Today in BGSU 1000 our class watched a Movie entitled Musical Minds. This movie took us on a journey into the lives of four unique individuals who all have one thing in common. Their brains appear to be wired to be a musical genius. Some are given their gifts at a high cost though. The first subject of this video was born 3 months premature and is completely blind, but can listen to any melody and instantly be able to play it on the piano. This is completely amazing because of his ability comprehend music at light speed with the greatest of ease. Millions of musicians around the world would pay any cost to be able to figure out this skill and make it available for everyone. Another subject of this picture is only able to control himself when he is playing the drums. It is supposedly because it causes him to focus all his attention to one thing. We are very close to many breakthroughs and hopefully this will happen during our lifetime.
In our BG1000 class, we watched a documentary titled, Musical Minds. This was a movie proving that some people have musical talent and others just do not. There are people that were born with extrordinary talent, but for many there is compensation. They have also been born with mental disorders, except I discovered how their disabilities increase their understanding of music. For example, one of the people, Matt, had Terets syndrome, but this enables his brain to click when he hears the beat of a drum. He began drumming when he was two or three years old and says he would not be able to survive with-out his drumming. This is amazing. He can understand rythm and drum better then the average human that does not have a disorder.People like this help us better understand how the brain works with music. With our technology we are beginning to have a breakthroughs on the connections between music and the brain. Im confident and excited that I will see more breakthroughs in my lifetime.
Around two in the afternoon on Saturday, November 14th, Jennie Trenton led a group of musicians to the front of the room to being “Music and the Picture Book.” She introduced each of the instruments before every piece that was performed in order to allow the children to hear the individual sounds. The first piece, Metamorphosis, included an alto xylophone that was played by Molly Swope.
While the music was being played, there were children’s stories read. The last book to be read was written by Jennie Trenton, and she also composed the music that she played to accompany the story.
The recital was focused mainly on catching the interest of children, but the performance was still enjoyable for adults. The short recital brought me back to my childhood and was a fun way to relax and relieve the stresses of life.
At two in the afternoon, on Saturday November 14, I walked to the Wooster Center to see the only performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Patience.” “Patience” is about a humble milkmaid, loved by two poets, one of which she absolutely hates and the other she loves, but feels it is her duty to ignore him. Even though I was sitting in the back and could only see a few people during the show, I still enjoyed the show very much. I thought each of the actors and actresses did a great job expressing how their characters were feeling, even with their voices. It was also great to see my own voice teacher, Errin Brooks, play the role of the Colonel. I thought he did a great job, both with his actions and his singing. My favorite scene in the performance was “It’s clear that mediaeval art…” In this scene, the military men are attempting to convert to aestheticism in order to attract the maidens. It made fun of the way people are portrayed in mediaeval art, and it was very entertaining.
On Thursday, November 12 at 8pm, Jazz Lab II performed in Kobacker Hall. Jeff Halsey conducted the band that evening. The concert had a Sammy Nestico theme which got me excited because Nestico is a great composer and arranger and I have played many of his works myself. In fact, I played a few of the pieces that performed that Thursday such as Samantha, Grooving Hard, and Now’s the Time. Now’s the Time wasn’t on the program but it was played as they were moving people on the stage. It was nice being able to hear those pieces performed during the concert because I could follow along and compare how they interpreted the pieces differently than my high school jazz band did.
My favorite piece was The Cool because it was mostly improvisation which is my favorite quality of jazz. The parts that weren’t improvised were composed by Jonathan Torrence who is one of the tenor saxophone players of the band. I thought it was impressive for a student to compose a piece like that and have it performed on stage and that’s why I enjoyed that piece so much.
This concert makes me remember the four years I played jazz in high school and it makes me miss it a little bit too.
Our BG1000 class watched a movie entitled Musical Minds. This documentary took us into the lives of special individuals that had a unique talent for music. These mentally challenged people had a wonderful gift of music. Even people who cannot speak could show that they understood music and could even play it. My favorite person was the tourettes drummer. He was really hyper and drumming calmed him down and helped him relieve the anger. I think he was the most interesting person in the movie. Thismovies overall helped me see the talent that theses special people have and that they an achieve whatever they wish. It was very inspiring to watch the talent of these mentally challenged people.
I attened Don Quiote. It consisted of two different operas. The first one was a puppet show. Honestly, I dont know how those people didn’t trip over themselves. The singers and actors were also amazing. The story line however was a little difficult to follow. The second opera I loved the most. It was about this girl who didn’t wanna marry a man that her town wanted her to marry. The man that she loved faked killing himself so he could request the other man to have his last with granted. And his last wish was to marry her. The man said yes. I thought it was an adorable ending and the stage was constantly filled with voices, people and talent
When I first heard of ‘Newd Narcissm’ I thought it was spelled ‘nu..de’. I wanted to see the contemporary arts performance but I was skeptical at first because I thought it was ‘nu..de narcissm’. As I walked in Bryan Hall and grabbed a program, I was relieved when I realized it was ‘Newd’. The performance started out with a remix of the mandatory recording played before normal performances. It was followed by a tale of Narcissi who was obsessed with his looks and fell in love with himself. After that various performances were performed by 1st and 2nd year doctoral students. They were all contemporary music performances and very interesting. I enjoyed the live performances rather than the soundtracks some students made. The recordings were very new age and a little haunting. My favorite performance was probably the violin with the piano because it was the closest to classical music and more familiar to me. But I learned a lot from this recital and I’m glad it wasn’t in the ‘n…ude’.
World percussion night was the coolest thing I had ever seen. It started out with two lines of students playing handheld drums and sticks. Then some students held a gong and also played it while walking. In the caboose were two students in a Chinese dragon costume and that was very entertaining. The pieces the first group played got my attention right away because they were intricate and short. Their last piece featured a student doing an oriental styled dance and then playing a dragon shaped instrument which was very captivating and interesting. The second group featured dancers and drummers. Some of the dancers were not very good or rehearsed enough but luckily they were placed in the back so I didn’t have to look at them the whole time. The last group was all takio and it was amazing. The players were incredible and very well trained. The whole show was just spectacular. I didn’t like how long it was without an intermission, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed the music.
The movie Songcatcher, was a movie based on a women with a PhD in music and when she is denied a fulltime professor-ship at a college, she leaves her life in the town to visit her equally educated sister in the mountains where she runs a school for rural children. The movie goes on to tell the story of how the rugged mountain folk in the Appalachian Mountains know old English ballads that the protagonist was studying. It is a unique find because the songs are untouched from the outside world and are formed into sort of folk-like tunes. The main character goes on to collect the songs and plans to sell them to the public after a fire destroys all her work. The overall story is interesting and I got to hear folk music for the first time in years. It is a very different type of music than I listen to or sing but it is very fascinating and I wanted to hear more. The movie was kind of ruined for me when the sister was found out to be a lesbian and her ‘lover’ was many years her senior but I tried to get past that and focus on the beautiful mountain music.
On Thursday December 10th, some of my fellow classmates and I walked into Bowling Green Manor Nursing Home to sing the senoir citizens some Christmas carols. I was excited to sing for them, and I could not wait to start. When we started singing, the seniors’ started coming to the doors of their rooms to listen to us. They had huge smiles on their faces and you could tell that they were enjoying our singing. When we saw people who were laying in their bed, we stoped and sang for them. We even got to meet a lady whose 100th birthday was that day. We sang happy birthday to her and asked if we could sing her favorite Christmas song. It was very fulfilling for me to see the smiles of the seniors faces. I could tell that they appriciated us, and in return it made me feel wonderful inside-like I just made a difference in someone’s life.
On Thursday December 7th our class split into two groups and sang at a nursing home. Our group sang to the senior citizens in the nursing home along with the staff and any family members that were there. This trip was very hard for me to do, due to my grandfather recently being put in a nursing home. It was hard to go sing to other people when I can’t go down and sing to him. However, it turned out to be a very gratifying experience. Seeing the joy that our music brought to everyone’s faces was the best gift they could have given us. It was also really cool because we got to sing happy birthday to a woman who turned 100 years old. Overall the trip was great and I enjoyed giving back to others a lot.
Yesterday I went to a nursing home called The Manor in Bowling Green with my BGEX class to carol. I knew it would be fun because I love singing Christmas carols but I didn’t expect it to be as bitter sweet as it turned out to be. It was so rewarding to see how much they appreciated us coming to sing for them. It broke my heart when a couple of the ladies started crying. One of them stopped us and thanked us and told us that all she had left was her daughter. I was so sad that we had such a short amount time there. I felt like staying the rest of the day. I was so inspired after we left that I text my boyfriend immediately and asked him if he would do the same with me over Christmas break. He agreed, and I can’t wait to bring joy to some more people who need it.
November 10th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Today in BGSU 1000 our class watched a Movie entitled Musical Minds. This movie took us on a journey into the lives of four unique individuals who all have one thing in common. Their brains appear to be wired to be a musical genius. Some are given their gifts at a high cost though. The first subject of this video was born 3 months premature and is completely blind, but can listen to any melody and instantly be able to play it on the piano. This is completely amazing because of his ability comprehend music at light speed with the greatest of ease. Millions of musicians around the world would pay any cost to be able to figure out this skill and make it available for everyone. Another subject of this picture is only able to control himself when he is playing the drums. It is supposedly because it causes him to focus all his attention to one thing. We are very close to many breakthroughs and hopefully this will happen during our lifetime.
November 12th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
In our BG1000 class, we watched a documentary titled, Musical Minds. This was a movie proving that some people have musical talent and others just do not. There are people that were born with extrordinary talent, but for many there is compensation. They have also been born with mental disorders, except I discovered how their disabilities increase their understanding of music. For example, one of the people, Matt, had Terets syndrome, but this enables his brain to click when he hears the beat of a drum. He began drumming when he was two or three years old and says he would not be able to survive with-out his drumming. This is amazing. He can understand rythm and drum better then the average human that does not have a disorder.People like this help us better understand how the brain works with music. With our technology we are beginning to have a breakthroughs on the connections between music and the brain. Im confident and excited that I will see more breakthroughs in my lifetime.
November 15th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Joseph Boldt
Around two in the afternoon on Saturday, November 14th, Jennie Trenton led a group of musicians to the front of the room to being “Music and the Picture Book.” She introduced each of the instruments before every piece that was performed in order to allow the children to hear the individual sounds. The first piece, Metamorphosis, included an alto xylophone that was played by Molly Swope.
While the music was being played, there were children’s stories read. The last book to be read was written by Jennie Trenton, and she also composed the music that she played to accompany the story.
The recital was focused mainly on catching the interest of children, but the performance was still enjoyable for adults. The short recital brought me back to my childhood and was a fun way to relax and relieve the stresses of life.
November 15th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Rachel Killoren
At two in the afternoon, on Saturday November 14, I walked to the Wooster Center to see the only performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Patience.” “Patience” is about a humble milkmaid, loved by two poets, one of which she absolutely hates and the other she loves, but feels it is her duty to ignore him. Even though I was sitting in the back and could only see a few people during the show, I still enjoyed the show very much. I thought each of the actors and actresses did a great job expressing how their characters were feeling, even with their voices. It was also great to see my own voice teacher, Errin Brooks, play the role of the Colonel. I thought he did a great job, both with his actions and his singing. My favorite scene in the performance was “It’s clear that mediaeval art…” In this scene, the military men are attempting to convert to aestheticism in order to attract the maidens. It made fun of the way people are portrayed in mediaeval art, and it was very entertaining.
November 28th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
On Thursday, November 12 at 8pm, Jazz Lab II performed in Kobacker Hall. Jeff Halsey conducted the band that evening. The concert had a Sammy Nestico theme which got me excited because Nestico is a great composer and arranger and I have played many of his works myself. In fact, I played a few of the pieces that performed that Thursday such as Samantha, Grooving Hard, and Now’s the Time. Now’s the Time wasn’t on the program but it was played as they were moving people on the stage. It was nice being able to hear those pieces performed during the concert because I could follow along and compare how they interpreted the pieces differently than my high school jazz band did.
My favorite piece was The Cool because it was mostly improvisation which is my favorite quality of jazz. The parts that weren’t improvised were composed by Jonathan Torrence who is one of the tenor saxophone players of the band. I thought it was impressive for a student to compose a piece like that and have it performed on stage and that’s why I enjoyed that piece so much.
This concert makes me remember the four years I played jazz in high school and it makes me miss it a little bit too.
December 8th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Our BG1000 class watched a movie entitled Musical Minds. This documentary took us into the lives of special individuals that had a unique talent for music. These mentally challenged people had a wonderful gift of music. Even people who cannot speak could show that they understood music and could even play it. My favorite person was the tourettes drummer. He was really hyper and drumming calmed him down and helped him relieve the anger. I think he was the most interesting person in the movie. Thismovies overall helped me see the talent that theses special people have and that they an achieve whatever they wish. It was very inspiring to watch the talent of these mentally challenged people.
December 8th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
I attened Don Quiote. It consisted of two different operas. The first one was a puppet show. Honestly, I dont know how those people didn’t trip over themselves. The singers and actors were also amazing. The story line however was a little difficult to follow. The second opera I loved the most. It was about this girl who didn’t wanna marry a man that her town wanted her to marry. The man that she loved faked killing himself so he could request the other man to have his last with granted. And his last wish was to marry her. The man said yes. I thought it was an adorable ending and the stage was constantly filled with voices, people and talent
December 10th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
When I first heard of ‘Newd Narcissm’ I thought it was spelled ‘nu..de’. I wanted to see the contemporary arts performance but I was skeptical at first because I thought it was ‘nu..de narcissm’. As I walked in Bryan Hall and grabbed a program, I was relieved when I realized it was ‘Newd’. The performance started out with a remix of the mandatory recording played before normal performances. It was followed by a tale of Narcissi who was obsessed with his looks and fell in love with himself. After that various performances were performed by 1st and 2nd year doctoral students. They were all contemporary music performances and very interesting. I enjoyed the live performances rather than the soundtracks some students made. The recordings were very new age and a little haunting. My favorite performance was probably the violin with the piano because it was the closest to classical music and more familiar to me. But I learned a lot from this recital and I’m glad it wasn’t in the ‘n…ude’.
December 10th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
World percussion night was the coolest thing I had ever seen. It started out with two lines of students playing handheld drums and sticks. Then some students held a gong and also played it while walking. In the caboose were two students in a Chinese dragon costume and that was very entertaining. The pieces the first group played got my attention right away because they were intricate and short. Their last piece featured a student doing an oriental styled dance and then playing a dragon shaped instrument which was very captivating and interesting. The second group featured dancers and drummers. Some of the dancers were not very good or rehearsed enough but luckily they were placed in the back so I didn’t have to look at them the whole time. The last group was all takio and it was amazing. The players were incredible and very well trained. The whole show was just spectacular. I didn’t like how long it was without an intermission, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed the music.
December 10th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
The movie Songcatcher, was a movie based on a women with a PhD in music and when she is denied a fulltime professor-ship at a college, she leaves her life in the town to visit her equally educated sister in the mountains where she runs a school for rural children. The movie goes on to tell the story of how the rugged mountain folk in the Appalachian Mountains know old English ballads that the protagonist was studying. It is a unique find because the songs are untouched from the outside world and are formed into sort of folk-like tunes. The main character goes on to collect the songs and plans to sell them to the public after a fire destroys all her work. The overall story is interesting and I got to hear folk music for the first time in years. It is a very different type of music than I listen to or sing but it is very fascinating and I wanted to hear more. The movie was kind of ruined for me when the sister was found out to be a lesbian and her ‘lover’ was many years her senior but I tried to get past that and focus on the beautiful mountain music.
December 11th, 2009 at 9:57 am
On Thursday December 10th, some of my fellow classmates and I walked into Bowling Green Manor Nursing Home to sing the senoir citizens some Christmas carols. I was excited to sing for them, and I could not wait to start. When we started singing, the seniors’ started coming to the doors of their rooms to listen to us. They had huge smiles on their faces and you could tell that they were enjoying our singing. When we saw people who were laying in their bed, we stoped and sang for them. We even got to meet a lady whose 100th birthday was that day. We sang happy birthday to her and asked if we could sing her favorite Christmas song. It was very fulfilling for me to see the smiles of the seniors faces. I could tell that they appriciated us, and in return it made me feel wonderful inside-like I just made a difference in someone’s life.
December 11th, 2009 at 10:29 am
On Thursday December 7th our class split into two groups and sang at a nursing home. Our group sang to the senior citizens in the nursing home along with the staff and any family members that were there. This trip was very hard for me to do, due to my grandfather recently being put in a nursing home. It was hard to go sing to other people when I can’t go down and sing to him. However, it turned out to be a very gratifying experience. Seeing the joy that our music brought to everyone’s faces was the best gift they could have given us. It was also really cool because we got to sing happy birthday to a woman who turned 100 years old. Overall the trip was great and I enjoyed giving back to others a lot.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:06 am
Yesterday I went to a nursing home called The Manor in Bowling Green with my BGEX class to carol. I knew it would be fun because I love singing Christmas carols but I didn’t expect it to be as bitter sweet as it turned out to be. It was so rewarding to see how much they appreciated us coming to sing for them. It broke my heart when a couple of the ladies started crying. One of them stopped us and thanked us and told us that all she had left was her daughter. I was so sad that we had such a short amount time there. I felt like staying the rest of the day. I was so inspired after we left that I text my boyfriend immediately and asked him if he would do the same with me over Christmas break. He agreed, and I can’t wait to bring joy to some more people who need it.