Category Archives: Music

Music

Cooper Series Brings Renowned Chicago-Based Groups to Campus

5/9/17 7:27:36 PM -- Chicago, IL Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Dance Evolve 2017 Cloudline by Robyn Mineko Williams © Todd Rosenberg Photography 2017

On Friday, February 8th, two legendary Chicago-based groups – Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, a nationally renowned dance troupe, and Third Coast Percussion, a Grammy Award-winning percussion ensemble – take the stage together in Swarthmore’s Lang Performing Arts Center.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago has for decades been a pioneering force in the field of contemporary dance. Since its founding in 1977, the group has consistently received rave reviews from critics for its innovative style and mastery. Originally formed with an emphasis on jazz dance under the oversight of founder Lou Conte, a choreographer and Broadway dancer, Hubbard Street took a broader approach to dance after former Nederlands Dans Theater artistic director Jim Vincent took the lead. The dance company expanded its range, drawing influence from overseas, partnering with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and cultivating more personality in their pieces through Inside/Out, a workshop which encourages dancers to choreograph their own pieces.

Their performance on Friday will feature a piece titled “There Was Nothing,” choreographed by Jon Boogz and Lil Buck, co-founders of choreography company “Movement Art Is,” in collaboration with dancer and choreographer Emma Porter. In an interview, Boogz describes his creative vision:

“It takes you on an emotional journey, and we start from the beginning: the creation of Earth. Then it goes from the creation of Earth, to Earth giving birth to man, to the final chapter, Mother Earth’s tormented relationship with humanity.”

“In the beginning of the piece, you get this appreciation of Earth, in all its wonders, in all its elements, and all the things as human beings we should appreciate about our planet. Then it goes into the chapter of relationship, and connection, and how man used to have a beautiful relationship with the planet, to then now in the final chapter, you get the disconnection: the industrialization, the buildings, the pollution, all the things negative that we’ve been doing to our planet that doesn’t serve us as human beings.”

The music of “There Was Nothing” was written by Dev Hynes, also known as Blood Orange, and will be performed live by Third Coast Percussion. Lil Buck described working with Third Coast Percussion as “some of the most amazing live performances I’ve ever seen in my life. The way they use instruments, the variety that they have from one instrument and how they can use that is incredible.”

third coast 2

The four members of Third Coast Percussion met in 2004 as percussionists studying at Northwestern University and as members of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a pre-professional orchestra organized by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association. In the 15 years since then, they’ve risen to prominence as one of the leading percussion groups in the country, commissioning and debuting works from modern composers, performing live, and releasing five full-length albums and three EPs. Their album Third Coast Percussion | Steve Reich won the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance in 2017, and received an enthusiastic commendation from Steve Reich himself, who called the project ““Sensational! Sometimes people ask if my music allows interpretation. I can’t think of a better answer than to play them [this album].”

Aside from both working out of Chicago, HSDC and Third Coast Percussion also bear other striking resemblances. Both groups have covered an extensive repertoire, ranging from the classical to the contemporary. Both have toured extensively across the country and across the world. And above all, both are committed to reaching out to their communities, and put an emphasis on education and accessibility for their art. Hubbard Street holds dance classes and workshops for all levels and ages, and offers a scholarship program for aspiring professional dancers. Third Coast Percussion has been the resident ensemble at the University of Notre Dame since 2013, and maintains a variety of outreach programs, including educational performances, lectures, and premiering the work of emerging composers. On Wednesday, February 6th, Third Coast Percussion will give a lecture in Lang Concert Hall on “The Science of Sound,” and on Thursday, HSDC will host a ballet master class and a dance workshop.

Assistant professor of dance Olivia Sabee says “it is really important to the educational mission of the College for students and community members to have access to experiences like these in conjunction with [Hubbard Street and Third Coast]’s performances, so I am excited for students to attend these workshops as well as the performance events.”

Third Coast Percussion’s time at Swarthmore will conclude with a performance of Terry Riley’s groundbreaking In C, a piece which arguably sparked the American minimalist music movement. Students, faculty and staff of the college, as well as area residents, will all come together to play in Lang Concert Hall alongside the members of the group.

Andrew Hauze ‘04, one of the coordinators of the project, describes how “Third Coast Percussion has an amazing list of educational and community programs that they offer, and we jumped at the chance to have a community play-in of Terry Riley’s seminal minimalist work In C. The construction of the work offers new opportunities for musicians from so many different musical backgrounds to perform together and to develop new ways of listening.”

In C, composed in 1964, consists of 53 phrases of music of varying length, without a specified instrumentation and only a loosely designated order. Beginning with a single rhythmic eighth note pattern on the note C, instruments gradually accumulate, forming a swell of polyphonic sound that can last anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour. As such, no two performances of In C are the same.

Hauze continues, “We are thrilled to have Third Coast Percussion on campus thanks to the funding of the Cooper Foundation. As a Department of Music and Dance, we are so excited that we are able to bring their collaborative work with Hubbard Street Dance to campus as a model of creative work between two leading companies in dance and music. I’m particularly looking forward to having students, faculty, staff, family members, and community members join together led by such an amazing quartet of musicians!”

Andy Zhang ’22

Profile of Music Minor Nathan Anderson ’19

It is Swarthmore’s philosophy that the “ability to understand works of art — either through analysis or practice — is the key to a richer understanding of the human experience,” and Nathan Anderson ‘19 is one student who understands this fully. He has embraced art throughout his college experience and will graduate this semester with a major in Art History and a minor in Music, though he became involved with music as both an academic subject and recreational activity long before he was a Swarthmore student. He received formal music education from the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center (PMAC), which paved his path to pursue further musical interests. Anderson took piano lessons as early as five years old, learned how to play the saxophone in sixth grade, and joined his high school’s jazz band. By the time he entered Swarthmore, he knew he wanted to continue with his musical pursuits, joining the wind ensemble and jazz ensemble during his first year at Swarthmore.

Although music has always been a big part of Anderson’s life, Swarthmore still provided him with new and exciting experiences, particularly in its music theory courses and jazz ensemble ensemble. The music theory courses he took at Swarthmore delved much deeper and were much more “advanced than [his] high school’s,” and the ensemble introduced Anderson to “big band” music, which he had “no big exposure to” prior to Swarthmore. “I was used to playing a different type of music coming from jazz band in high school,” Anderson says, so his performances in the jazz ensembles at Swarthmore were always a unique and worthwhile experience. In fact, if it weren’t for his involvement with the ensembles at Swarthmore, Anderson says he “most likely would have to give [music] up,” and he credits the college for giving him an “opportunity to continue playing [his] instruments.”

However, Anderson did not limit his musical interests to only be involved in the Music Program; he also was able to integrate his Music minor with his Art History major by placing much of his academic focus on medieval studies. His favorite experience was during the Fall semester of 2018 when he combined both his interests in music and art history and sung in the Early Music Ensemble, a student group formed by Anderson himself and Professor James Blasina. The ensemble, which was funded by the Fetter Chamber Music Program, performed vocal music from the sixteenth century, specifically madrigal pieces. Anderson admits that that performance was a little bit out of his “comfort zone, but it was still a fantastic experience.” By the end of the semester, Anderson was proud of what the group had to present.

Music has always been about fun for Anderson, so although he does not intend on continuing to study music professionally, he hopes to still play recreationally, perhaps “in a community group” of some sort. Balancing music as a hobby with a career can be challenging for some, but Anderson feels that Swarthmore taught him well how to “keep [music] fun and not too serious,” a distinction that is very important to him and is sure to follow him after graduation.

Maria Consuelo de Dios ’21

New Professors, New Ideas in Music and Dance Department

The Swarthmore College Department of Music and Dance welcomes three new faculty members: Professor James J. Blasina, Professor Stephanie Liapis, and Professor Joe Small.

James Blasina profile_0

Professor Blasina is originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, and he has been interested in music since he was a child. His studies with his mentors, Professor Jennifer Bain and Jacqueline War at Dalhousie University, led him to a MA-PhD program at Harvard University, where he wrote his PhD dissertation on the way that music for St. Katherine of Alexandria modeled and mirrored changing conceptions of gender during the 12th and 13th centuries. “In many respects, I see this period as a point of origin for many of the gender systems that have held sway until the twentieth century,” Professor Blasina said. “I see music as an important primary source for illuminating these changes in the ways people were thinking about gender, and on the flip side, looking at music through this particular lens helps us understand [music] better.”

Professor Blasina came to know a Swarthmore alum during his time in graduate school. “I was always so impressed by her well-rounded and critical ways of thinking about problems, and by her confidence and willingness to voice her opinions,” Professor Blasina said. “I was so excited when a position was posted in the Music and Dance Department, and I am grateful to be able to contribute to the work of this community of scholars and students.”

Last semester, Professor Blasina taught Music 11, a music theory class that focuses on counterpoint, harmony, and musical form. This semester, he is teaching Music 28 (Sound, Sinners, and Saints in Medieval England), a course that considers what sorts of meanings human beings ascribe to sounds and music. He is also teaching Music 1a (1000 Years of Musical Firsts), which focuses on twelve significant musical premiere performances as important artistic and historical moments.

Professor Blasina hopes that his students will have two takeaways from his classes. “First of all, in a one-semester course, even on a very focused topic, it’s impossible to cover everything that you’d like to,” Professor Blasina said. Using an analogy from his PhD advisor, Thomas Forrest Kelly, Professor Blasina believes that the big ideas in music history courses are like a row of telephone poles. He and his students will build the “poles” together in the course. “They should be sturdy and will hopefully entice students to fill in the gaps between the poles with ‘wires’ throughout their lives,” Professor Blasina said.

The second takeaway is empathy. “It’s too easy to think of people in the distant past with simplifying and dehumanizing tropes,” Professor Blasina said. “But maybe through the classroom experience and by understanding their artistic expressions, we can come to appreciate and feel connected to the human beings—as human beings—who came before us, and by extension, better understand ourselves and our societies.”

liapis

Professor Liapis has had a professional career in the performing arts that spans over twenty years. She received a B.F.A. from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and an M.F.A. from the University of Washington. Professor Liapis’s choreographic research focuses on creating and presenting original, collaborative works that often weave in elements of digital sound and video to create a complete visual and sonic experience on stage .

Professor Liapis began teaching at Swarthmore College because she was drawn to the diverse dance curriculum offered at the college. “It feels relevant, exciting, and progressive to offer training and education in so many movement forms,” Professor Liapis said.

Currently Professor Liapis is teaching Modern dance technique, as well as yoga and dance composition. In these courses, Professor Liapis aims to provide students with opportunities for growth and creative freedom. “In my first semester, I am hoping to build trust with the students,” Professor Liapis said. “I want to provide a safe and exciting learning environment so that the studio becomes an active space for movement experimentation and exploration.”

“I have been very impressed with the students’ curiosity and willingness to try,” Professor Liapis continued. “The students at Swarthmore are so motivated and engaged which allows us to really explore our material, it’s origin, it’s path, it’s purpose.”

Currently, Professor Liapis is amidst a very exciting time in the dance program. “There is so much energy and momentum that will allow us to be more visible on the Swarthmore campus,” Professor Liapis said. “We are adding courses, developing curriculum, and offering new opportunities for students to work directly with professional choreographers!”

sm Joe Small Headshot (by i-Syu)

Professor Small was a student at Swarthmore College from 2001 to 2005, where he majored in dance and minored in theatre. His main interests are taiko drumming and its expansion in the choreographic context. Professor Small accredits Professor Kim Arrow, recently retired from the Dance Program, for sparking his interest in taiko drumming and helping him define an approach that values choreography as much as music. After graduating from Swarthmore, Professor Small travelled extensively (Tokyo, New York City, Los Angeles, Sydney), attended the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance in their MFA program, and freelanced workshops.

He decided to come back to Swarthmore to pursue the opportunity to give back to the college that got him started on his taiko career. Last semester, Professor Small taught Dance 49 (Taiko Repertory), and Dance 42 (Japanese Dance I). “In both courses, I definitely hope all students [came] away with a sense that taiko and Japanese dance are fun,” Professor Small said.

In Japanese Dance I, Professor Small hopes his students received an understanding of common fundamentals and aesthetics throughout forms of Japanese dance. For example, “One key point would be the sense of grounding in one’s center of gravity—the bent knee and the low waist, as opposed to certain forms of dance favoring a high center of gravity,” Professor Small said.

In Taiko Repertory, Professor Small worked with sixteen students to prepare for the Fall Dance Concert. They put together a performance arrangement featuring a bit of folk dancing and flute melody from Northern Japan, as well as a contemporary taiko piece called “Propel.” “For the Dance 49 (Taiko Repertory) class, we had a rehearsal where seemingly disparate parts of the taiko piece connected in a way that finally made both bodily and musical sense,” Professor Small said. “Seeing everyone’s faces light up in realization and excitement made me giddy.” This semester, Small is once again teaching Taiko Repertory, as well as Dance 12 (Dance Lab II).

David Chan ’19

From Boulanger to Bernstein, College Chorus and Garnet Singers Celebrate Centennials

On Saturday, December 8th, at 3:00 pm in the Lang Concert Hall, the Swarthmore College Chorus and Garnet Singers, directed by Joseph Gregorio, will perform their fall concert. The Swarthmore College Chorus is a mixed ensemble comprised mostly of students, but is also open to faculty, staff, and community members. The Garnet Singers is a subset of the Chorus, composed of approximately twenty-four students, focused on works more intimate than those sung by the Chorus.

The Garnet Singers will be performing works in some way connected with the year 1918, and the Chorus will perform pieces by Leonard Bernstein. “1918 turns out to have been a significant year in music history as well as in world history,” Gregorio said.

Gregorio has always wanted to program Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with the Chorus. Since it is the centenary of Bernstein’s birth, it seemed like the perfect timing to have such a program. In addition to Chichester Psalms, Gregorio chose to incorporate a few songs from West Side Story. “To represent Bernstein’s oeuvre more fully, I thought it would be nice to round out Chorus’s program with a few songs from West Side Story, which has some interesting musical connections toChichester Psalms,” Gregorio said.

Gregorio also notes that coincidentally, 1918 was the year of the death of three magnificent composers: Lili Boulanger, Claude Debussy, and Charles Hubert Hastings Parry. To further explore the theme and significance of 1918, the Garnet Singers will be performing a set that includes one work by each of these composers. Additionally, several other pieces will be included in the performance that have roots in the events of 1918.

This fall concert will also feature an original work by Lili Tobias ‘19. “The ensemble is especially excited to perform the premiere of Tobias’s piece, which Tobias wrote for us as a musical reflection on Lili Boulanger’s song ‘Reflets,’” Gregorio said.

Another student, Deondre Jordan ’19, will conduct the performance of Stephen Chatman’s In Flanders Fields.

Over the last five and a half years, the Chorus has doubled in size, presenting a continual challenge for Gregorio as well as the members of the group. Everyone must adapt to the current size of the group in order to continue making music at a high level. “Both ensembles, along with student pianist Mia Shoquist ’21, have worked tremendously hard to prepare for our December 8 concert,” Gregorio said. “The Garnet Singers have not only put in a great deal of musical work, but have also given generously of their psychological energy to bring to life music that is sometimes emotionally taxing to sing.”

“As ever, I am coming to the end of the semester with immense gratitude toward all of the musicians in our choral ensembles for all they have shared of themselves to make the concert a success,” Gregorio concluded.

David Chan ’19

Gamelan and Chinese Music Ensemble Perform in Joint Concert

When asked what they hope students get out of participating in their respective music ensembles, Professors Lei Ouyang Bryant and Tom Whitman both make reference to communal music-making as a way to escape the numerous pressures experienced by a typical Swarthmore student. “I think it is great for Swatties to play music for two to four hours a week amidst the rest of their busy schedules,” says Bryant, co-director of the Chinese Music Ensemble (CME). Whitman, co-director of Gamelan Semara Santi (Gamelan), which plays music from Bali, Indonesia, puts it a bit more bluntly: “It is my hope that students find in Gamelan a place to rid themselves of the stress that is endemic at Swarthmore.”

Beyond just stress relief, though, Bryant and Whitman hope that their respective groups provide space for community members to either explore a different music culture or celebrate and recognize their own. Whitman runs Gamelan rehearsals “Indonesian style—without any notation, and with minimal talking or analysis. I’d like our sessions to create a safe space where students can learn about Balinese culture by doing, rather than by reading or talking.” For her part, Bryant sees the CME “as a valuable site on campus where Asian students, Asian American students, and students interested in Chinese culture can work together and find community with each other.”

Enthusiasm for such a community is evident in the fact that enrollment in CME has more than doubled in its first three semesters. The ensemble is open to all, although most of this semester’s 25 members came in with some musical training. However, few had experience with traditional Chinese instruments such the guzheng (zither), erhu (bowed fiddle), pipa (plucked lute), yangqin (hammered dulcimer) or dizi (flute). Bryant’s co-director Guowei Wang, a Shanghai-born erhu artist, arranges folk songs and more recent Chinese and Taiwanese compositions to tailor them to the specific skill levels and talents of the current crop of students. Bryant describes the CME as “so fortunate to have [Wang] co-directing the ensemble and developing repertoire that everyone, from beginner to advanced, can play within one semester of study.”

Gamelan is also open to students—and Swarthmore community members—regardless of musical background, and is perhaps slightly more accessible to newbies due to the percussive nature of its instruments, which consist of mostly bronze-keyed xylophones, gongs, and drums. But while hitting a gong might as a technical act be a bit easier than playing a fiddle, for example, the overall musical product is quite complicated, with each person playing an essential rhythmic role. Says senior Aly Ye, who has been a part of Gamelan for all of her four years at Swarthmore, “I love the complexity of the music and the challenge of learning it together, part by part, as an ensemble.” The tightly interwoven percussive parts result in a soundscape that is, according to Whitman, a “beautiful texture of different layers.”

Another non-sound layer is sometimes added to the mix when Gamelan pieces are accompanied by dance. Whitman explains that, “in Bali, dance and music are two facets of the same coin,” and that “while there are many pieces of instrumental music that do not accompany dance, all are informed by the spirit and many specific techniques from Balinese dance.” This close relationship has been evident to Ye, who will dance and play in the upcoming show. She says that “because the dance is so closely tied to the music, I feel like I’ve gained deeper insight into why the music moves and changes in the way that it does…. there are many times when something is emphasized in the music that, when I’m learning the dance, suddenly make more sense.” Whitman states that his lack of dance training is “one of my biggest weaknesses as a gamelan director. But we are extremely fortunate that our co-directors, I Nyoman Suadin and Latifah Alsegaf, come to campus. They bring to our ensemble that dimension of dance that I am not competent to teach.”

Audiences can come experience this auditory and visual feast in person on Sunday, December 2nd at 3pm, in the Chinese Music Ensemble and Gamelan Semara Santi’s combined end-of-semester concert. The performance will be held in Lang Concert Hall and is free and open to the public. Families are welcome!

Lydia Roe ’20

Opera, Jazz, Sonatas, and More Featured in Fetter Concerts

On Friday, November 30th at 8:00 pm in the Lang Concert Hall, the semester’s first concert of the Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Chamber Music Program will be held. The Department of Music and Dance has been supporting the Fetter Chamber Program for four decades, allowing student musicians to receive professional coaching. Students must audition in order to participate in the program. Student musicians are then divided into various groups that meet weekly for ten one-hour coached rehearsals, as well as a weekly one-hour self-directed rehearsal. This consistent rehearsal process culminates in a performance at the end of the semester.

Dr. Michael Johns is the current director of the Fetter Chamber Music Program. His role is to help set up the semester, put the programs together, pair groups with appropriate coaches, and monitor how the groups are progressing. In general, the selection of groups, performing partners, and repertoire are student-generated. “When someone expresses an interest in participating but does not have a partner, I help to build a group,” Dr. Johns said.

Although the Fetter Chamber Music Program was put in place to fund coaching for student musicians, the weekly self-directed rehearsal is what ultimately shapes the performance that the audience will see. “This is an important aspect because chamber music is a conversation among equals and members of the group must develop their own internal dialogue,” Dr. Johns said.

Eleven student groups will perform, including duos for flute/piano, violin/piano, two pianos, piano four-hands, and cello/piano; a piano/violin/cello trio; some late Middle Ages, gospel, and opera vocal selections; a jazz combo and an improvisation group. “As you can see it is an eclectic mix with, literally, something for everyone,” Dr. Johns said. “The concerts will span 700 years of musical history, from improv being conceived in the moment to works from the 14th century.”

This year’s preparation for the concert has been quite different than in previous years because some students expressed interest in mounting an opera.

“Preparing for the preview in this semester’s concert has been particularly unusual because we haven’t actually staged the opera yet,” Rebecca Regan ‘19 said. “We’ve had to be creative and put together a semi-staged performance, which communicates the theatricality of the piece in a way that’s presentable and dramatically effective, even in the absence of full blocking.”

Regan will be one of the six featured sopranos in The Audition, which is a one-act comedic opera conceived by Martha Collins. Collins wrote the libretto and arranged music that was originally composed by Franz von Suppé.

“The Audition is unequivocally an ensemble piece, but nevertheless as an opera it goes back and forth between choruses and solos/duets,” Regan said. “Hence, it required an extra degree of flexibility and independence in making sure to do the work we needed to do on our solo parts while working on the choruses together.”

“One lovely thing about this music — the opening number, ‘Audition Jitters,’ in particular — is that the six parts weave together in a number of different ways and each character interacts musically with multiple others,” Regan continued.

The other two pieces that will be performed in the concert had a more traditional preparation process. Berlin Chen ‘19 will be playing the violin in the Piano Trio in a Minor, which was composed by Joseph Maurice Ravel in 1914.

Piano Trio in a Minor follows the standard plan of a piano trio, with the first and fourth movements in sonata form surrounding a scherzo/trio and slow movement. The piece is dramatic in mood due to the many ebbs and flows, and to its large dynamic range.

“Ravel Trio is a tricky piece to play!” Chen said. “For example, there are places where the piano and the strings have different time signatures, so we had to count carefully to make sure we were playing together.”

“Also, the piece has many delicious chords and has interesting use of harmonics in the strings, so I think the performance will be colorful and refreshing.” Chen continued.

Because each semester’s rehearsals and concerts are all unique, student musicians who participate in the Fetter Chamber Music Program always have a chance to challenge themselves and grow.

“It is incredible to hear the amount of growth and maturation from the beginning of the semester to the performance,” Dr. Johns said. “Everyone, without exception, plays up to or exceeds their individual abilities and the students are justifiably proud of their accomplishment.”

Following the first concert on Friday, November 30th will be two more concerts. The second concert will be held on Sunday, December 2nd at 7:30, and the third will be held on Friday, December 7th at 8:00pm.

David Chan ’19

Pianist and Professor Returns to Swarthmore with Music and Monologues

Pianist Hans Lüdemann is returning to Swarthmore College to hold two performances in December. Previously, Lüdemann taught at Swarthmore as a Cornell Visiting Professor during two academic years: 2009-2010 and 2015-2016. In his first year at Swarthmore, Lüdemann taught “Jazz Today” and “African Music,” while in his second year, he taught “Improvisation” and “Jazz History.” One of the reasons why Lüdemann was invited to teach at Swarthmore was his connections to other artists.

“I was able to invite several of the artists I collaborate with to Swarthmore for concerts and workshops such as the TRIO IVOIRE with Aly Keita, singer Chiwoniso, violinist Mark Feldman and the trio ROOMS,” Lüdemann said. “The final performance was a collaboration between the TRIO IVOIRE, saxophonist Andrew Neu, and the College Jazz Ensemble.”

Currently, Lüdemann is not teaching regularly, except for occasional guest lectures and workshops. Instead, he is touring as a solo pianist in China, playing concerts in four cities—Shenzhen, Ruijin, Guangzhou, and Beijing. Furthermore, Lüdemann is associated with an artist with the record labels BMC and Intuition, and with publisher Schott (the original publisher of Beethoven). He is expecting two new releases next year. For 2019-2020, Lüdemann will be very busy working on solo recitals, touring South Africa, and composing an opera to premiere in 2020.

Although Lüdemann is currently stacked with various projects, his main desire in music has never changed. “My main interest always was, and still is, to invent and to create original music and to follow an artistic path of my own,” Lüdemann said. “I have also always been interested in exploring different musical sources and to draw from those sources.”

On Wednesday, December 5th at 12:30pm in Parrish Parlors, the Department of Music and Dance with the Departments of German and Media Studies will present a special lunch hour concert featuring Lüdemann and saxophonist Andrew Neu, who is also director of the Swarthmore College Jazz Ensemble.

Neu is looking forward to reconnecting with Lüdemann and anticipates a spontaneous concert. “We performed together several times during his tenure here, and we always had very natural chemistry,” Neu said. “We haven’t planned what we’re going to do yet, but that’s not unusual for jazz artists.”

For Lüdemann, he does not know what to expect for his upcoming performance because he never performs twice in the same way.

“There will be improvisation with emotional and atmospheric depth and there will be composed pieces and parts that are very melodic and concentrated,” Lüdemann said. “At times the music can be meditative and introspective, in other moments very lively and expressive.”

“It certainly should be an intense, fun, entertaining, and hopefully also moving experience, and the concert will also depend on the communication between artists and public, that plays an essential part in the creative process,” Lüdemann continued.

In addition to the lunch hour concert, Lüdemann will have a performance incorporating Swarthmore student monologues on Thursday, December 6th from 7:00-8:00 pm at Parrish Parlors. This performance originates from a collaborative project between Lüdemann and German writer Antje Ravic-Strubel. “The intention is to develop ideas in a workshop situation that combine the declamation of texts with musical concepts,” Lüdemann said. “It is a new project initiated by German professor Ute Bettray, and I am very curious myself if it will evolve into something very precise and composed, or if the formats we develop will be more of an improvised nature.”

“I always found that Swarthmore was an inspiring place to be, and a great place to develop and sharpen one’s senses and skills, while being embedded in a very cooperative and social environment. I hope Swarthmore still is and will continue to be this kind of a place, and I am glad to become part of that again, even if it is just for some days this time,” Lüdemann concluded.

David Chan ’19

Orchestra Features Amy Barston in Upcoming Concert

As the end of the fall semester approaches, the Swarthmore College Orchestra is preparing for its fall concert, featuring renowned cellist Amy Barston. Barston is one of the Department of Music and Dance’s Featured Artists for the 2018-19 year.

Barston is an incredible musician who has played as a soloist with a number of prestigious orchestras, including a performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the age of seventeen. She’s also a Juilliard graduate and a cello teacher for the Juilliard Pre-College program, and held a master class for musicians at Swarthmore earlier this month.

The Swarthmore College Orchestra will be playing the Dvorak Cello Concerto with Barston. “When Amy Barston agreed to be one of our Featured Artists this season, we started to talk about what concerto she might play with the orchestra,” recounts orchestra director Andrew Hauze ‘04. “The Dvorak was at the top of both of our lists: not only is it an exquisitely beautiful piece, but it is really symphonic in conception, with a breadth and variety in the instrumental writing that shows Dvorak at his most orchestrally inventive.”

Dvorak was noted to have been originally reluctant to write a concerto for cello, arguing that the cello’s range was utterly unsuited for solo playing with orchestral accompaniment. However, it is now hailed as perhaps one of the greatest concertos of all time, full of beautiful melodic interplay and compelling themes.

Hauze explained his thought process for why he found the Dvorak particularly well-suited for the Swarthmore College Orchestra.

“In an academic setting it’s always best if we can find concerti that will be fulfilling for the orchestra to rehearse alone (without the soloist) for most of the semester, and, in my opinion, the Dvorak has one of the most interesting orchestral parts of any concerto in the standard repertoire. The first movement is on a grand and dramatic scale; the second movement is almost like a wind serenade, filled with prayers, laments, tender beauty, and a funeral march; and the last movement seems to evoke Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances, eventually melting into a ‘long goodbye’ when Dvorak lands in B Major and seems to just want to linger, finding new and ever more beautiful ways to reaffirm our ‘home’ key.”

The other feature for the fall concert is Schumann’s Symphony no. 3. However, this was not the original plan for the fall semester.

“For most of the summer I had planned to pair the Franck D Minor Symphony with the Dvorak concerto,” said Hauze. “I was all set to program it until we had some changes in our personnel: fewer low brass players and not quite as many woodwinds, but lots of new string players! The Franck was no longer as good a fit for our instrumental makeup, and so I decided just before our first rehearsal to substitute Schumann’s Third Symphony.”

Schumann’s Third is a personal favorite of his. “It has magnificent passages for each section of the orchestra. It is also a tremendously life affirming piece and, despite being at times very tiring for the orchestra (as Schumann loves for lots of people to be playing at once), its extraordinary energy and variety of moods make it a deeply satisfying musical experience for player and listener alike. I particularly love the solemn and somewhat creepy fourth movement (a memory of a religious procession outside the majestic Köln Cathedral) that is answered by a jolly and bubbling Finale.”

The Swarthmore College Orchestra’s fall concert is December 1st, at 8:00 pm in Lang Concert Hall.

Andy Zhang ’22

From Copland to War, Swarthmore Students are Jazzing it Up

On Sunday, November 18, Swarthmore College’s Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo will perform various music from famous composers like trumpeter Clifford Brown, the band War, pianist and organist Count Basie, Aaron Copland, pianist George Gershwin, and Henry Mancini. It is the wish of Andrew Neu, director of the Jazz Ensemble and one of the college’s Associates in Performance, that the concert will showcase “jazz standards” (like music by Clifford Brown) and music from “legendary big bands” (like music by Count Basie and War) while also highlighting the musical “strength and personality of the band.”

This concert is particularly unique because two of the pieces that will be performed include vocals to be sung by Swarthmore students, a rare occurrence according to Neu. The students who will be singing are Veronica Yabloko, Shelby Billups, Ben Warren, and Omar Camps-Kamrin.

Billups says she is “ immensely excited to not only be singing in a quartet with other talented singers, but to be singing alongside such a large band. This will be my first time singing jazz with a full band and in such a large setting, and I’m so lucky to get to do this with such a talented group of musicians.” Warren also expresses similar enthusiasm, excited for this “ rare opportunity to get to perform with a big band.” He says, “The voice program here [Swarthmore] deals mostly with classical music, and while I love it, it’s always nice to broaden my horizons as a performer.”

In addition to jazz standards and classics like “I’ll Remember Clifford,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” and “Basie Straight Ahead,” the ensemble will also perform “TSC Blues,” “Fanfare for the Common Man,” “The World is a Ghetto,” pieces that were written “written exclusively for jazz ensembles.” “TSC Blues” is an original composed by Brain Pastor, a Philly locale and principal trombonist of the Philly Pops. “Fanfare for the Common Man,” arranged by Aaron Copland, is a creative, somewhat “unusual” interpretation of music originally purposed for brass and percussion. “The World is a Ghetto” is Andrew Neu’s own arrangement, which, he feels is “nothing like the original.” While the original music leans more towards being R&B, Neu’s arrangement is more “idiomatic towards a jazz ensemble,” almost resembling a jazz waltz.

The full program lineup is: “Basie Straight Ahead,” “TSC Blues,” “I Remember Clifford,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” “Love Beams,” “And What if I Don’t,” “Look to the Sky,” “Fanfare for the Common Man,” “Come Rain or Shine,” “Dreamsville,” “Riverscape,” and “the World is a Ghetto.” “And What if I Don’t” and “Look to the Sky” will be performed by the Jazz Combo, a separate and smaller ensemble of students supported by the Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Chamber Music Program, and the pieces that will include vocals are “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” and “Come Rain or Shine.”

The event will start at 7:30 P.M. in the Lang Concert Hall, and it will be live streamed.

Maria Consuelo de Dios ’21

Wind Ensemble Explores Folk Music Traditions

The Swarthmore College Wind Ensemble is holding its annual fall program on Saturday, November 17th at 8:00 pm, located at the Lang Concert Hall.

The Wind Ensemble is a Tri-College group, welcoming student musicians from both Haverford College and Bryn Mawr College. The ensemble is directed by Professor Andrew Hauze ‘04.

The repertoire for this concert will feature songs originating from different places around the world. The songs include Percy Grainger’s Irish Tune from County Derry and Shepherd’s Hey, Chen Yi’s Suite from China West, Frank Ticheli’s arrangement of Shenandoah, and Darius Milhaud’s classic Suite Française.

When Hauze plans for each Wind Ensemble concert, he must take into consideration student enrichment, audience reception, and performance cohesiveness.

“Each semester in Wind Ensemble, I try to pick pieces across a range of styles, moods, and technical challenges that will be enriching to work on for the whole semester, but also make a satisfying concert experience for the audience,” Hauze said.

For this fall’s repertoire, Hauze put together an eclectic group of pieces that share a common origin in traditional folk music.

“I had been looking at a number of these pieces for awhile, and I realized that it would be fun to program them all together, as they are all settings or reinterpretations of traditional folk songs (from, respectively, Ireland, England, China, America, and France),” Hauze said. “Though they’re all based on tunes that would be sung in everyday situations over hundreds of years, the ways that these tunes are approached by each composer are remarkably different!”

Out of the repertoire, Hauze is excited to explore one specific piece due to its challenging nature.

“I am particularly excited for the audience to hear Chen Yi’s Suite from China West, a relatively recent piece (written in 2005) by the distinguished Chinese American composer Chen Yi,” Hauze said. “It has been a huge challenge to put together, but the group is sounding great, and the sounds that Dr. Chen finds in this piece are extraordinary.”

The decision to include Chen Yi’s Suite from China West is partly influenced by the big presence of traditional Chinese music on Swarthmore’s campus. Hauze attributes this presence to the Swarthmore College Chinese Music Ensemble, which is led by colleague Professor Lei Ouyang Bryant.

This year’s Wind Ensemble is a bit larger than previous years, composed of thirty-nine members. Additionally, six professional musicians will be joining the student musicians during the concert.

“Working with the Wind Ensemble is always a joy, and this semester has been particularly fun because we’ve had a larger group than normal and the energy has been so lively and positive,” Hauze said. “The students have worked extremely hard to prepare a challenging program, and we’re really excited to share it with everyone.”

David Chan ’19