The Branding Iron Onlinemusic | The Branding Iron Online

All-female musical review hits UW

ksutherb — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:34:21 +0000

Five women play the part of at least 30 different women in “A… My Name is Alice,” the last play in the University of Wyoming 2011 Snowy Range Summer Theatre series.

The women range in age and experience. Francesca Mintowt-Czyz, Amber McNew, Rebecca Diamond and Jackie Darnell, all current or former UW students, are four of the five actors in the show. Interim Artistic Director of Square Theatre Company in Jackson, Wyo. and equity actor, Caryn Flanagan is the fifth actor in the cast.

McNew and Mintowt-Czyz said they were transfer students from Western Wyoming College. However, Mintowt-Czyz said she is the youngest and just finished up her first year at UW.

Mintowt-Czyz said the director has been accommodating to her experience level by choosing music that is not too high or complicated for this performance.

Darnell served as a technician in the previous two performances of series. Darnell said she enjoys acting more than the technical aspects, but having the experience has made her a better actor by giving her an awareness of what type of work off-screen goes into a production.

The most experienced actor is Flanagan. Flanagan said she has been an equity actor since 2010.

Mintowt-Czyz explained to be an equity actor means that he or she is part of a professional actors union. She said the director/studio that hires an equity actor must meet union policies such as giving the equity actor certain amount of breaks, for example. The actors are allowed to audition for certain roles that are not open to the public, she added.

Flanagan said being an equity actor in Wyoming could be a hindrance because she is not allowed to perform in community theaters and it can be difficult to find work in the state.

Flanagan said she has flown to Denver a few times for auditions, but she doesn’t want to be away from her two teenage daughters too long. She said she might be willing to audition for more shows once her daughters are older.

Flanagan said she used to look up to the equity actors when she performed in shows with them. The actors have professionalism and raised the bar of productions, she added.

Flanagan said she hopes to serve as person the other actors can look to for professionalism and show what it means to be a professional actor.

“A… My Name is Alice” will be performed at the University of Wyoming Fine Arts Building in the Studio Theater July 12-16 at 7:30 p.m.

Email: Sara Davis

ksutherb

Student Radio misses the mark

Bob Vernon-Kubichek — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 04:38:05 +0000

I served as the assistant manager of the UW Student Radio in the spring of 2010, and as the programming director during the fall of 2011. My background in radio also extends to the role I served while attending the University of Utah, where I worked as the station manager for K-UTE, the university’s student radio station. I feel this is important to note, as my following criticisms should be based on my experience and knowledge of the field.

The time I spent working to build UW Student Radio can largely be summed up by frustration, anger, and more frustration. This was, quite simply, not a program that had to die.

While the question of how this program could have worked is complex, the factors behind its death are quite simple.

The failure of UW Student Radio, and there in the failure of General Manager Zach Taylor, is the result of a seemingly endless series of misunderstandings, a complete lack of vision, and the kind of intellectual weakness that seems to pervade the culture of student government-run projects.

Although the program had low hopes for listenership last year, it was running a full daily schedule with over 40 student DJs doing shows ranging from international music to comedy talk. While it was a program that arguably needed a serious focus on marketing, we were successful at building the infrastructure the UW Student Radio needed in order to get off the ground.

This year, the radio station died, largely due to a music policy that restricted music to only songs owned by the radio station. This collection was largely edited classic and alternative rock, which left little room for diversity.

Due to this policy, the International Students Association was forced to cancel their show, as were other DJs who had hoped to play music other than alternative rock. The reason behind this policy was based on a failed understanding of the law regarding online music. In an interview with the Branding Iron, Taylor commented that although “university has an ASCAP [American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers] and BMI [Broadcast Music Incorporated] license…we’re not sure as to what those actually cover, as far as formatting and things like that.” Last semester as the director of programming, I spoke to ASCAP, BMI and the UW legal counsel, and was assured that we were legally able to play any music covered under those organizations.

After conveying this to Taylor, he either ignored or did not understand my advice, and instead took the position that the station should follow a format centered on urban and alternative music.

Either Taylor lied to the BI, or he was too lazy to track down the answers to those questions.

A radio station without the ability to play music is arguably a bad model for a successful program. The law did not bind it; it was instead unfamiliarity of the laws that bound it, laws that one would think to be critical to running a radio station, online or not.

While the majority of the blame can, and must be, put on the shoulders of Taylor, ASUW President Cameron Nazmina and Vice President Liz Brown owe the students answers to why an individual received student money while failing to live up to the most basic job requirement.

During the fall semester of 2010, UW Student Radio ended with few shows, almost no listeners, and little music to speak of. Taylor should have been dismissed, just as other ASUW executives were who were “underperforming” earlier this year.

Students deserve answers as to why this program and staff should be allowed to continue to receive student funds, when it has failed completely.

Taylor should resign from his post and allow student funds to go elsewhere, rather than continuing to collect compensation for a job that for, all intensive purposes, no longer exists.

Email: Bob Kubichek

Bob Vernon-Kubichek

Singing Statesmen Perform for Several Wyoming Towns This Week

Branding Iron — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 05:35:02 +0000

From pitch to their falsetto voice, one of UW’s student choirs, The Singing Statesmen, will take their musical talents across Wyoming throughout this week.

From Wednesday to next Monday, the group will perform in Glenrock, Afton, Lander and Cody in front of the towns’ high school students.

The Singing Statesmen will be finishing their tour in Cody, where the Wyoming All-State Music Groups will be meeting.

“We will perform for all of the students who auditioned into the Wyoming All-State Band, Orchestra and Choir, as well as music educators from across the state, and family of the All-State students,” said Lamartine.

The group was chosen based on their involvement and dedication to UW’s fine arts program, specifically the local musical scene.

“The UW Singing Statesmen are a high-profile men’s choir that focuses on fine choral literature representative of various style periods and vocal traditions from the western choral tradition, specifically cowboy and western songs associated with the state of Wyoming,” Nicole Lamartine, director of choral activities for UW and conductor of The Singing Statesmen, said.

This group is comprised of 50 to 60 male students from UW and is a non-audition choir. All students interested are excepted.

“This ensemble is available to both music majors and non- music majors and represents a community of musically interested students from across campus,” Lamartine said.

In 2008, Lamartine came into the position of choral activities director.

Along with teaching music education curriculum, conducting and applied voice, Lamartine conducts the Singing Statesmen, the Collegiate Chorale and advises the male the a capella group, Happy Jacks.

The Singing Statesmen’s tour of Wyoming specific goal is to address and encourage singing potential in Wyoming.

“The ensemble has toured Wyoming with the objective to promote male singing to students at the high school and community college level,” Lamartine said.

Email: Davis Bonner

Branding Iron

Music Major to Present Free Senior Recital Tonight

Branding Iron — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 06:11:06 +0000

Between the hassle of paying hundreds of dollars for books and finding new classes all over campus, senior Sarah Ferguson offers students a chance to sit back and relax at a violin recital.

Ferguson will perform her senior violin recital free of charge at 7 p.m. tonight in the Fine Arts Concert Hall.

“A senior recital is a required component of the culmination of your musical study at UW. It provides the opportunity for you to show your family and friends how much you have learned and grown as a musician,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson started playing the violin at the String Academy of Wyoming when she was six years old. She also plays the viola and is planning on switching to viola later this year.

One of Ferguson’s professors is Sherry Sinift, who teaches studio violin and violin pedagogy at UW and is a supervising teacher for the UW String Project. Sinift also performs with the Summit Chamber Players, another ensemble on campus.

“My relationship with Sarah Ferguson is exceptional in that I have known her and been her teacher throughout elementary, junior high and high school as well as during her college years,” Sinift said.

For all music majors, a recital is required as part of their degree. “Sarah is a music education major, but she is an ambitious student who takes her playing seriously, so she has chosen to go beyond the music education recital requirements and give a recital that would meet the requirements for a violin performance degree,” Sinift said.

For the recital, Ferguson will be performing works from J.S. Bach, Ludwig von Beethoven and Samuel Barber.

When Ferguson performs Beethoven, she will be accompanied by Jun Guo, an international student from Shanghai.

“The most difficult part about preparing for my recital was simply learning all the notes. I’m playing some pretty challenging repertoire. It’s very time consuming and a lot of hard work to put together a recital that is prepared, both technically and musically,” Ferguson said.

But to Ferguson, it is worth it.

“The most rewarding part has been the gratification of all the hard work that I put into my recital. It pays off in the form of a really well-prepared, exciting program. Also, the reception cake afterwards is not bad, either,” she said.

Ferguson plans to audition for graduate schools and pursue a master’s degree in viola performance. “Someday, I hope to play in an orchestra and teach privately,” she said.

Branding Iron

Holiday gala set for Sat

codyconnor — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 05:05:07 +0000

The annual gala holiday celebration concert will have two performances on Sunday, the first at 2 p.m. and the second at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Concert Hall.

The gala has been an annual concert for the university since before the tenure of current choral director Nicole Lamartine, who is one of the featured conductors for the event.

According to Lamartine, the Concert Hall can accommodate 700 people, and most years both event times are completely sold out, as was the case last year.

“This event is a performance that includes most of the UW choirs and the wind symphony. It has a combined total of more than 150 singers and 60 wind players. We have been preparing since the end of October,” Lamartine said.

The gala includes performances by the Laramie Civic Chorus, the UW Wind Symphony, the Bel Canto women’s choir, the UW Wind Symphony Woodwind ensemble, the UW Singing Statesmen, the UW saxophone Ensemble and the full Wind Symphony. The concert will incorporate performances from combinations of the different groups.

There will be a total of 15 different pieces performed throughout the night.

The gala will be conducted by three different members of the fine arts faculty; James Bowyer, Robert Belser and Lamartine.

Bowyer was the recent recipient of a doctorate degree from the University of Washington and conducts Bel Canto and the Civic Chorus.

The last conductor will be Belser, who is conducting the Wind Symphony and all of the performances with any sections of the Wind Symphony.

Belser will also conduct the pre-concert music in the lobby, which will be performed by TubaChristmas.

In 2000, Belser was the recipient of the John P. “Jack” Ellbogen Award for Meritorious Classroom Teaching.

“I think that it is a favorite event for the performers and the Department of Music, and it is a great way to connect to Laramie as a whole, both UW and community members,” Lamartine said.

Email the author: dbonner1@uwyo.edu

codyconnor

‘Opera in a Gym’ performs in Laramie

codyconnor — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 04:55:24 +0000

Rats, rats, rats. No, this does not refer to the feeling one has after finding out they got a bad grade on a test, it speaks of the newest production of the Department of Music’s Opera in a Gym (OIAG).

Last week in the Fine Arts Concert Hall, OIAG presented the world première of their opera entitled “Rats, Rats and more Rats or … How Stinky Italian Cheese Saved the Day!” for grade school children from the Laramie area.

OIAG is centered on performing for grades K-5 and travels to grade schools throughout the state to teach, through music, children lessons about being themselves and being kind to one another.

So far, OIAG has performed for more than 7,000 children throughout Wyoming and South Dakota.

“I also wanted to introduce opera in a fun and energetic way. After all, they are our future audiences. A lot of the small, rural schools or the less fortunate schools in larger towns never have the opportunity to see a production like OIAG,” Larry Hensel, the director of OIAG said.

“I started OIAG because I wanted to give our students the opportunity to see the power that a live musical and theatrical production can have on young audiences,”

For the members of the cast, performing shows is its own reward.

“I chose to do OIAG because I love to sing and it sounded like such a blast to get an opportunity to sing for children. I just love to see the children’s faces when we perform. OIAG is fantastico,” castmember Jennifer Erickson said.

This opera was written by Hensel and has music adapted from Giaoachino Rossini’s operas and includes familiar tunes such as the “Barber of Seville.”

“I can’t seem to find anything that fulfills our needs of a larger cast, really, really good music, and a shorter production (35-40 minutes). So I started to write and arrange my own, using music that’s in the public domain,” Hensel said.

The group wears Chuck Taylor All Star hi-top sneakers.

The current show is about a group of street rats and a pair of house cats who are unhappy with their lot in life and wish for a change.

They encounter a mysterious gypsy woman, who offers to magically switch their situations. They also meet the gypsy’s sidekick: a happy, stinky Italian cheese.

The group gets their wish; the cats become rats and the rats turn into cats, much to their delight. However, after a time they wish for their old ways. Later in the story, one of the cats is kidnapped, taken to the stinky sewer and ultimately rescued by the entire troop.

In the end, the group learns from the cheese that it is all right to be yourself and to be content with your life the way it is.

The costumes and sets for the production are created for OIAG by the Department of Theatre and Dance and add an extra element of the theatre to the performance.

“I couldn’t do these productions without the remarkable, remarkable work of professor Lee Hodgson in the Department of Theatre and Dance. His costumes are always incredible, and perfect, and help to tell our story in a vivid and visual way,” Hensel said.

Email the author: dbowman6@uwyo.edu

codyconnor

Free clinic on Flamenco music, concert to follow

Branding Iron — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 04:59:50 +0000

A guitar leads the beat and high-heeled feet stomp along with passion. The Flamenco dancer swirls her ruffled dress, as her arms shoot up and her hands twist to accentuate her face in a still frame of grace.

On Tuesday at 2 p.m., Double-bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons will bring his expertise of Flamenco music to UW and give a free clinic on Flamenco music. The clinic will be in the band room of the Fine Arts building.

Flamenco is a type of music and dance that originated in Spain, specifically in Andalusia.

“Renaud and Kiko and Pascal can do a session about Flamenco music and how it is part of the fiber of the music Renaud composes and that they play,” Janelle Fletcher-Kilmer, director of the Fine Arts Outreach, said.

The clinic will be followed by a concert that is on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Concert Hall. This event costs $20 for the general public and $17 for UW students.

“I’ve seen them do this at Western Michigan University,” Fletcher-Kilmer said. “Kiko is a genuine Flamenco guitarist from Toulouse in the south of the France, a place where Flamenco culture is strong. Pascal is a percussionist and is also from Toulouse. This presentation could have an appeal to students interested in Flamenco, to guitar students and to percussion students.”

Garcia-Fons is an artist, who likes to explore mixed music styles.

“From this point forward [Garcia-Fons] worked independently, allowing his adventurous spirit to liberate him from the technical limitations of his instrument in favor of greater freedom to improvise and to explore music at the crossroads of jazz, traditional, and contemporary music,” according to Garcia-Fons’ biography on his website. “Ten years into this journey, he decided to add a fifth string to his bass, enabling possibilities well beyond the idea of the double bass as an accompanying instrument and particularly the option to be one of an ensemble’s improvising voices.

Combining this innovation with his con arco and pizzicato techniques, he reached an unprecedented level of performance. Some began to call him the ‘Paganini of the double bass.’

While this has been a great compliment, a more accurate comparison is to Astor Piazzolla, Jimi Hendrix, and Paco de Lucia—artists who have advanced the possibilities of their instrument on the force of self-directed study and research,” reads the biography

This event is both new and unique to the university, and this is Garcia-Fons first trip here. “They guys are very nice and can show students how unique musical elements work,” Fletcher-Kilmer said.

Email: Davis Bonner

Branding Iron

UW Vocal Department hosts annual jazz workshop for high schools

jsindt — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 05:01:05 +0000

“Marry me, Peter!!!!” the high school girls cried out in cacophonous unison toward the Danish a cappella singer during the baSix concert Saturday. BaSix performed as the closing concert for the UW Vocal Jazz workshop that concluded Saturday.

The UW Vocal Jazz Ensemble teamed up with other a capella groups: the Betty’s, Lookin’ for Treble and the Happy Jacks to begin a music-filled weekend for Wyoming and Nebraska high school jazz singers.

Students from Big Horn, Rawlins, Tongue River, Newcastle and Rock Springs along with students from Nebraska high schools participated in this year’s vocal jazz workshop, hosted by the UW Vocal Department.

The Betty’s, an all-female a cappella group, kicked off Friday’s opening concert with a variety of genres from 1950’s bebop to more modern European pop.

The group used the concert to reach out to students, saying the only requirements were “to be a girl and to like pink.”

The next group to perform was Lookin’ for Treble, a mixed a capella group still in its developmental stages. The group sang songs that were arranged by members of the group.

The Happy Jacks, one of UW’s most notable vocal ensembles was the next to last act. Formed from the larger ensemble the Singing Statesmen, the Happy Jacks are another student-run group, under the advising of Nicole Lamartine. Lamartine took the group to China last year to perform at Shanghai Normal University.

The music performed by the Happy Jacks took the audience on a wide gamut, from country to hip-hop and a slow ballad.

The final group to perform was the Vocal Jazz ensemble, under the tutelage of Ben Markley, an award-winning jazz composer and pianist.

This is Markley’s first year at the helm of the ensemble.

On Saturday, the students participated in a range of studios, vocal coaching and workshops with members of the various ensembles and ultimately the Danish a capella group baSix.

In the same style of the UW ensembles, baSix performed covers of well-known music, as well as a variety of their own award-winning work.

The group worked with the high school students for a portion of the afternoon, rehearsing a song entitled “Angel” by Robbie Williams.

The 128 students joined baSix on stage during the second half of their concert.

The Danes encouraged audience participation, kept the energy high and received three standing ovations from the audience.

Email: DJ Bowman

jsindt

Spencer Bohren performs at UW

jsindt — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 01:17:14 +0000

At 8 p.m. this Thursday in the Education Auditorium, renowned guitarist Spencer Bohren will perform a show for students, faculty and community members.

“Spencer Bohren is a Wyoming native who now calls New Orleans home,” Michael Lange, coordinator of student activities and programs, said. “He is an amazing blues singer and guitarist as well as a great educator.”

“Spencer Bohren’s music resonates with the ambience of the rivers, roads, and bayous of the American South. He has a marvelous gift for sharing his great love for America’s wealth of traditional folk, blues, gospel and country music with audiences of all ages,” according to a UW news release.

SAC first noticed Bohren’s talent three years ago after one of UW’s board of trustees suggested he play at UW and Bohren was brought in. “He was great,” Lange said.

“This year the program is a collaboration between SAC and gallery 234 (formerly the ASUW Gallery),” Lange said.

Currently the gallery is featuring work by student photographer Becca Skinner in a show called “The Ghost of Katrina, Five Years Later.”

“Since Spencer was from New Orleans and this show was happening we thought it would be great to combine the two events,” said Lange.

“The atmosphere of his New Orleans home subtly informs each performance. What’s more, the stories that preface the songs are often as well received as the songs themselves,” according to the UW press release.

Bohren’s talent does not just stop at the stage. “His documentary performance, Down the Dirt Road Blues, mesmerizes students all over the world, and American Roots Guitar workshops are popular with musicians of all ages and backgrounds,” according to the UW press release.

Bohren also offers an exhibition he calls Petits Mysteres with or separate from shows that features some of his visual art.

In combining Bohren and Skinners work the two have also planned an outreach session. The session will take place at 4 p.m. Friday at the Albany County Library.

A reception for Skinner’s art show in gallery 234 will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday in gallery 234 before Bohren’s show.

Bohren has played at festivals across America as well as in concert hall throughout Europe.

According to the UW press release; “In a world filled with synthesized pop music, Spencer Bohren defines artistic integrity.”

Email the author: lkottens@uwyo.edu

jsindt

Accomplished Flutist Richard Sherman to perform

jsindt — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 06:52:41 +0000

Acclaimed flutist Richard Sherman will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Fine Arts Concert Hall. His performance will focus on music by various French Composers.

Sherman currently holds a faculty position as Professor of Flute at the Michigan State University College of Music. His impressive credentials include a position of former principal flute at the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and he currently is principal flute for Chautauqua New York Symphony Orchestra and the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. He performs as a soloist, recitalist, and as a orchestral musician. In addition to teaching, Sherman has completed recordings with pianist Ralph Votapek, titled “Flute Sonatas” and “American Landscape.” Both are released under Summit Records. More recently, he recorded an album with pianist Kimberly Schmidt called “The French Album,” which was released in 2006.Tickets to see Richard Sherman perform can be purchased at the Fine Arts box office.