Category Archives: student news

The heartbeat of new music

composition, events, faculty news, MACCM, student news

Pop, rock, country, alt country, classical, jazz … today’s music can usually be classified by genre. But what exactly is “contemporary” or “new” music?

Defying musical definition, contemporary music composers often write pieces for classical instruments but take advantage of the technological advancements of today, creating sounds that can both emotionally move and challenge audience perceptions of what music can and should be.

New music is also currently enjoying a resurgence driven by younger composers and younger audiences looking for something new, said Kurt Doles, director of the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music (MACCM) at Bowling Green State University.

For more than 40 years, BGSU’s College of Musical Arts has been at the leading edge of new music. As home to MACCM, an award-winning organization devoted to the study and promotion of contemporary music and technology, the University has been an active and prolific contributor to the national and international new music scene.

Faculty and graduate students from the University’s renowned contemporary music program will be taking that musical style from the Midwest to the Big Apple when they perform on April 3 at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City’s Greenwich Village, presenting a program of varied and challenging new music. The music club is a venue for both nontraditional music and interactive media, which often go together.

The New York performance is a continuation of BGSU’s tradition. The program will include works by composers such as Sebastian Currier, Iannis Xenakis, Jon Christopher Nelson, Leroux, Jonathan Harvey, BGSU faculty composer Christopher Dietz and BGSU alumna Jennifer Higdon, winner of Pulitzer and Grammy awards. The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m.

“The mix we’re bringing is a broad range of music that showcases the versatility of the genre and the strength of the performers,” Doles said. “We have a good mix of both accessible and challenging works.”

Creating and performing new music requires a distinct musical skill set – the technical and creative demands are beyond typical classical music. In many ways, it is tied to the indie-rock movement, and while there has always been a small but loyal audience, the people finding it now are a younger, thoughtful, educated crowd interested in something unique, Doles said.

BGSU has developed one of the top programs in the country. Along with MACMM, Bowling Green maintains a robust composition program, a vibrant new-music-focused Doctor of Musical Arts in Contemporary Music curriculum, and hosts the annual Bowling Green New Music Festival, now in its 34th year, which has brought some of the leading lights of the new music world to campus. The New York performance represents the beginning of a greater outreach for the program.

Tickets to the show are $10, and are available at Le Poisson Rouge’s box office website, http://www.lepoissonrouge.com. LPR is located at 158 Bleecker St., on the site of the former Village Gate nightclub.

For more information, contact the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music at 419-372-2685.

Merry Widow waltzes onto BGSU stage

events, student news, voice

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Celebrate one remarkably romantic night in Paris in June of 1914 with “The Merry Widow,” performed March 22 and 24 in the Wolfe Center for the Arts at Bowling Green State University.

Performances of the operetta are at 8 p.m. Friday, March 22, and 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 24, in the Thomas B. and Kathleen M. Donnell Theatre.

Those who are interested in learning more about the popular hit are invited to a Director’s Forum, one hour before curtain, at 7 p.m. on March 22 and 2 p.m. on March 24, in the Eva Marie Saint Theatre. BGSU musicologist Dr. Eftychia Papanikolaou and Christopher Scholl, an associate professor of voice and opera studies, will provide commentary on the music and stage history of Franz Lehar’s operetta, with musical examples prepared especially for the forum. Dr. Ron Shields, a professor of theater and film, will also share insights into his role as stage director for the production.

Set within the walls of the humble Pontevedrian Embassy, yet within sight of the newly electrified Eiffel Tower, provincial and urbane worlds gently collide through flirtations and stolen kisses. The plot follows the intrigues of the characters as they amusingly waltz to delightful conclusions in this musical comedy of manners.

Widely believed to be the most popular operetta of all time, Lehar’s “The Merry Widow” has been presented over 500,000 times since it first won audience applause at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna in 1905. Both a popular cultural phenomena and a stage sensation, the operetta prompted distinctive marketing ploys, including cocktails, songbooks in multiple languages, hats and shoes, and even a “Merry Widow” cigar.

The production is a collaboration among the BGSU Department of Theatre and Film, BGSU Opera Theater and the College of Musical Arts.

For ticket information, visit the BGSU Box Office online at http://BGSU.edu/Arts, or call 419-372-8171.

Falcon Marching Band selected for CBDNA event

events, student news

The Falcon Marching Band, Carol Hayward, director,  has been selected for a video performance at the 2013 conference of the College Band Directors National Conference at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The Falcon Marching Band was one of 10 bands selected from nationwide applicants through a peer-review process. The selected bands will be featured at the conference on Mar. 21, 2013.

The show to be presented at the conference, performed by the 280 member Falcon Marching Band in collaboration with the BGSU Men’s Chorus, Timothy Cloeter, director, is titled “I Hear America Singing.”  Performed on Sept. 10, 2011, the show is a medley of patriotic selections, selected to honor those who gave their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as the survivors, first responders, and members of the military who assisted in the recovery and rescue efforts. The musical arrangements are by Falcon Marching Band staff arranger, Ryan Nowlin, and the visual design is by Carol Hayward.

BGSU piano students excell at Detroit Symphony Beethoven sonata marathon

keyboard, student news

32 pianists, chosen from the region’s schools (Univ of Michigan, BGSU, Michigan State, Central Michigan University, Wayne State Univ, Interlochen, etc.), performed all the Beethoven piano sonatas at the DSO’s Max Fisher Music Center.   Six of the 32 participants were selected to have their performances broadcast on WRCJ.  Two of those six chosen were  BGSU pianists Xueli Liu, who performed the Sonata in E-flat, Op. 31, No. 3, “The Hunt,” and Jianhong Hu, who played the Sonata in F-minor, Op. 57, the “Appassionata.”

BGSU Graduate Composes Music for New York City Production

composition, student news

BGSU graduate Andrew Selle (BMus 2012) has taken a big bite out of the Big Apple! He was selected from numerous applicants to compose music and serve as musical director for “Circle of Haunts”, a ghost opera/dance theater event based on Henry James’ novella “The Turn of the Screw.” Selle composed all the opera’s music, which includes nine performers singing numerous a capella arias and recitatives, along with assorted hand-held instruments the performers use on stage. The opera was staged seven times in February, and reviewed by nytheater.com, which hails Selle’s music as “most striking.” http://www.nytheatre.com/Review/martin-denton-2013-2-12-circle-of-haunts

BGSU Composer Joseph Lyszczarz Wins 2012 BGSU Distinguished Studio Arts Award

alumni, composition-alumni, student news

Composition master’s graduate Joseph Lyszczarz (MM 2012) has won the 2012 Bowling Green State University Distinguished Studio Arts Award. His composition “Tracing Shadows” for chamber orchestra, was selected from among other university-wide applicants for this accolade, which recognizes and promotes excellence in studio-oriented creative projects and project advising. The award’s selection criteria includes creative, informed, and/or inventive use of the medium; innovative style and/or concept; and superior technical proficiency. Mr. Lyszczarz received an honorarium and certificate of citation. His thesis advisor, Dr. Elainie Lillios, also received recognition.