOne of the new audiences for comics is the academic community where the medium has been steadily gaining respect.\nIU has a few classes focusing on comics. The History of Art department offers History of Comic Book Art. This class is taught by Professor Andrei Molotiu, who was also instrumental in assisting the staff of the "Indiana Review" in getting their project off the ground.\nMolotiu found out about the project not from the editors of "Indiana Review," but by seeing their call for submission on a comics journal Web site. Molotiu e-mailed the staff to offer his assistance, and spoke to Andrew Kenower, an intern for "Indiana Review."\n"After (Kenower) came and talked to me, we decided the kind of people we should invite to submit things, people who I thought would do a particularly good job," Molotiu said. "We wanted artists who have dealt previously with issues of marginality and cross cultural issues."\nThis past April, Molotiu organized an interdisciplinary symposium called "Comics at IU," so professors from different departments could present papers on the topic of comics. \n"We're all scattered in different departments doing what our departments require, and there isn't any kind of coherent organization for comics study courses on campus," Molotiu said.\nWith no specific organization for the study of comics, it is really student interest and a willingness to pour through course descriptions.\nMolotiu said the reason his class has been so successful for several semesters is because of consistent student enrollment. His class fills quickly.\nAlthough some students in these classes have never read comics before, many of those in the class are lifelong comic fans. \nSophomore Ray Fleischmann said he believes academic classes on comics can help redefine the genre.. \n"People are realizing that just because superheroes dominate the medium, that doesn't mean that they define it," Fleischmann said. "It's like judging the film industry just by its Steven Seagal movies. There's more to it than big muscles and spandex." \nThe significance of being published in "Indiana Review" goes far beyond getting to see a work in print. It has the potential to open a lot of doors, since other writers and publishers read these journals to see what is fresh and new in the literary world. \n"It's somewhat like a catalogue, a 'one-stop shop' for those interested in contemporary literature -- an expedient way to find out what people are doing and who is doing it." said Lea Bigelow, the business manager for "Indiana Review."\nNow comic artists can have an equal share in that exposure.\n"It shows a willingness to consider all sorts of art forms as legitimate," said junior Stephanie Morris. "Comics aren't always seen as something to be taken seriously, but they really should be"\n-- Contact staff writer Claire Blaustein at cblauste@indiana.edu.
(11/18/03 8:00am)
Although this was the third of six Beethoven string quartet cycle concerts the Orion Quartet will perform at IU, it has not yet ceased to amaze. Its blend of technical mastery and complete control of the repertoire it is tackling led up to a remarkable performance Sunday.\nThis concert featured three quartets from a variety of periods in Beethoven's life. The first was his Quartet in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4. The Opus 18 quartets were published as a set of six pieces written from about 1798 to 1800. The style comes from a tradition established by Franz Joseph Haydn, who conceived of the string quartet as a conversation between the four players.\nThe conversation was clearly present within this performance, especially in moments of the second movement, when the fugue in the opening established four characters as distinct as the players themselves, each with a clear tone and purpose.\nThe Orion Quartet has an uncanny ability to balance the often abrupt changes of style and mood in Beethoven. The Op. 18 No. 4 certainly comprised a lot of contrast, with the first movement rocketing back and forth between sections of brooding bass chords underneath the violin melody to moments of a lively theme with a rocking bass line.\nGiven the dichotomous nature of the Beethoven quartets, the balance between pathos and levity can be very easily overshot, making the contrasts almost too distinct. However, the Orion Quartet moved between the comedy and the tragedy without ever losing a center of the sound that makes it into a cohesive piece rather than separate elements strung together.\nMoving later in Beethoven's life to the Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 127, we see a very distinct difference in purpose. The conversational nature of the Op. 18 is still present, but Beethoven has also begun working with string quartets not as four individual parts but one single sound. This particular quartet was all about dense sonorities, thick chords built between all four voices.\nThe Orion Quartet blended its sounds so that it was often difficult to tell which part was coming from which instrument. Only in the moments when the texture would become thin enough for a slight melody to come through would the audience be reminded that there were four players present.\nThe final piece -- Quartet in C Major, Op. 59 No 3 -- falls in between the conversation of the Op. 18 and the thicker nature of the Op. 127. It uses more dissonance and interesting chromatic lines than the early Op. 18, but maintains more individuality of parts than Op. 127. Especially in the Andante, the Orion Quartet created images of a sinuous melody, held in place by the heartbeat pizzicato in the cello.\nOne of the trademarks of the Beethoven quartets is the composer's enjoyment of false endings. This makes the quartet not only a conversation between players, but between performer and audience. Especially in the last movement of the Op. 59 quartet, there would be a place where the movement would feel like it was drawing to a close, only to have it dart off in another direction -- a new variation on a theme, or the return of one from earlier in the piece. A number of times throughout the concert the joke would be so complete that the audience would actually laugh as it applauded -- as if we were in on the inside joke with not only the quartet, but Beethoven as well.\nWhile this concert would have served as a perfectly nice ending to the series, I'm sure the Orion Quartet has more surprises in store for the next and final weekend of the Beethoven Cycle series, to be performed Jan. 25-26 in Auer Hall.
(10/31/03 6:18am)
A few IU students are pulling out all the stops this Halloween -- literally.\nToday will mark the fourth year anniversary for the Pipes Spooktacular -- an organ concert co-sponsored by the IU School of Music organ department and the Bloomington chapter of American Guild of Organists. The student performers, all in costume, will perform scary music for Halloween at 9 p.m. tonight at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3800 E. Third St. \nIt might seem more like a scene from "Phantom of the Opera" than a normal concert, but the Spooktacular is not a totally new event for IU. \nBack in the 1960s, organ student at the School of Music Dennis James, now a famous theater organist, used to play the organ in the old IU Auditorium to accompany scary silent movies on Halloween.\n"They would sell admission and popcorn and such, and he managed to raise almost $20,000 that went to the Bloomington chapter of the AGO," said Larry Smith, chair of the organ department. "It's actually because of that money that our chapter is so well off today."\nThe AGO is an organization designed to promote the education and certification of church musicians. It has chapters all over the country, including a particularly active branch here in Bloomington. \n"Joining the AGO is one of the main avenues within your career (as an organist)," Smith said. "It creates a solid community."\nAlthough the Guild isn't associated with any university, most of the members in the Bloomington chapter are students. The leadership positions are elected, and this year's dean is graduate student Patrick Pope.\n"Basically I coordinate all the other officers," Pope said. "I'm the one they come to so everything works together."\nPope joined the AGO before he even got to college. \n"I joined not long after I started taking lessons in high school." Pope said. "It's hard to be an organist and not at least know about the AGO."\nThe AGO is particularly difficult to avoid here at IU, which has one of the largest organ departments in the country. The large number of students in the chapter makes for a less formal atmosphere than official events in chapters in New York or Boston might be, Smith said.\n"The main thing we want to do with all our events is to get young people interested in the organ in a way that's fun and exciting," Pope said. \nConcerts like the Pipes Spooktacular are ways AGO chapters can make the organ fun and exciting.\nSenior Vince Carr, student coordinator for the event, said things have gotten pretty interesting in the past. Last year, one of the male performers dressed as a nun and decided to play excerpts from the "Sound of Music" instead of his part of the planned program.\nCarr said he is particularly looking forward to this year's concert.\n"It's our most eclectic program yet," said Carr, who is also an IDS employee. "Everything from the famous (Bach) Toccata and Fugue to an organ duet with synthesizer to a piece for organ and tape."\nThe concert has been successful the last few years, especially since it became free. The addition of door prizes have also made the event popular, Carr said.\n-- Contact staff writer Claire Blaustein at cblauste@indiana.edu.
(10/10/03 6:28am)
Beethoven's string quartets are often held up as examples of his finest work. This set of 17 quartets spans most of Beethoven's career and a wide range of his musical styles.\nOver the next several months, students at IU will have the rare opportunity to hear them all.\nThe Orion String Quartet will be performing the entire Beethoven cycle in a series of six concerts. The first of these will be at 4 p.m. Sunday in Auer Hall.\nThis will not be the first performance of this magnitude by the Orion Quartet -- they did the entire Beethoven cycle in a series of concerts in New York called "Beethoven 2000" that year. Each of these concerts, done in conjunction with the Lincoln Center were free and open to the public, and each concert benefited a different New York arts organization.\nViolinist and member of the Orion Quartet Todd Phillips said he was surprised at the wide range of people who attended. \n"We didn't just get the normal classical concert crowd," Phillips said. "There were taxi drivers there, and young people, and tons of students. It really showed a unique thing about this type of music… that a set of pieces of the most sophisticated music ever written can appeal not only to those educated in it, but to anyone with any interest at all."\nFor a group with a reputation like the Orion's, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary season this year, the Beethoven quartets were a logical step.\n"They're pieces that any string quartet that stays together for a length of time will do anyway," Phillips said. "They are a centerpiece of quartet repertoire. It's really a unique experience to see the whole set of them in perspective."\nThe faculty of the IU School of Music is particularly looking forward to the concerts. Professor Atar Arad is a viola professor and director of the string quartet seminar, a class devoted to helping student string quartets gain both performance practice and in-depth experience with repertoire. He said he was especially excited for the educational opportunity the series will provide. \n"It is so great for the students to have the Orion come," he said. "It's as if you're bringing Manchester United (one of Britain's top soccer teams) to play at IU. We're not in New York, so students can't get exposed as often to truly elite performers. We have the dean (of the music school) to thank for seeing the need for this sort of thing."\nEach individual quartet of Beethoven's can stand alone. But Arad said he is interested in the bigger picture.\n"I really hope that we will do more complete cycles in the future," he said. "It's really the best way to get the full impact of a musical movement, and there is no bigger movement than Beethoven. It's really the deepest musical thought anyone ever had."\nIU professor Robert Green, who is teaching a class on the Beethoven quartets this semester, also is looking forward to experiencing the whole set of works. \n"This will be a chance to admire the craftsmanship and experience the heartfelt feelings Beethoven put into the quartets," Green said. "We can look at how he ignores the normal rules of form and tonality that we learn in theory -- how he came to be above those kinds of things."\nIn addition to the concerts, the Orion Quartet will also be giving two master classes during each visit to IU. These will be held 12:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday in Ford Hall, and will be open to all students and the public. \nBoth the quartet and the professors said they hope that these concerts will give students an opportunity to truly understand the inner makings of a quartet and gain something from the Orion Quartet's vast experience.
(10/09/03 5:43am)
When he was a college student, Ken Zuckerman discovered traditional Indian music. His life changed forever after that momentous experience.\nZuckerman and celebrated musician Anindo Chatterjee will perform at 8 p.m. tonight at Auer Hall.\nChattarjee, who has received numerous awards including the Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 2003, which is an award bestowed by the President of India to Indian musicians and artists of incredible talent, plays tabla, a set of Indian drums with a very melodic tone and which produces a variety of different pitches.\nIndian classical music is a vital part of Indian culture. IU professor Lewis Rowell, a specialist in Indian music, sees it as a near perfect reflection of ancient tradition. \n"It is really a continuous tradition, one where the past is truly alive in the present," Rowell said. "It survived all the historical upheaval bound to occur in any country unscathed."\nIt is obvious with musicians like Zuckerman, who is a native of Philadelphia, that it is not a tradition restricted to India. A highly regarded sarod player, Zuckerman discovered Indian music while he was studying at Grinell College in Iowa. There he had the opportunity to hear sarod player Ali Akbar Khan in concert. The sarod is a stringed instrument somewhat similar to the Western lute. \nEven after just one performance, Zuckerman was hooked. He went to study at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music in California for the summer. There he discovered a whole new path.\n"I found (in Indian music) the music I had been searching for," Zuckerman said. "I had always been interested in improvising, and I loved to compose, and in Indian music I found all these possibilities already built into a single tradition."\nImprovisation is a very important part of Indian music, but this open-ended form can have many results. While a concert like the upcoming one will stay well within a few hours, when the performers are truly inspired, individual pieces can become immense works of music. \nRowell recalled a Ravi Shankar concert he attended in India in 1975. \n"The performers arrived at about 10:30 at night, and when I left at about 4:30 in the morning, they were still going strong," Rowell said. "It was an amazing piece of work."\nThe learning process for Indian classical music is very different than the piano lessons so many students in America have taken. A musician's teacher, or guru, is central to your experience with the instrument.\n"Your guru teaches you everything," Zuckerman said. "It's hugely important because there are no libraries where you can go and get the music -- you must get your material straight from your teacher's mouth."\nThis approach can be overwhelming for a student, since Indian music has many different levels of rules. There are thousands of ragas, or scales, that each serve a different purpose, and the cyclic rhythms don't necessarily divide up into evenly measured pieces.\nZuckerman's guru, Khan, had a particular way of teaching his many students. \n"I would call it a holistic method, one where he throws everything at you all at once," Zuckerman said. "The piece he's playing gives you the raga and the rhythm, and since he's composing most of it on the spot, it gives you insight into that process as well. It put the theory into a living context immediately."\nSince Khan would also tell stories as he played, his students would be exposed to the history of the culture along with its music.\nLearning to play Indian music is a long and painstaking process, often taking decades to reach true mastery. This can be very daunting to potential students.\n"I didn't realize at first how long it would take," Zuckerman said. "It's kind of lucky because if I had I might have found something else to do."\nAlthough it is a difficult process, it does not stop everyone. Several IU students became exposed to classical Indian music in similar fashion to Zuckerman.\nBen Jacob, a composition master's student, got involved in Indian music when he was 19 while taking a world music class. He bought a sitar soon thereafter and started learning to play. \nPercussion master's student Pat Hernly also discovered Indian music in college, while playing percussion in the Indian Music Ensemble at Miami University of Ohio. The director of that ensemble, Srinivas Krishnan, became Hernly's teacher and invited him to study in India. \nHernly's attraction to Indian percussion came from a diverse background. \n"I was doing a lot of marching percussion," Hernly said. "And listening to a lot of progressive rock music, stuff with odd time signatures." \nThese odd rhythms helped Hernly in learning the difficult and sometimes uneven Indian rhythmic patterns.\nThe Beatles worked with world famous sitar player Ravi Shankar on their album "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," rocketing the Indian sound into the American mainstream. \nThis newfound popularity of Indian classical music was two-sided. It sparked a new tradition of the fusion of Indian classical music with other genres. These collaborations are still happening today, with groups like Global Rhythms, the new name of the ensemble directed by Srinivas Krishna at Miami of Ohio. It is an ensemble devoted to using influences from many cultures and allowing students to explore how each can be combined to create truly great music. \nJust as The Beatles used Indian music back in the '60s, popular music groups today use the same sounds. Ozomatli, an Afro-Cuban hip-hop group, uses tabla extensively in their recordings. \nWith this type of popular Indian music it is easy to forget that it is a fusion, and is not in keeping with the traditional styles of classical Indian music. Fusion music is wonderful in its ability to expose a wide audience to a variety of cultures, but to truly understand a culture's musical history, you need to go back to the music's roots -- and those lie in the classical music tradition.\n-- Contact staff writer Claire Blaustein at cblauste@indiana.edu.
(09/24/03 5:33am)
Many students on campus have been to a Union Board movie at some point or another. They're free, they're on campus and you get to see some of the big budget films you may have missed. This year, however, there is another reason to go to the Whittenberger Auditorium -- the Independent Film Series.\nStarting this semester, every 2nd and 4th Wednesday and Sunday, a different low budget (and the occasional high budget) independent art film will be shown at the Whittenberger. \n"We realized that there was a great student demand for an alternative film series," said senior Chris Wilkerson, the UB film committee's assistant director. "We wanted to offer them movies they might not get to see otherwise."\nFilm series director Ryan O'Connell said a lot of the inspiration for this addition to the UB offerings came from its Student Film Fest in January.\n"We had 12 films from IU students showing at the Whitt, with faculty and staff judging them," he said. "We had a fantastic turnout for the festival, and then people stayed for the professional independent films we showed afterwards. The reaction was so overwhelmingly positive it really got us thinking."\nDespite Bloomington's small size, there are a number of movie options -- from the traditional Kerasotes to the Ryder film series, O'Connell said. \n"Bloomington has an amazing film culture, especially considering that we don't even have a film school of our own," he said. "The whole (independent film) thing came about from an expressed need for something different. We're really excited to see the response grow."\nJunior Claire Tramm, UB marketing director, had a very personal reaction to the addition. \n"I just went up and gave Ryan a hug when they decided … I was so proud of them for doing something so cool," she said.\nThe only change for this new series is the addition of a $2 admission charge, as opposed to the regular film series, which is free with a student ID. O'Connell said the rise in price was needed because there might be a limited audience. \n"With our normal series, we know that the house will be full for almost every movie," he said. "With this new one, we need to charge admission to offset the costs, at least to begin with." \nWith a consistent student turnout, the UB hopes this will eventually change. \nThe next film in the series, "Better Luck Tomorrow," is an MTV and Paramount project about four over-achieving Asian-American high school students who turn to a life of petty crime, as long as it doesn't interfere with their schoolwork. Their dual identity allows them all to escape the pressure for perfection.\n"Better Luck Tomorrow" opened at some select small art house theaters in cities like New York and Los Angeles and toured the film fest circuit this past summer, premiering at the Sundance and Toronto film festivals.\n"Better Luck Tomorrow" will be playing at the Whittenberger Auditorium today and Sunday at 8 and 11 p.m.