8 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 11, 1994
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Michigan's youth needs you this holiday season!!! Please join the Education and Literacy's commit-
tee in their efforts to raise awareness on campus about problems which surround the issue of literacy
on both local and national levels. The committee is planning a project to raise money to purchase
books for children in Washtenaw County over the holidays. They will be collecting books, periodi-
cals, and magazines that you or your organization no longer need. The collection will take place on
December 3, 1994 at 307 N. State Street.
If you would like to give the gift of opportunity that reading can bring a child, please contact
Ellen Krouss at the SERVE office (2205 Michigan Union; 936-2437). Please feel free to mention
this project to other organizations on campus and in the Ann Arbor community-the Education
and Literacy Committee welcomes everyone's help.
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Major Events Office/Div. of Student Affairs presents
"If there is a more beautiful musical sound in all the world
than that made by The Chieftains, I haven't heard it,"
declared Bob Claypool, music critic of the Houston Post in
the review of the band during a recent sold-out United
States tour. Ira Mayer from the New York Post wrote "If
there is a heaven, and if there is music in it, the music
probably sounds like The Chieftains." The Chieftains,
celebrating their 30th anniversary this season, are now
regarded internationally as the most famous exponents of
traditional Irish music in the world. Although their early
following was purely a folk audience, the astonishing range
and variation of their music very quickly captured a much
broader public resulting in their present fame worldwide.
Paddy Moloney is particularly excited about the current
tour since it affords the group a chance to show off a rarely
seen Irish tradition as well as to put a more Irish emphasis
on the common American Christmas celebration.
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The Women's Glee Club's performance Saturday night at Hill Auditorium was a tradition in the making.
Women's Glee delights
By EMILY LAMBERT too. Felix Mendelssohn's plea, "Veni, Domine," was
I have an awful voice. Although I enjoy singing in the intense, and the choir gave an elegant rendition of Vaughn
shower and along with the radio, my voice induces violent Williams' "Greensleeves."
reactions from those who hear. I am jealous of people who After intermission, the chorus slinked, not inconspicu
love to sing and ously, into the audience as 10 Harmonettes took the stage.
are lucky enough The Harmonettes, a smaller ensemble drawn from the
to be good at it, choir, were enthused while they entertained. "These Boots
Women's too. With this en- Were Made for Walking" was fun and brash, but the group
viable combina- appeared overly cautious in their other selections. It's
Glee Club tion of enthusi- probably difficult to give a daring performance in short
Hill Auditorium asm and talent, skirts and high heels.
Novemthe Michigan Members of the Glee Club have a wide variety of
Women's Glee academic interests, yet they excel musically. The choir's
Club, under the sound was sweet without being thin, and the harmonies
direction of Theodore Morrison, sang to a delighted were distinct.
audience at Hill Auditorium during Saturday's Annual The chorus's youthful exuberance was epitomized by
Fall Concert. the peaceful and simple tune "All Things Bright and
As evident from their smiles, the women were having Beautiful," written by the English composer John Rutter.
fun. Who could act serious singing the "Alphabet Song"? The concert swung to a near-finish with the spirited "This
Admittedly, this greatly embellished version of the famil- Little Light of Mine," but it wasn't over yet. Three brave
iar tune was sung in German and was full of artistic alumni joined the choir on stage for a finale of Michigan
harmonies, but the simplicity remained. The choir's jovial favorites.
nature resurfaced in Irving Fine's Choral Settings to With beaming faces and beautiful voices, members of
"Alice in Wonderland," with lyrics that described talking the Women's Glee Club displayed their love of music and
lobsters and an old man standing on his head. talent for performing at Saturday's concert.
Although full of spirit, the Glee Club had a serious side The performance was a tradition in the making.
Brass brings excitement into DSO's hal
By BRIAN WISE
Pops concerts can be entertaining
but somewhat perplexing events. On
a musical continuum they'd lie some-
y)
"We're performing an old fashioned Irish Christmas show
this time around," Moloney explained. "The music will be
a traditional Irish program in a Christmas setting and
we're also featuring the participation of the Kennelly Irish
Dancers. 'Adding still more of a holiday feel to the con-
cert will be the participation of Amazin' Blue, University
of Michigan's a capella co-ed student ensemble which will
assist in the singing of Christmas carols.
Historians, translators, assimilators, whatever else The
Chieftains are, their high-octane performances are also
just plain fun.
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The Empire
Brass with the
Detroit Symphony
Orchestra
Orchestra Hall
November 18, 1994
where between a rock concert and a
symphonic program of "meatier" rep-
ertoire. Accessible, highly melodic
pieces (often suitable for clapping
along) and syrupy introductions by
the conductor are all pops conven-
tions that separate them from the more
staid, thought-provoking occasions of
"normal" classical performances.
Yet, while each has its own place
and function in the concert hall, cer-
tain standards of playing exist regard-
less of the format, such as expressive-
ness, technical ability and sense of
interpretation.
The Detroit Symphony with the
Empire Brass, by in large provided
these basic ingredients Friday night
at Orchestra Hall.
Billed as a "Pops Superstar," Erick
Kunzel has achieved worldwide fame
conducting major orchestras in famil-
iar repertoire. He brings a certain level
of polish and brilliance to the music,
although he is never afraid of going
for the obvious gesture.
Tchaikovsky's "March Slave" was
a showcase of dazzling orchestral
color and rhythmic flare. The piece's
swelling, climactic gestures were
magnificently rendered. At times,
however, a bit more subtlty and fi-
nesse could havegonea long way for
Kunzel. The flowing, elegiac Fanta-
sia on "Greensleeves" by Vaughn
Williams needed to be savored more;
it seemed as if delicacy and sensitiv-
ity were put aside for fear of boring
the audience. In other instances, dy-
namic changes seemed forced, and
shifts in tempo seemed abrupt and to
come out of nowhere.
The Empire Brass occupied cen-
ter stage - both literally and figura-
tively - for the second half of the
program. The quintet has mastered all
of the nuances of showmanship but
still had the technical and aesthetic
chops to back that up. Rolf Smedvig,
the Quintet's leader and principal
trumpet, noted that their collabora-
tions with Kunzel extend back to the
group's conception, 23 years ago.
Evident of this, the orchestra was
well-balanced and coordinated with
the Quintet, and the arrangements
were designed with this in mind.
Beginning with Rimsky-
Korsakov's "Procession of the
Nobles," the Quintet alternated in
concerto-like fashion with the orches-
tra, as individual members traded
broad lyrical passages with the vio-
lins. As the focus shifted from Rus-
sian to American repertoire, the groun
gradually sounded more confident and
focused.
Copland's "Simple Gifts" was at-
tractive, aside from some rough ar-
ticulations in the opening solo by
Smedvig (which sounded less than
simple). The evening's technical tour-
de-force featured the group's latest
addition, trombonist Douglas Wright.
Appropriately, the piece was "Sevw
enty-Six Trombones," from "The
Music Man." The formerBoston Sym-
phony principal played a whirlwind
of variations that was stunning in its
precision.
The remainder of the program was
devoted to jazz works which ranged
from Jelly Roll Morton's "Black Bot-
tom Stomp," to Count Basie's "One
O'Clock Jump," to Miles Davis' "Al
Blues." Unlike many chamber groups,
the Empire Brass can play jazz and
swing. While there were no extended
jam sessions to be heard here, each
member of the Quintet gave distinc-
tive, idiomatic and improvised solos.
The DSO drummer never com-
pletely cut loose, but then again, for a
pops concert, with all its implications
of familiarity, the Empire Brass pro-.
vided a good degree of excitement it
Orchestra Hall.
*t ,es re slenow at,
Evan Dando and Soundtracks give an epic concert
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By HEATHER PHARES
It was truly a case of the good, the
bad and the ugly at the Blind Pig last
Thursday. The bill (Epic Sountracks
and Lemonheads leader Evan Dando
compelled and entertained those who
were listening. Songs such as
"Tonight's The Night (Rock 'n' Roll
Lullaby)" and "Don't Go To School"
benefitted from the live setting, adding
an intimacy and personality that was
appreciated by a select few.
"Thank you to those of you that are
listening. I appreciate it," Soundtracks
sighed. Before beginning another song,
he muttered, "Here's another song for
you to talk through." After recieving a
less-than-warm reception after virtu-
ally every song, Soundtracks finally
threw in the towel, cutting his set short
to spare himself any more humiliation.
As he left the stage, the applause was
louder than it had been while he had
been onstage.
The audience's mood hardly im-
proved during the hour wait for Evan
Dando to make his appearance. It
bloodshot, glassy eyes and aloof dispo-
sition set him apart as a troubled alter-
native rock star dealing with a difficult
crowd.
However, the crowd initially re-
sponded with silent awe and adoratior*
to Dando's presence. "Down About It"
and "My Drug Buddy" went over to
wild applause, as did all of the other
Lemonheads' hits like "Into Your
Arms," "Confetti," "It's A Shame
About Ray" and "Big Gay Heart." But
when Dando meandered into cover ter-
ritory, like the Velvet Underground's
"I'll Be Your Mirror" and four songs
by Gram Parsons, Dando's idoO
("Streets of Baltimore," "$1000 Wed-
ding," "A Song For You" and "How
Much I Lied") the audience resumed
talking. All the covers were beautifully
played and sung but wasted on the
crowd. A classic example of an artist's
t
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- acoustic!) was definitely good. The
feeling of claustrophobia, due to the
capacity crowd, was nauseatingly bad,
and the behavior of that crowd was
appallingly, unforgivably ugly.
A bit of a surprise, really, that all of
these people paid $10 to be drunken,
rude louts at a laid-back, acoustic show.
Considering also that most of the people
Michigan League