What would a date on Valentine’s Day weekend be without some dancing?

Members of the Marion Philharmonic Orchestra, musicians from Taylor University and Indiana Wesleyan University’s Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo and Chorale are putting on a Valentine’s Day ball Feb. 16 at the STAR Financial YMCA. It will take place in the gym from 6:45-9:30 p.m., according to Todd Guy, IWU Chorale director and Music Division chair.

Inspired by the October 2011 ball in which attendants wore masks and dressed up, MPO, IWU and Taylor musicians started planning for this event a year ago.

“[The Masquerade Ball] was so widely accepted and it had such great attendance,” said Guy. “We wanted to do something similar to that theme and still use the YMCA.”

The Valentine weekend ball will feature pieces from artists like Duke Ellington, Indiana artist Cole Albert Porter and a piece or two from “Les Miserables,” according to Chorale alto singer Rebecca Roy (sr).

Soprano and jazz vocalist Laynee Day (sr) added that Chorale will end the night with “Make Our Garden Grow” from Leonard Bernstein’s operatic adaptation of Voltaire’s “Candide.”

Guy said the dessert reception and first half of the concert, featuring the IWU Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo and Chorale, will start at 6:45 p.m. Payne’s Restaurant and Café from Gas City will provide gourmet desserts and coffee. Even though tickets for all 30 tables are sold out, Guy said anyone can still come and enjoy the performance during that time.

The MPO part of the performance will officially start at 7:30 p.m., which he said “includes all kinds of swing dance music – very romantic music for slow-dancing, or however you want to do it.”

“I think it’s a great date night,” Day said. “Myself personally, I’m bringing one of my friends from Chicago. We’re both competitive swing dancers, so we’ll be dancing all night long.”

“We have all this great electronic, digital music, but there’s nothing like experiencing something live, where you’re feeling the vibrations of the music,” Guy said. “The music just surrounds and engulfs you. It’s quite a bit different experience than just listening to it through a set of headphones. Students should really experience this type of music live.”

What do J.R.R. Tolkien, the Rhine River and Richard Wagner all have in common? The Indiana Wesleyan University orchestra has revealed the answer.

At 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 in the Phillippe Performing Arts Center auditorium, the orchestra will be holding a performance featuring Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” and Howard Shore’s “Symphonic Suite from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” The selection of these pieces was not random.

Schumann’s inspiration for composing his third symphony, also known as “Rhenish,” came from the Rhine River in Germany. Wagner wrote “Ride of the Valkyries,” which tells the story of a ring forged in the Rhine, as part of an opera series called “The Ring.” Wagner’s opera also drew from Nordic mythology, the same that J.R.R. Tolkien used as an outline for “The Lord of the Rings.” “The Lord of the Rings” also tells the story of a ring forged in a volcano.

“[The pieces] are all connected through this mythology of the Ring,” Allison Krupp (sr) said. “We’re starting with Schumann, based on the Rhine River, to Wagner where the Ring was forged in the Rhine River, and then to ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ which was based off of [Wagner’s mythology].”

Krupp, a cellist, has participated in orchestra every year she’s been a student at IWU.

Jason Thompson, a professor of string techniques and symphonic literature at IWU, conducts the orchestra. Thompson is also part of several ensembles in the area as a professional violinist.

Although some may see it as peculiar to perform music from “The Lord of the Rings” alongside Schumann and Wagner, Thompson said in an email, “In some ways, film music reflects pop culture rather than the high art music that is usually programmed on orchestra concerts, however, film music like this is very orchestral.”

The orchestra rehearses three times per week and has been preparing for this performance since the beginning of the school year.

Thompson said, “The orchestra is currently sounding the best that it has since I came here seven years ago.”

“Besides [rehearsals], I usually tend to practice an hour or two hours every day,” said timpanist Kris Roberts (fr). Roberts has been a percussionist for seven years and is participating in his first year with the IWU orchestra.

Krupp said the IWU orchestra currently consists of around 50 members. Although smaller-sized, Krupp said, “It is a decent-sized orchestra for [a school of IWU’s size], and it is growing every year.”

Abigail Schubkegal (sr) is the first chair in the orchestra and the concert mistress.

“She will walk out after the orchestra is seated, before professor Thompson comes out, and tune us,” Krupp said. Schubkegal is one of the more experienced performers and, in the words of Krupp, is kind of “top-dog” in the orchestra.

Rivers and Rings will be the first performance the orchestra has given all year. Admission is free and dress is casual.

By: Gabe Lindman, Contributing Writer

As this semester comes to a close, students all over campus rush to finish their class projects. MUS-167, a class also known as Opera Workshop, looks to display short projects to the whole community.

For two days, the class intends to perform two contrasting operas: at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16 and Saturday, Nov. 17, the Opera Workshop will present “Dido and Aeneas” directed by Dr. Isai Jess Munoz and professor Cynthia Smith. Also, “The Impresario” directed by Dr. Tammie Huntington will be performed.

Each opera lasts about 50 minutes and conveys very different themes. “Dido and Aeneas” tells a tragic story, while “The Impresario” turns a different corner with comedy. MUS-167 will perform the project students have worked on all year at Baker Recital Hall with free admission.

The class generally consists of freshmen and sophomores, although when a major role needs filling, the professors allow juniors and seniors to participate. Huntington said, “The whole purpose of the class is to teach acting and moving in singing.”

At the end of each semester, the class performs short, one-act operas or scenes from various operas. “We really look for roles that are going to benefit the students that make up the class,” said Huntington.

MUS-167 provides students with opportunity, as well as auditioning skills.

Jeremiah Strickler (so), a vocal performance major and lead role in “Dido and Aeneas,” said it teaches students how to audition “for a professional career, but also for hobbies.”

Kris Stephens a non-traditional student and actress in “The Impresario,” said the opera workshop “teaches you all about the in and outs of opera, getting into character, [and] becoming your character.”

“It’s a great chance for student who may have never seen opera before to come get a little taste of it,” Huntington said, alluding to common misconceptions. “I think it will dispell a lot of the stereotypes. There’s something about the music that goes deeper.”

Huntington also said, “[Opera] is the only genre that brings together absolutely every aspect [of the] artistic world.”

“Opera combines singing and acting at its [maximum] level,” said Strickler. “It’s a commentary on life and is emotionally charged.”

Strickler mentioned that many people in opera are introverts by nature. “[Opera] gives me an opportunity to be someone I’m not,” Strickler commented.

Stephens conveyed that one of her favorite parts about opera is “being able to experiment with other characters, being something that’s out of my normal personality.”

Stephens also said she looks forward to “showing everyone what we worked so hard to accomplish.”

Strickler looks forward to the “emotional roller coaster” he will bring to the audience through his tragic piece. He also mentioned that he enjoys the experience of performing in front of a live audience. “An audience fuels the actors as much as the actors fuel the audience,” he said.

Both Strickler and Stephens give credit to Huntington, Munoz and Smith for pushing them toward their best. Strickler emphasized, “Without the effort and dedication of the directors, this would not be possible.”

It’s a Monday night at Indiana Wesleyan University’s Game Room. The lights are dimmed and students can hear jazz music playing in the background. Food is displayed at a nearby table. Groups of enthusiastic football fans watch the latest game, cheering for whichever team they like best. But the centerpiece of the scene is a group of dedicated pool players tearing up the tables and having a good time.

“I’ll go make some lemonade, get out some snacks and I’ll start telling people around in the Game Room that pool hour is starting at 11,” said co-manager Megan Thomas (jr). “We turn off the lights, we put on some smooth jazz and just have some music and refreshments out.”

The Game Room started hosting pool hour on Mondays from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. for the first time this semester. “It just turned out to be a big success this semester,” said Anthony Queathem (sr).

Thomas said she and Queathem got the idea last semester during her shift one night. No one was around at the time, so they decided to turn off the lights and turn on some music while playing pool.

Regular attendants have been coming since pool hour started. “It gives them an opportunity to play pool and not get the distraction of all the other people [usually] in the Game Room,” Thomas said. “It’s their moment to shine.”

Regulars said it’s a great and authentic experience. “It’s fun. It’s a nice place to go and chill,” said Steven Cartmell (so). “It definitely feels like a pool hall. I grew up playing pool.”

“It allows us late-night owls to enjoy ourselves,” said Nicholas Gerken (so). “There’s no better way to get to know someone than through playing a game.”

Mathew Ramey (so) agreed the environment is cool and refreshing. “You can take a break from studying and just hang out with friends,” he said. “People who don’t come are missing out.”
Participants will have a chance sometime later in the semester to receive prizes for attendance, according to Thomas. In addition, Queathem said there will be a schoolwide pool tournament Nov. 17. Those at the top will have the chance to represent IWU on a regional level over a weekend sometime during the school year.

The Game Room also hosts many other events, according to co-manager Matthew Griggs (jr). Intramural ping pong contests are Wednesdays and Sundays at 8 p.m., and fans of the show “The Office” can get together 9 p.m. Thursdays. Other events include a chess tournament Oct. 12, Nerf gun wars after Friday Night Live Oct. 26, a Christmas party Dec. 1 and a Super Bowl party on Feb. 3, 2013.

“I’m really excited for this year,” Thomas said. “I encourage people to come out to the Game Room. We just like to foster a fellowship and an encouraging environment. So just come out and play games.”

Check out the Game Room’s Twitter page at iwugameroom and Facebook page for more updates about coming events.