Doctoral composition student Cory Kasprzyk’s field recording compilations “home” and “her name is Bertha” were played on March 3, 2012 at the Kinokophonography Session, Aomori Contemporary Art Centre, Aomori City, Japan.
Category Archives: student news
Sax Quartet advances in competition
The BGSU River Rouge Saxophone Quartet has advanced to 2nd round of the North American Saxophone Alliance National Competition. Finals will be held at Arizona State University (March 15-18, 2012).
Members of the quartet are all graduate students studying with Dr. John Sampen and include John Cummins (soprano), Elissa Kana (alto), Noa Even (tenor) and James Fusik (baritone).
Saxophone students advance in competition
BGSU Master of Music students John Cummins and Matt Shirey have progressed to the semi-final round of the North American Saxophone Alliance Nationals Saxophone Competition. Both students and students of John Sampen, and will compete for national honors on March 15-18, 2012 at Arizona State University.
BGSU Opera Gala launches new Wolfe Center for the Arts
Bowling Green State University’s College of Musical Arts presents an Opera Gala as the first musical performance in the newly opened Wolfe Center for the Arts. The program begins at 8 p.m. on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 in the Thomas and Kathleen Donnell Theatre.
The evening will feature solo arias, duets, quartets, quintets and overtures to some of world’s greatest operas including Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” and “The Magic Flute,” Beethoven’s “Fidelio,” Bizet’s “Carmen,” Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” and Verdi’s “Rigoletto.”
In a showcase of student and faculty talent, the program features the Bowling Green Philharmonia, University Choral Society, Collegiate Chorale, Men’s and Women’s choruses, and faculty soloists including Christopher Scholl, Doug Wayland, Jane Rodgers, Sean Cooper, Sujin Lee, Ann Corrigan, Ellen Scholl, Lance Ashmore and Jennifer Cooper.
Special commentary and narration will be provided by WGTE-FM Program Manager and Music Director Brad Cresswell. Radio audiences may recognize him as the host of “Afternoon Classics,” “Live from FM 91” and “WGTE in Concert.”
The Wolfe Center for the Arts, a distinctive structure built to advance collaboration across the arts at BGSU, opened its doors in December 2011. Designed by international award-winning architects Snøhetta of Oslo, Norway, the $41 million, 93,000 square-foot building serves as the home for the Department of Theatre and Film and supports instructional and creative activities by the College of Musical Arts and the School of Art.
General admission tickets are $10 and available by calling the college box office at 419-372-8171 or by emailing musictickets@bgsu.edu. Tickets also will be available at the door. Seating is limited. Media sponsorship by WGTE Public Media.
Champion quartet brings campus more Prestige
Three hours turned into an anxious eternity for the members of Prestige. The barbershop quartet from BGSU had to perform first in a lengthy international competition in Kansas City this past summer . . . and then wait throughout a tension-filled evening while 20 other groups tried to oust them from the lead.
“That part was absolutely terrifying,” said quartet member Nick Gordon. “It was the longest time — I just couldn’t watch.”
When the final singers completed their performance, the judges awarded the gold medal and the distinction as the top college quartet in the world to the group from Bowling Green.
“There was a moment of shock, then a whole lot of extreme joy,” Gordon said. “It was something we had worked very hard for, but you never know what might happen. Sometimes, I still can’t believe it.”
The group — Gordon, Drew Ochoa, Dave Parrett and Gordie Howe — had finished second in 2010 and fourth the previous year. They were close friends prior to arriving at the University, where their singing talents were melded and nurtured within the College of Musical Arts and by Doug Wayland, assistant professor of voice in music performance studies.
“Prestige is a collection of the right individuals,” Wayland said. “They are all fabulous singers, but what’s just as important is they are also very good friends. Barbershop is all about the blend and it’s some of the most difficult harmony singing there is, but they excel at it.”
The Harmony Foundation International Collegiate Barbershop gold medal Prestige won joins a remarkable collection at BGSU. Since retired professor Richard Mathey started the men’s chorus in the 1970s, BGSU’s various singing groups have been awarded nearly 35 gold medals.
“Bowling Green’s got the most, there’s no doubt about it,” Mathey said. “Nobody else in the country is even close. There’s a very strong tradition here in barbershop singing. It’s been a contagious type of thing — it got into the system and it’s never left. And Doug’s done a very good job with this particular quartet.”
The major competitions attract choral directors from colleges and high schools across the country. “People hear the name Bowling Green and associate it with good singing,” Wayland said. “There’s a significant payoff for winning all of these championships.”
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2 BGSU viola students are Ohio MTNA winners
Certificate in Performance viola student Yoobin Lee will advance to the East Central Division MTNA Competition, to be held at Western Michigan State University January 6-8, 2012. Benjamin Keller, a viola performance major, was chosen as the alternate winner. Both viola students study with BGSU viola professor Matthew Daline.