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(03/06/03 10:26pm)
The square window lets in just enough light to negate the need for overhead fixtures in the small room at the School of Music. The room is home to a well-used piano, a small table and three chairs. This room is a study, an office and a classroom belonging to Janet Ross -- one of two winners in 2003 who earned the Vision, Strength, and Artistic Expression Panasonic Young Soloists Award.\nBut it's hard for Ross to see her accolades. She's legally blind.\nWhen she was born, cataracts marred one of the five-senses people take for granted. Later came the glaucoma, which stole more of her precious vision. Though she is challenged with this disability, she moves around the halls of the music school with the precision of Bartolomeo Dias when he rounded the Cape of Good Hope.\nRoss is a graduate student in piano performance and was awarded the VSA, an honor bestowed on musicians under age 25 who have been diagnosed with a disability.\nAs part of the award, Ross will give a 15 to 20 minute recital May 21 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the nation's capital. \nWhen Ross applied for the award, she sent in recordings of three contrasting works from three different periods. Her choices included work from her junior and senior year recitals, which she said showed off her abilities. Those selections paid off big time with a $5,000 scholarship from the Panasonic Corporation.\nHer daily practice tickling-the-ivory will become an hour longer as she prepares for the upcoming event at the Kennedy Center.\n"A recital isn't something you can cram for," Ross said. "The week before a recital, you should pretty much be ready."\nRoss doesn't know yet what pieces she will perform at the Kennedy Center, though several options have already been submitted to the awards committee.\n"My favorite pieces to play are slow and beautiful," Ross said. "But 15 to 20 minutes of slow and beautiful might put everybody to sleep."\nRoss also said she's trying to find a Chopin and Brahms balance.\nTaking into account her impaired vision, her music learning method is unorthodox. She can read only one line of music at a time. The sheet has to be close to her face -- very close. She must memorize notes one hand at a time before she can play the piece.\nThe method is often frustrating and time consuming. Her attitude, though, remains upbeat and typical of a person used to overcoming adversity.\n"I've learned to rely on my tactile sense of the keyboard," Ross said. "I just have to come up with different ways to figure things out."\nA short stint with the violin led to Ross' piano-playing beginnings at age six. She regularly practices piano for four hours a day, gives piano lessons and accompanies the IU Children's Choir. She also works in the IU School of Music's Office of Admission and Financial Aid, serving as an associate instructor in the Piano Department. Ten hours, she says, is considered a short day at the School of Music.\nRoss, a native of Amherst, Mass., seems to be gifted in not only music, but academics as well. She graduated from IU in May 2002 with a GPA of 3.9 and a triple major including piano performance, flute performance and children's music pedagogy, said a statement from the School of Music.\nBut despite all this success, Ross is still realistic when it comes to considering her future with her sight impairment. She doesn't know where her future in music will take her, but she does know piano will always be a large part of it.\n"The only thing I know is that I don't want one job to define me," Ross said. "I need to play, to perform for myself, even if it is not how I am going to make my living. I know I am always going to do it, because it's what makes me happy"
(01/27/03 4:31am)
From the moment I walked into the lobby of the IU Auditorium and saw all the ushers and ticket takers bundled up, I knew how the Germans felt when they besieged Stalingrad. Talk about cold. As people walked through the doors, the winter winds whisked throughout the facility. But despite the recent visit from Jack Frost, over 1,200 people braved a winter cold front some would equal to Moscow's winter weather.\nThe shows brought into the Auditorium are perpetually pleasing to the IU and Bloomington communities. But the Jan. 23 performance of "Fosse" blew recent acts out of the water.\n"Fosse" is a semi-autobiographical work highlighting the career of the late actor, director and notable choreographer Bob Fosse. The show ran two hours with a 15-minute intermission.\n"Fosse" and the excellent dance company state visually what people say when they describe the work of choreographer Fosse as being sexy, vivacious and revolutionary. While Fosse was dead before the routines for the Broadway smash were conceived, Fosse's pupil Ann Reinking choreographed these dance steps. She danced for Fosse, and by all accounts was a protege of the man. Reinking designed the dance numbers in Fosse's style, and from that design, it's easy to understand why Fosse's work is so revolutionary. Fosse, like most choreographers, employed synchronized steps. But at the time Fosse began working, you did the kaleidoscope stuff that Busby Berkely made famous. Or you did the elegant waltzes and tap dances of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. If you wanted jazz and pizazz, you did the athletic, walk-up-the-wall type stuff that Gene Kelly did in "Singing in the Rain."\nThe 26-member company gyrated their hips in a way that made my pelvis hurt. And my right knee ached like the devil just from watching all the ornate spins and hops.\nMany numbers we've heard before were performed. "Mr. Bojangles," "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries," "Bye, Bye, Blackbird," "Steam Heat," and lots of other songs hit the stage. \nBut one thing I don't like about big performances like this is that they consist of all dance and music. There isn't a cohesive story to the performance. If certain numbers are pulled from hit shows, then a fragment of that certain show's plot is told -- but only if someone knows the show. In other words, ballet is the only style of dance that can tell a story. And sometimes I question that. All the news releases I read made me think the dancing was going to tell a story. \nIf you went in thinking you were going to get something out of this show other than really cool dancing, you were going to feel like a duck who just woke up from a nap: It's a whole new world. Or like someone watching the "Godfather" trilogy. You get up for five minutes and go to the bathroom, and by the time you come back, it's a different movie. In other words, looking for a story in "Fosse" is like looking for the word "Nina" in a Hirschfeld. You'll have a hard time finding it.\nNonetheless, "Fosse" had the most fantastic finish when it closed with a Benny Goodman classic "Sing, Sing, Sing."\nWhat a show. What a show!
(01/23/03 10:27pm)
Before Bob Fosse came along, choreography was like a kaleidoscope by Busby Berkeley. Elegant by Fred Astaire. Or the athletic kind by Gene Kelly. \nThen Bob Fosse decided to jazz things up, make them more vivacious. A story about Fosse and his groove hits the stage at 8 p.m. tonight and Friday at the IU Auditorium.\n"Fosse" premiered in Toronto at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts on Aug. 9, 1998. The company sweeping through Bloomington this week opened at the Aladding Theatre in Las Vegas last September.\nThe Tony Award-winning musical showcases rarely seen dance and musical hits from the earliest works of the work-aholic choreographer, who some say smoked as many as four packs a day. \n"Fosse" also shows dance numbers designed by Fosse including "Steam Heat," "Big Spender" and "Sing, Sing, Sing" the IU Auditorium said in a statement. \nThe company consists of 26 dancers and singers, each playing multiple roles and numbers. For the show, performers have been trained imitating Fosse's original style of choreography. Debra McWaters and Ann Reinking, one of Bob Fosse's leading dancers and his protégé, trained the dancers. Reinking won the 1997 Tony for her choreography of "Chicago."\n"This cast dances and sings with an energy that threatens to raise the roof!" raved The New York Times.\nWith that "raise the roof" quality, "Fosse" has already given a very strong show at the IU Auditorium's Box Office, according to Auditorium Director Doug Booher. \n"We were very proud to have landed this show in at the IU Auditorium," Booher said. "It often takes weeks of negotiation to deliver a high-quality, highly sought-after show like 'Fosse.'" \nThe show, running two hours with a 15 minute intermission, won the 1999 Tony Award for best musical. It also garnered a Tony for best orchestrations and lighting design.\nBob Fosse was an actor, dancer, choreographer and director. He crossed the boundaries of mediums in the entertainment industry. His work appeared on Broadway with shows like "Chicago," on the silver screen with "Cabaret" and on television in appearances dating to the early 1950's.\nFosse, who died at age 60 in 1987, pulled off a feat few giants in show business could do. In 1973, Fosse won a "Triple Crown," taking home each of the three major awards the industry offers -- an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony.
(01/23/03 5:58am)
In May 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality sent thousands of people throughout the South to protest the segregation laws that applied to interstate transportation. They became known as the Freedom Riders.\nThat trip, a milestone in the Civil Rights Movement, will be commemorated at IU today.\nIU Dean of Students Richard McKaig said the commemoration march today is important because it acknowledges all the work that has been done. But there is a great deal of work yet to be accomplished in the struggle for racial equality, he said. \n"It is important to remember the Freedom Riders since their daring actions constituted one of the most courageous chapters in the 1960s civil rights movement," said John Stanfield, chairman of the African American and African Diaspora Studies Department.\n"The march is a tribute to the marches on Selma and Montgomery during the Civil Rights Era," said Teter Quad CommUNITY Educator Brandi Vardiman, chairwoman of this year's event. \nMarchers will assemble at 6:30 p.m. in the courtyard of the Collins Living Learning Center at 541 N. Woodlawn Ave. Once all the participants gather, the marchers will leave Collins at 6:45 p.m. to travel Tenth Street with stops at the Main Library, Wright Quad and a culminating reception at Teter Quad.\nAt each stop, a participant dressed up as a historical figure will perform. Actors will portray figures such as Stokely Carmichael with a vocal celebration. Actresses representing Marian Anderson and former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt will perform on the steps of the Main Library, with Angela Davis and Coretta Scott King at the next two stops.\nThe members of the procession will sing various commemorative songs, most notably, "We Shall Overcome."\nPlanning took one month with a $100 budget, Vardiman said.\n"They rode buses, walked, picketed, whatever it took in order to accomplish the goal of equal rights for everyone," Vardiman said. "As college students we need to embrace those same values and at times call on those same spirits so that we are ever proactive and not merely reactive."\nAfter the march, the demonstrators can assemble in the Teter Lounge for refreshments and watch a 12 minute film on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.\n"It is done as an acknowledgement of the big change in the '60s and pretty much what everyone did to get it through," said IU student Dante Pryor of the importance of the march to the IU community.
(01/23/03 5:58am)
This week the nation celebrated a day to honor the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. His work with civil rights occurred during one of the most socially unrestful times in the United States. IU Physics Professor Bennet B. Brabson advocates a continuing commitment to King's dreams of racial equality by reflecting on his life before the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the way things were then and now on IU's Bloomington campus.\nIt was a turbulent year for the United States. Amid a failed war in Vietnam, President Lyndon Johnson said he wouldn't run again. Riots, largely to do with race, swept the country in Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles. James Earl Ray assassinated Civil Rights champion Martin Luther King, Jr. And we lost another Kennedy. It was 1968.\nThe year was just as turbulent for IU. In that year, noted IU physicist Bennet B. Brabson says the university was under "great stress." Brabson saw racial strife sweep the campus during the first few years of his 30-plus tenure here.\nBrabson saw the April 1968 protest of black students when they rallied at the house of then IU President Elvis J. Stahr Jr., calling for a black studies program. In May of the same year, he saw about 50 black students occupy the Little 500 track for 38 hours to protest the charters of greek organizations that had racial stipulations.\nBrabson saw the Homecoming Queen contest cancelled for the first time in 39 years. And he saw 14 black football players boycott the team because of the coaching staff's practices they thought were discriminatory.\nIn 1969 Brabson stood on a platform with other faculty members in Dunn Meadow to speak with students protesting a lack of diversity and the war in Vietnam.\n"The sudden movement of students against authority at all levels was something of a surprise," said Virginia Hudelson Rogers in an IU Alumni Magazine interview; Rogers was the acting Dean of Students in 1969. "I don't know how many of us were on our toes at that point, because it was so totally new," she said.\nIt was her hope that "(the administration) wouldn't do anything stupid," Rogers said.\nWith two incidents at IU during 1970, her hope was intensified. Then President Richard Nixon said the military activities in Vietnam would expand into previously neutral Cambodia. IU students circled Bryan Hall and demanded that administrators hear them out. Police were there. But the question was this: Would the day turn out something similar to the May 4, 1970, incident at Kent State, where the Ohio National Guard fired on student protesters killing some and wounding others?\n"(Members of the administration) were struggling to keep their balance," Brabson said. "They were overwhelmed."\nThe administration seemed to be even more overwhelmed in 1970. Rogers said there was concern about the interference of protests with Founders Day and Commencement. \n"There were times when we called (the National Guard) to the edge of the city," Rogers said. "But we managed not to use them. That would have been my last choice."\nRemembering the early Civil Rights Movement, Brabson sat in his office in Swain Hall decorated with stainless steel office furniture and a couple of Persian rugs. His involvement with diversity goes back to early graduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There, he says, he began to emerge from his sheltered knowledge of the movement. \nBrabson's commitment to honoring diversity may seem a bit of a surprise. He lived in a staunch Republican household whose patriarch was nicknamed "Mr. Republican." \n"My father came from the South. He was a racist," Brabson said. "He felt strong about this issue and did not ever tolerate anything in our family that corresponded to civil rights." \nBrabson seemed to be following his father's path even at MIT. He considered John F. Kennedy "an aberration" and voted for Republican candidate Barry Goldwater during his bid for the presidency. But his sentiments began to change when he started to participate in open discussions with his fellow academics in his third year at MIT. Eventually his mindset changed completely. \n"In my own view, I have the sense that diversity is valuable in the university setting," Brabson said.\nAnd he says that view is so strong that he'll do everything in the Physics Department to try to encourage that spirit of diversity in undergraduate and graduate programs.\n"Having diversity is enormously effective in the learning process. You have people around you who are coming from different parts of the world and have different characteristics. They are going to expand your thinking," he said. "That's worth something to me."\nIn the more than 30 years since Ben Brabson joined the faculty, he says the University has taken a number of steps to bolster diversity.\nThe Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies as well as the Latino Studies Program have been created to represent IU's willingness to recognize diversity.\nBrabson recognizes the GROUPS program which gives extracurricular help to first-generation college students, those with limited financial resources and students with disabilities from all racial and economic backgrounds. The program, Brabson said, gives students a step up for a better chance at succeeding at IU. He also notes IU's involvement in a program in South Africa during the years of apartheid to increase black enrollment in universities there.\nAlthough the overall impression is that of improvement, the numbers may not indicate the same. The Office of Academic Support and Diversity states African American enrollment in the Fall 2002 semester composed only 3.8 percent of the IU student body. And the overall percentage of minority students in that same period was just under 10 percent.\n"Literally since my first day here I have said we need to do more. Are we doing some good things, yes, but we need to do more," Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm said.\nBut even with the advances Brabson says have occurred, African Americans are more challenged at IU than any other ethnic group. While Brabson speculates that the post-Sept. 11 focus in the United States is more likely to create a prejudice against Muslims, he says that is a temporary focus. \n"I would rather be a Muslim than an African American. Even given the tensions," Brabson said.\nAfter the White House is occupied by a different tenant, Brabson speculates that African Americans will be wondering whether they are really equal to Caucasians.\n"And that's sad. Because they are," he said.
(12/05/02 4:39am)
Presented by Lucien Hubbard and directed by Hollywood titan William Wellman, the latest silent film to hit the theatres in the closing days of 1927 was "Wings" a story of two men who love the same woman. But these two lovers soon have their lives derailed by oncoming shadows of Mr. Wilson's war. \nWritten by Hope Loring and Louis Lighton, "Wings" tells the story of two dare devil youths. These two dare devils have no intention of being part of the stalemated trench life, they want to be aviators. And the greatest aviator of them all, Charles "Lucky" Lindberg. He is quoted in titles as the film opens and sings the praises of all our brave airmen who fought and had their "wings" wrapped around them as they battled the airborne hun.\nCharles "Buddy" Rogers plays the young and middle class man named John "Jack" Powell who lives for fast cars and who day dreams of soaring with eagles. Rogers plays the part marvelously capturing the carefree spirit of the United States. Richard Arlen is the silver spoon fed David Armstrong who plays the part with more wood than a Sequoia.\nThe girl next door that the boys look at as a mere friend is Mary who is played by Clara Bow, a lady seen more often next to Harold Lloyd than anyone else. Mary loves Jack, but Jack doesn't pay any attention to Mary and her desires for a relationship. Why would he? He's too busy trying to start one up with Sylvia, played by the rather unimpressive Jobyna Ralston.\nAs the two fellows get ready to leave for ground training, there is an incident used involving the exchange of a locket between Sylvia and Jack. The scene not only makes reference to a love triangle between the two male leads, but also serves to establish a stronger narrative with the locket. The locket is seen in the film's early scenes, as well as in the closing scenes of the film. A similar technique occurs when a shooting star is seen during the swing-set scene showing David and Sylvia gliding slightly off the ground. She does. At the end of the film, we see Mary and Jack sitting outside staring off into a dark sky and seeing another shooting start. This technique adds symmetry to the film, as well as telling the audience that Mary's wish probably came true. The swing-set scene, by the way, is also an excellent example of the photographer's skill in seemless back projection.\nTechnologically the film made strides for its time. Photographer Harry Perry integrates not only footage of his own -- usually outdoor studio stuff -- but also stock footage from actual dogfights being waged between the aircraft of both the Allied and Central Powers.\nThis combination of film adds a nice touch because at the time the film was made, newsreels would have shown what it was like slogging around with trench foot at Verdun. Or crawl as close to the dirt as possible dodging Maxim gun fire like US Marines in Bello Wood. But no one to date would have had the opportunity to witness actual combat footage taken from the skies over Europe. It is easy to tell the difference between the actual combat footage and Perry's stuff because the shots have that dirty, cheap film and unsteady hand look. Similar to the combat footage taken by Combat Cameramen that you see on the History Channel.\nNot only did director Wellman oversee strides in the filming side of a motion picture, he also was a bit of a directorial daredevil. He showed blood, something that probably wasn't seen or liked by audiences at the time. He also showed a rather risqué seen of Mary undressing in a Parisian hotel with on of the boys on the bed out cold. \n"Wings" serves as one of the last great films of the silent era. This was an era whose death knell was sounded by the eventual proliferation of sound technology. Typical of all silent films, important points were relayed to the audience in the form of text title cards. The title cards in this case did an excellent job in conveying not only a message, but also an emotional context to go along with the message. This was done by toying around with the text of the cards. In other words, the text would sometimes be larger or smaller, italicized or bolded. Always the messages were easy to understand, succinct, and the typeface manipulation served to provide the inflection and tone missed out on the verbiage of silent films.\nIn an aesthetic observation, the title cards were set up against a backdrop of wind-blown clouds to add the feeling of flight.\n"Wings," the first and only silent film to win an Oscar, is a war film that compares to war films of today. While the comparison is not technological, it is certainly similar in narration and plot devices. In fact, the similarities between the 1927 film "Wings" and the 2001 historical hack-job of "Pearl Harbor" are so obvious, it would be in bad form to not make mention of them.\n"Wings" and "Pearl Harbor" are films about love between to men and one woman. The films are also set against the backdrop of world war, and the spirit of combat aviators. In both films, conflict arises between the two male leads because of the love triangle they are in. Perhaps, a deviation from the comparison is in that Sylvia loves only one of the men. The female lead in "Pearl Harbor" loves both men, but at different times. In "Wings," one of the male leads is shot down and killed. In "Pearl Harbor," one of the male leads is shot down and killed -- but in this instance while saving the life of his boyhood friend. \nSo in style of story writing and narration, the comparisons are fairly strong. There is usually only one or two good ways to tell a story set in a war and about love. I suppose the biggest difference is modern combat films show blood and gore that would have given people coronaries back during the time when Hollywood and sound were just merging. I guess when Hollywood finds one that works, it's better to stick to the tried and tested.\nBut while "Wings" and "Pearl Harbor," an excellent exhibit of a modern day combat film, are similar in the plot movement sense. The styles of acting between the days of the "Wings" era and the current era in Hollywood will also show some similarity. Around the days of 1915 until the early to mid-'20s, acting reflects the likes of Sarah Bernhardt on the stage with brow clutching and villains stroking their handlebar moustaches. But by the time "Wings" was made, the style of acting had evolved into something much more realistic. The main characters all played their parts with subtlety and were like real life people.\nAll in all, "Wings" would be an excellent way to spend part of your hard earned paycheck at a rental place or on Amazon.com. The film will definitely continue to sell well in movie houses throughout the big cities. There is humor to lighten darkness. There is humanity to balance inhumanity. There is action. There is romance. \nThis silent great film will make you silent too.
(11/08/02 5:05am)
I saw Camilla Williams, the 83-year-old opera soprano and the first black professor of voice at IU, sing 8 black spirituals to a crowd of over 100 at the Neal Marshal Education Center on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Williams performance was sponsored by the Collins Living Learning Center.\nWilliams is a ground-breaking performer. She was the first black performer to get a contract with the New York City Opera and then appear in a role not specifically written for a black performer. She played Cio-Cio San in "Madame Butterfly" in 1946. Williams soon played leading roles in Puccini's "La Boheme," Bizet's "Carmen," and Verdi's "Aida." After a 1947 recital in Richmond, Va., a critic with the Times-Dispatch said Williams could "create compelling moods in the realms of both beauty and deep pathos." \nBut while the art world recognized her talent and not her color, while touring she was still made to take the most expensive rooms while her white colleagues were allowed cheaper ones. And in some cases, she had to stay in people's homes, as hotels wouldn't take her in. Williams helped to overcome segregation when she sang at the 1963 Washington rally where Dr. Martin Luther King made his now famous speech "I Have A Dream."\nWhen she let out the first bars of "Ride on King Jesus," I was taken aback. I wasn't expecting her to belt out such a perfectly pitched note with her crystal clear vocal chords. The levels she put her voice at throughout her selections of the evening were amazing. The ups and the down were all performed with great agility as she sang other numbers like "This Little Light of Mine," and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."\nThe voice is a physical instrument. And just like the rest of the body, age takes its toll. But her voice was just as firm as her skin and as strong as her zest for life. There were a few points throughout the work where I thought she might be straining. And indeed there were certainly some points where she was a little crispy. But that is to be expected. Williams is an artist past her prime. But unlike Liza Minelli's recent appearance on Larry King Live, Williams didn't make an idiot out of herself trying to hit notes she couldn't. \nShe chose her pieces very carefully. They were simple, easy, and non-intricate pieces with chords easy for the veteran soprano to reach.\nOf Williams' performance, Dr. Estelle Jorgensen of the IU School of Music said, "She still sings with clarity and sweetness with great emotion and feeling." \nDr. Iris Yob, Academic Coordinator of the Collins LLC and says the event had been in planning since the fall of 2001 when an instructor named Stephanie Shonekan who teaches at the residence center proposed a class to Yob called "Black Women in Music." Of the class Yob says, "the course taught about diversity, arts, and had academic rigor." \nConcerning Williams, Yob continued, calling her "one of the treasures of the music world. We are very privileged to have her as a subject of inquiry in one of our Collins courses and her performance tonight for Collins and the whole community"
(10/21/02 3:10pm)
Beverly Sills, the noted operatic soprano who has graced the stage in more than 70 roles and was recently made chairwoman of the Metropolitan Opera, will visit IU Friday. She does so on behalf of the IU Foundation and will participate in ceremonies related to the third annual Herman B. Wells Visionaries Awards.\nSills is scheduled to speak at 3:30 p.m. Friday at the IU School of Music's Auer Hall, capable of seating 352 people. The overflow can watch Sills via a remote feeding in Sweeney Hall. Both Auer and Sweeney halls are located in the Simon Music Center at Third and Jordan, near the Musical Arts Center.\nIn the evening, Sills will speak again at a private dinner where the awards will be presented. The Visionaries Awards make note of those who have shown vision, entrepreneurial spirit and a record of outstanding achievement. Sarah Beggs, the IU Foundation coordinator of special projects, says this spirit embodies someone "who dreams to do something a little better than it was done before." Past speakers include former Amer-ican Red Cross President and current North Carolina senatorial hopeful Elizabeth Dole. Secretary of State Colin Powell has also spoken.\nSills will arrive in Bloomington early Friday morning and leave the same evening traveling by a jet donated by an unnamed benefactor. Beggs said the Foundation paid Sills an undisclosed speaker's fee to attend. Beggs said, "She has agreed to come because of the reputation of Dr. Wells and the School of Music."\nWhen asked why the Foundation recruited Sills for the Wells' Visionaries Award event, Beggs said, "She is far greater than the music she performs. She is an activist for humanitarian causes … She loves music and people, and so did Dr. Wells."\nBeggs continued, "It seemed a natural fit to bring someone whose world could connect so well with our School of Music."\nChancellor Sharon Brehm said she was delighted to hear Sills was speaking.\n"She is one of the best opera singers of all time," Brehm said. "Anybody who knows anything about opera will not disagree with that."\nBrehm said she will be attending the awards dinner.\nGwyn Richards, Dean of the IU School of Music, says of the visit, "It's ironic Sills will be in Bloomington on the same day we open Handel's Julius Caesar, an opera important to her career. With that work she made lasting impression on the cultural life of this country."\nSills was born Belle Miriam Silverman in Brooklyn, N.Y. Sills is a performer some would call dazzling and is known the world over. The opera star has performed at such venues as The Met, the New York City Opera -- a place she was General Director from 1980-1990 -- La Scala and with many of the major opera companies that dot the globe. \nSills can back her talent up with a diverse grouping of awards including a Grammy, the European Edison Award and two Emmy's. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the New York City Handel Medallion, Kennedy Center Honors, and honorary academic degrees from 14 institutions of higher learning. Earlier this October, Sills was selected with a handful of other artists to receive the 2002 New York Heroes Award, the highest honor bestowed by the New York Chapter of the Recording Academy. \nSills is a leading spokeswoman for the arts in the United States. She serves on the President's Task Force on the Arts, and puts in an appearance at every White House function connected with the arts. She is also a panelist of the National Endowment for the Arts.\nIn a statement released by IU last week, Sills said, "Art is the signature of civilization"
(09/26/02 4:00am)
One of the most well-known characters in world literature is that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.\nDoyle's creation of the world's most famous consulting detective through his short stories in the London-based Strand magazine have been performed on both the stage and screen. Almost as soon as silent films came about, a 1915 picture was made featuring one of Doyle's pieces. Most notably, Holmes and his faithful chronicler Dr. John H. Watson were played in the early days of radio by the last remains of the Victorian theater in Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson. In the 1940s, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce played the roles. In a BBC series, Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke played the roles, their collaboration continuing into the mid-1990s.\nBut with the incredibly huge number of films being produced now and in the past, many titles go by the wayside and are forgotten. It's a tragedy that even of few of my favorite Holmes titles have also become forgotten cans of celluloid.\nTwo of these are 1978's "Murder by Decree" and 1988's "Without A Clue." One is a clever intertwining of historical fiction, while the other is pure, mad-cap satire of the Holmes and Watson personas.\nYou're all familiar with the whole Jack the Ripper thing, right? You know, crazy guy in black goes around knocking off harlots in Londons slums. Well, in "Murder by Decree" Holmes and Watson are mixed in with Jack the Ripper.\nThe film stars Christopher Plummer and the affable James Mason. Mason plays Watson with an excellent amount of seriousness balanced with charm, humor, and patriotic fervor to the Empire he served in India.\nMason's acting capability is unique in that he can convey meaning with conservative body movements, but also with excellent control over his melodic, rhythmic voice. His inflection is so near perfection, that no matter what the scene -- complaining about a pea, cheering a future monarch or bashing some scoundrel with his walking stick -- he never has to raise his voice above conversation volume. It is sheer pleasure to watch Mason's portrayal of Dr. Watson. He is perhaps the most believable and honest actor to play Watson in a film version. \nPlummer's portrayal of Holmes is also unique. Doyle's original analytical, almost cold-hearted and very impersonable Holmes was played quite the opposite by Plummer. Plummer played Holmes with the normal attributes of great observation, analytical skills and dogged pursuit of justice. But he also played the role with a sense of humanity that isn't seen often. He plays Holmes with a sense of humor -- he and Watson laugh together about Watson's ability to get himself into trouble. There is one scene where Holmes is greatly disturbed that he can do nothing for a damsel in distress and he shows an intense anger and even sheds tears. Untrue to Doyle, yes, but a good way to freshen up the staleness.\nThe most unorthodox and most entertaining tale of Holmesian lore takes place in a 1988 film released by Orion starring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley.\nScreenwriters Gary Murphy and Larry Strawther have Sherlock as the same dashing, flamboyant character you'd have always imagined. But just because he tends to amaze people, doesn't mean he's the brains of the crime-caper solving mastermind of the pair. \nIn this film version, Watson scripts all of Holmes's solutions and serves as the PR genius that makes Holmes's character as reknown as it is. And the reason for this is "elementary my dear fellow," as Holmes would say. At the time Watson initially created Holmes, he was trying to land a job with a conservative medical college who probably would have frowned on his moonlighting as a gumshoe.\nBut all the bumbling badness Holmes creates finally become insufferable, and Watson throws him out and tries to make a go of it himself.\nAnd the antics begin.\nKingsley, who won the 1982 Oscar for Best Actor for playing the title role in "Ghandi," plays a stern and humorless straight man in what is one of his best performances. It's flawless. Kingsley creates for Watson a publicly loyal aide, but a privately bombastic, humorless genius, whose use of the slow-burn technique creates endless numbers of good set-ups for Caine's schtick as Holmes/Kincaid.\nCaine brings his versatility as a dramatic actor and skilled comedian to this role. His timing is exquisite in getting the most out of every laugh. Most of the laughs, by the way, are ones you need to look for. While Watson is always in the foreground of the shot being a clever detective, Holmes is in the background mumbling about something totally off the wall, stealing a pair of shoes, or messing around with Watson's chemistry set to a disastrous end. I've watched this film at least eight times since I saw it for the first time in the early 1990s. Each time I watch the film, I still catch something I never saw the last time. I know every line to the film, but it's still just as fresh the eighth time as it was the first time.\nAll in all, if you have any appreciation at all for the classic tale of mystery and criminal connivery, these are definitely two movies worth the time and effort in tracking down and watching.
(09/26/02 12:45am)
One of the most well-known characters in world literature is that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.\nDoyle's creation of the world's most famous consulting detective through his short stories in the London-based Strand magazine have been performed on both the stage and screen. Almost as soon as silent films came about, a 1915 picture was made featuring one of Doyle's pieces. Most notably, Holmes and his faithful chronicler Dr. John H. Watson were played in the early days of radio by the last remains of the Victorian theater in Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson. In the 1940s, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce played the roles. In a BBC series, Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke played the roles, their collaboration continuing into the mid-1990s.\nBut with the incredibly huge number of films being produced now and in the past, many titles go by the wayside and are forgotten. It's a tragedy that even of few of my favorite Holmes titles have also become forgotten cans of celluloid.\nTwo of these are 1978's "Murder by Decree" and 1988's "Without A Clue." One is a clever intertwining of historical fiction, while the other is pure, mad-cap satire of the Holmes and Watson personas.\nYou're all familiar with the whole Jack the Ripper thing, right? You know, crazy guy in black goes around knocking off harlots in Londons slums. Well, in "Murder by Decree" Holmes and Watson are mixed in with Jack the Ripper.\nThe film stars Christopher Plummer and the affable James Mason. Mason plays Watson with an excellent amount of seriousness balanced with charm, humor, and patriotic fervor to the Empire he served in India.\nMason's acting capability is unique in that he can convey meaning with conservative body movements, but also with excellent control over his melodic, rhythmic voice. His inflection is so near perfection, that no matter what the scene -- complaining about a pea, cheering a future monarch or bashing some scoundrel with his walking stick -- he never has to raise his voice above conversation volume. It is sheer pleasure to watch Mason's portrayal of Dr. Watson. He is perhaps the most believable and honest actor to play Watson in a film version. \nPlummer's portrayal of Holmes is also unique. Doyle's original analytical, almost cold-hearted and very impersonable Holmes was played quite the opposite by Plummer. Plummer played Holmes with the normal attributes of great observation, analytical skills and dogged pursuit of justice. But he also played the role with a sense of humanity that isn't seen often. He plays Holmes with a sense of humor -- he and Watson laugh together about Watson's ability to get himself into trouble. There is one scene where Holmes is greatly disturbed that he can do nothing for a damsel in distress and he shows an intense anger and even sheds tears. Untrue to Doyle, yes, but a good way to freshen up the staleness.\nThe most unorthodox and most entertaining tale of Holmesian lore takes place in a 1988 film released by Orion starring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley.\nScreenwriters Gary Murphy and Larry Strawther have Sherlock as the same dashing, flamboyant character you'd have always imagined. But just because he tends to amaze people, doesn't mean he's the brains of the crime-caper solving mastermind of the pair. \nIn this film version, Watson scripts all of Holmes's solutions and serves as the PR genius that makes Holmes's character as reknown as it is. And the reason for this is "elementary my dear fellow," as Holmes would say. At the time Watson initially created Holmes, he was trying to land a job with a conservative medical college who probably would have frowned on his moonlighting as a gumshoe.\nBut all the bumbling badness Holmes creates finally become insufferable, and Watson throws him out and tries to make a go of it himself.\nAnd the antics begin.\nKingsley, who won the 1982 Oscar for Best Actor for playing the title role in "Ghandi," plays a stern and humorless straight man in what is one of his best performances. It's flawless. Kingsley creates for Watson a publicly loyal aide, but a privately bombastic, humorless genius, whose use of the slow-burn technique creates endless numbers of good set-ups for Caine's schtick as Holmes/Kincaid.\nCaine brings his versatility as a dramatic actor and skilled comedian to this role. His timing is exquisite in getting the most out of every laugh. Most of the laughs, by the way, are ones you need to look for. While Watson is always in the foreground of the shot being a clever detective, Holmes is in the background mumbling about something totally off the wall, stealing a pair of shoes, or messing around with Watson's chemistry set to a disastrous end. I've watched this film at least eight times since I saw it for the first time in the early 1990s. Each time I watch the film, I still catch something I never saw the last time. I know every line to the film, but it's still just as fresh the eighth time as it was the first time.\nAll in all, if you have any appreciation at all for the classic tale of mystery and criminal connivery, these are definitely two movies worth the time and effort in tracking down and watching.
(09/19/02 4:00am)
The latest retelling of Alexandre Dumas' classic swashbuckling tale, "The Count of Monte Cristo," has finally hit the DVD racks in video stores. The 131-minute film, released by Spyglass Entertainment, stars Guy Pearce and James Caviezel in a web of of intricate plot and subplot. Overall, it's a well-crafted adaptation. \nThe DVD's main menu is available after you watch a folded parchment letter sealed with wax spin around on the screen for a few revolutions against a sunset-like background. When the letter opens, the main menu is available. \nThis DVD, distributed by Touchstone Home Video, allows you to play "An Epic Reborn" and get the behind-the-scenes information on the filmmaking process. You can watch the raw footage from different angles and also get the low-down on the layer-by-layer sound design. The ever-present audio commentary is an option as well.\nBut every DVD viewer's favorite part is there, too -- the deleted scenes.\nBy playing the introduction, you can watch director Kevin Reynolds explain a brief work history on camera and why he deleted the scenes he did. A slight letdown is that there are only four scenes that hit the can. Titles of the deleted scenes include "Fernand and Danglars," "The Villeforts," "Mercedes and Fernand" and the "Villefort's Arrest," which shows more about the arrest of the chief prosecutor and the film's legal-eagle bad guy, Villefort.\nIt's a little annoying at first because, before showing the deleted scene in question, the film editor and director are on camera again talking about why they deleted the scene. This paltry selection of scenes are nonetheless interesting for the very simple reason that they are just that: deleted scenes.\nThe combination of an excellent film, combined with fantastic presentation of graphics on the menus of this DVD, make this a definite rental.
(09/19/02 1:01am)
The latest retelling of Alexandre Dumas' classic swashbuckling tale, "The Count of Monte Cristo," has finally hit the DVD racks in video stores. The 131-minute film, released by Spyglass Entertainment, stars Guy Pearce and James Caviezel in a web of of intricate plot and subplot. Overall, it's a well-crafted adaptation. \nThe DVD's main menu is available after you watch a folded parchment letter sealed with wax spin around on the screen for a few revolutions against a sunset-like background. When the letter opens, the main menu is available. \nThis DVD, distributed by Touchstone Home Video, allows you to play "An Epic Reborn" and get the behind-the-scenes information on the filmmaking process. You can watch the raw footage from different angles and also get the low-down on the layer-by-layer sound design. The ever-present audio commentary is an option as well.\nBut every DVD viewer's favorite part is there, too -- the deleted scenes.\nBy playing the introduction, you can watch director Kevin Reynolds explain a brief work history on camera and why he deleted the scenes he did. A slight letdown is that there are only four scenes that hit the can. Titles of the deleted scenes include "Fernand and Danglars," "The Villeforts," "Mercedes and Fernand" and the "Villefort's Arrest," which shows more about the arrest of the chief prosecutor and the film's legal-eagle bad guy, Villefort.\nIt's a little annoying at first because, before showing the deleted scene in question, the film editor and director are on camera again talking about why they deleted the scene. This paltry selection of scenes are nonetheless interesting for the very simple reason that they are just that: deleted scenes.\nThe combination of an excellent film, combined with fantastic presentation of graphics on the menus of this DVD, make this a definite rental.
(08/29/02 4:00am)
The Paramount picture "We Were Soldiers," starring Mel Gibson, tells about the events of a three-day battle that took place in the Ia Drang Valley pitting the 7th Cavalry against a division of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regulars.\nThe DVD holding the film, directed by Randall Wallace, has the normal whiz-bangs of any DVD out on the market, but this DVD is graced with the ever-desirable set of special features. While there aren't any bloopers, my personal favorites -- the director's commentary, deleted scenes and a special segment called "Getting it Right" -- make me think the celluloid in the can we all saw in theaters wasn't half as exciting.\nIn "Getting it Right," we start off by seeing actual footage of then-Lt. Col. Hal Moore talk to news cameras on the battlefield about the heroism of his men throughout the three-day onslaught of death and destruction. \nWe also see interviews of those associated with the film discussing how hard they all worked to ensure the film was as historically accurate as possible. They also try to express their hopes that the film serves as a testament to the bravery of American servicemen on that field of battle situated in the central highlands of South Vietnam. \nMost touching were the interviews with the real men who actually fought that day, including UPI reporter Joe Galloway, who took pictures and fought in the battle, and from the real Hal Moore, now a retired lieutenant general, who said Hollywood finally got the message right: "Hate war, but love the American warrior."\nAlso on the DVD are 10 deleted scenes, all of which are interesting and prompt you to yell and scream at the imaginary director and editor sitting next to you about why they should have left this scene in the film. The disc also includes optional director commentaries to run with the deleted scenes. This way you can listen to the so-called logic the director used to make the sometimes seemingly poor decisions to remove the scenes.\nAll in all, this is the most accurate war film made to date. It was a definite must-see in the box office, and it remains even more so in the new-release section.
(08/29/02 2:11am)
The Paramount picture "We Were Soldiers," starring Mel Gibson, tells about the events of a three-day battle that took place in the Ia Drang Valley pitting the 7th Cavalry against a division of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regulars.\nThe DVD holding the film, directed by Randall Wallace, has the normal whiz-bangs of any DVD out on the market, but this DVD is graced with the ever-desirable set of special features. While there aren't any bloopers, my personal favorites -- the director's commentary, deleted scenes and a special segment called "Getting it Right" -- make me think the celluloid in the can we all saw in theaters wasn't half as exciting.\nIn "Getting it Right," we start off by seeing actual footage of then-Lt. Col. Hal Moore talk to news cameras on the battlefield about the heroism of his men throughout the three-day onslaught of death and destruction. \nWe also see interviews of those associated with the film discussing how hard they all worked to ensure the film was as historically accurate as possible. They also try to express their hopes that the film serves as a testament to the bravery of American servicemen on that field of battle situated in the central highlands of South Vietnam. \nMost touching were the interviews with the real men who actually fought that day, including UPI reporter Joe Galloway, who took pictures and fought in the battle, and from the real Hal Moore, now a retired lieutenant general, who said Hollywood finally got the message right: "Hate war, but love the American warrior."\nAlso on the DVD are 10 deleted scenes, all of which are interesting and prompt you to yell and scream at the imaginary director and editor sitting next to you about why they should have left this scene in the film. The disc also includes optional director commentaries to run with the deleted scenes. This way you can listen to the so-called logic the director used to make the sometimes seemingly poor decisions to remove the scenes.\nAll in all, this is the most accurate war film made to date. It was a definite must-see in the box office, and it remains even more so in the new-release section.