John Dull Archives - 91��Ƶ News

Concert, open studio and theater production featured at expanded Gala Night arts extravaganza

Lauren Jefferson with Randi B. Hagi — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 11:36:12 +0000

Arts lovers can enjoy a variety of talents on Saturday, Nov. 12, as 91��Ƶ (91��Ƶ) hosts the annual gala concert at 7 p.m., followed by an open studio event in the Margaret Gehman Art Gallery, and finally a theater performance of “Far Away” in the MainStage Theater at 9 p.m.

Professor and Ashley Sauder Miller will host an open studio in the gallery between the concert and the theater performance. Visitors are welcome to stop by, watch the artists at work and ask questions. Gusler works in mixed media. Miller, a 2003 graduate and director of the Spitzer Art Center in Harrisonburg, is managing 91��Ƶ Centennnial’s . This summer, she won Best in Show and $7,500 for her mixed media piece “Faded Memory” at the Boardwalk Art Show in Virginia Beach.

Gala Concert: 7 p.m., Lehman Auditorium

The ’s annual Gala celebrating the winter holiday season showcases the breadth of musical talent on campus.

The Wind Ensemble, under the direction of , will be performing Shenandoah by American composer, Frank Ticheli (b. 1958).

The Chamber Orchestra, directed by , will perform Ralph Vaughan Williams’ (1872-1958) English Folk Song Suite.

The second half of the program will be a combined performance of Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass, commissioned in 2007 by the Majorstua and Nova Chamber Choirs. The work will feature members of the Women’s and Men’s choir, directed by ; the Emulate Chamber Ensemble, directed by ; the Chamber Singers, directed by ; and the Chamber Orchestra .

Suggested donations are $10 per person and will benefit the music scholarship fund.

“Far Away”: 9 p.m., MainStage Theater

Written by absurdist playwright Caryl Churchill and directed by Professor , Far Away centers around a young hat maker who faces her own complicity in a fictional world full of war and violent imprisonment. The play is appropriate for those middle-school-aged and older.

By depicting “a culture where violence has become gradually acceptable,” the play gives the audience a lens to examine their roles and responsibility in the violence of our actual world, says Winters Vogel. She adds: “We need to talk about the little things that lead to the big things,” referencing the Syrian War, Black Lives Matter movement, and election-centered extremism as examples.

A response session embedded in the end of the play will allow such discussion to happen within the theater atmosphere.

The visual focal point for the set design is “The Horde,” a 1927 painting by Max Ernst that evokes World War I’s devastation of Europe. For the set, , professor in the Visual and Communication Arts Department, has sculpted a giant burlap figure based on the painting – a symbol of the desperation and disconnectedness that is created by and fuels violence.

Other performances are Nov. 11 and Nov. 17-19.

Catch the new Royals pep band — loud, proud and sassy in the stands

Walt Wiltschek — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 13:41:56 +0000

E-M-U! E-M-U!

If 91��Ƶ’s Yoder Arena seems a bit peppier this winter, look no further than the northeast corner of the basketball court floor. 91��Ƶ’s new pep band is loud, they’re proud and they’re here to stay.

In the stands: top row, left to right: Andrew Troyer and Daniel Schlosser; second row, Chase Dunn, Taylor Bronaugh, Hannah Menefee and Abigail Shumaker; and on the lowest row, Victoria Campbell, Alison Helfrinch and Brooke Bevington.

“The support has been growing since our very first game,” says sophomore Josh Calderon, the band’s student director. “We want it to get to the point where we change the atmosphere.”

That “first game” was on Dec. 19, when the band played for Alumni Appreciation Day games against Messiah College. Although students had already left for Christmas break, alumni seemed to embrace the band. There was toe-tapping and head-bobbing in the stands, and a few of the more courageous followed the pep band’s lead, holding up their hands and wiggling their fingers during foul shots in D-1-crowd-type fashion.

The band has played at several more games in January and plans to be at all the remaining games on the schedule this winter: Feb. 6, Feb. 16, and Feb. 20.

Calderon, from Grottoes, Virginia, says he got the idea for an 91��Ƶ pep band while taking a marching band course at nearby James Madison University last year. He played tuba for the Marching Dukes and in JMU’s pep band and thought, “Why couldn’t we have something like this at 91��Ƶ?”

On the floor, cheering on an 91��Ƶ Royal at the foul line: left to right, Sarah Regan, Chase Dunn, director John Dull and student director Josh Calderon, David Holsinger on drums, and Jordan Shelley.

He contacted John Dull, adjunct faculty in the music department and director of the 91��Ƶ , and Dull said, “Why not?”

“Josh just has such a handle on it,” Dull says. “He’s so gifted. That’s what we’re here for—to enable students to do what they do best and let it grow. It’s his thing.”

Calderon recruited members, Dull became the band’s faculty advisor, conversations took place with the athletics department and the idea’s tempo cranked up to prestissimo.

“The response has been huge,” Dull says. “The athletes love it, the coaches love it, we’re hearing great comments from fans, especially older fans, and the band loves doing it. It fills a niche. Maybe it wasn’t an obvious hole until we started, but now we hear, ‘Wow, what did we do before?’ We’re already talking about next year. We’re looking forward to where this could go.”

Athletics director Dave King is looking that way, too.

“Having a pep band at 91��Ƶ sporting events has been a dream of mine since I arrived here 10 years ago, so I’m grateful for their vision,” King says. “Live music adds to the game environment and often encourages more student involvement. I’m excited about what they’re doing for basketball and will be looking for other athletic events where their presence can enhance the atmosphere.”

The band may expand to attendance at volleyball games and soccer matches, Dull said. The band has been spreading the word off the court, too, aided by the communications skills of James Madison University student and band member Chase Dunn. They have hammed it up with a huge poster advertising social media contact information (Twitter/Instagram: @emupepband; Facebook: www.facebook.com/91��ƵPepBand), did a T-shirt giveaway over the holidays and have received hundreds of “likes” and supporters.

“That tells me we’re getting there,” Dull said. “We’re going in the right direction.”

David Holsinger, Alison Helfrinch and Bekah Mongold.

Don’t expect just music from the band, either. When they’re not playing, they’re leading cheers and chants, holding up signs, counting down with the shot clock and, of course, giving the opponents some good-natured heckling. They want to spread spirit any way they can.

Brooke Bevington, a freshman flute player who went to high school with Calderon, jumped at the chance to join the band.

“It’s been great,” Bevington says. “The crowd seems to be responding to us well, and we have an amazing time—even when we lose. We have a bunch of fun. We might be exhausted from a full day of school, but we still come out and support our team. It’s what we do.”

Annual gala concert features rare opportunity to hear ‘Concert Selections from Leonard Bernstein’s MASS’

Lauren Jefferson — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 16:00:47 +0000

Leonard Bernstein’s commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy for the 1971 dedication of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., is subtitled “A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers.”

Witnessing a full-length performance, as 91��Ƶ professor did in 1981 for the center’s 10-year anniversary, is “mind-blowing.”

“The complete work requires a marching band, rock band, symphonic orchestra, two choirs, a children’s choir, and a raft of soloists,” explains Nafziger. “And as you can imagine, you can’t just do this anywhere. Oh, and a ballet. There’s also a ballet … and the Alvin Ailey dancers.”

Lacking such an expansive stage, as well as a ballet and a marching band among other necessities, Nafziger and colleagues and are providing the next best opportunity. The works’ perennial themes of faith and doubt and the clash of tradition with modernity take center stage – albeit in an abridged version – at the university’s annual gala music concert Nov. 14, 7 p.m. in Lehman Auditorium.

Bernstein’s selections the highlight

Music lovers who regularly attend 91��Ƶ’s annual gala concert, and those coming for the first time, will be delighted at this rare opportunity to hear “Concert Selections from Leonard Bernstein’s MASS” by , the only sanctioned, abridged version in the history of this major work.

“MASS” features the experience of “a celebrant observing a mass who finds himself in the midst of the noisy, discordant sounds of church culture,” Nafziger says. “His intention is to strip the noise away and find out what is at the core of the mass, which raises questions of faith and nonfaith, borrows all kinds of styles of music … and when it comes to that point in the mass when the wine and the bread are consecrated, he throws the chalice onto the floor, a most grievous sin in the Catholic religion. Out of that breakdown of his own faith, he finds a need to go on anyway and returns to the idea that to praise God properly, one needs to do it simply.”

Vocal soloists include sophomore Sarah Sutter, juniors Sam Swartzendruber and Jon Bishop, and seniors Guilio Garner and Heather Evans.

A musical showcase

While the Bernstein piece will be the highlight, other works are also in the evening’s program. The annual concert brings together the Chamber Singers, men’s and women’s choirs, Emulate, Chamber Orchestra, and the Wind Ensemble.

“The annual gala concert is an opportunity for the music department to showcase most of our ensembles and the large number of students who participate in our programs,” says Griffing, who conducts the orchestra. “We welcome the community to come out and help us celebrate and support the hard work of many while enjoying a wide variety of repertoire.”

The Wind Ensemble, directed by , will perform Gustav Holst’s “Suite for Winds.” The Chamber Orchestra will perform a portion of Ernest Bloch’s “Concerto Grosso” for strings and piano. Professor , baritone, will be featured in an aria from the Bach cantata “Ich habe henug.”

The concert is the primary fundraiser for the music scholarship fund. The suggested donation is $10 per person.

Annual music gala to showcase orchestra, choirs and wind ensemble – Handel’s “Messiah” among the featured selections

Randi Hagi — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 20:21:01 +0000

The at 91��Ƶ is “a kaleidoscope,” says professor , who conducts the chamber choir. Around the fixed theme of a musical showcase to kick off the holiday season, a variety of talents, ensembles, and compositions rotate into new permutations each year.

The Nov. 15 event at Lehman Auditorium includes a collaborative performance of Handel’s “Messiah” and two pieces composed by new professor , as well as a wide variety of selections from the campus’s musical community. The performance begins at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but a suggested donation of $10 per person benefits the music scholarship fund.

The wind ensemble, with more than 25 student musicians, will open the gala with Jean-Joseph Mouret’s “Suite des Symphonies.” Conductor John Dull appreciates the increased exposure the group will receive, as the gala is their largest audience of the year.

Josh Helmuth, of the Chamber Singers, practices alongside choir members. (Photo by Randi Hagi)

The centerpiece of the concert is the popular Part I of Handel’s “Messiah,” performed by the Chamber Singers, men’s and women’s choirs, with the orchestra. Popularly called the “Christmas” movement, Part I celebrates the birth of Jesus and ends with the rousing “Hallelujah” chorus.

“Every student should have a chance to sing it or play it some time,” says Nafziger, of the Baroque oratorio.

Music professor , the orchestra’s conductor who will play the violin as well, says she enjoys the camaraderie of playing alongside her students. “The collaboration is what I really enjoy,” she says.

instructor Christa Hoover and graduate student Katrina Gehman will also play violin in the gala as soloists in Sarasate’s “Navarra” with the orchestra, a “super effervescent, whirlwind violin duo,” says Hoover.

Both violinists are Wheaton College alumni now teaching with the . Their friendship contributes to the close listening required to harmonize in the duet. Gehman, who has played violin since she was eight, hopes “that the audience in this gala can connect through the music with the parts of themselves that cannot be expressed in words, and yet still long to speak.”

Sharing personal experience and reflective moments are also what rewards Keebaugh when writing music. The chamber choir and string quartet will perform one of his compositions, titled “…Thy light which is brighter than the sun and the moon.” Keebaugh wrote the piece for Winchester’s Musica Viva concert last year in tribute to Jim Harmon, a beloved Virginian singer who died of cancer.

“It was an act of love and sorrow and respect,” said Nafziger, who upon hearing the piece, immediately wanted the chance to conduct it.

Sarah Sutter (left) and Lauren Sauder in a rehearsal with 91��Ƶ’s Chamber Singers, directed by Ken J. Nafziger. (Photo by Randi Hagi)

“To have that honor to commemorate someone’s life in a piece of music is a wonderful thing,” said Keebaugh. The piece, which revolves around themes of light and dawn, took him eight months to compose.

Junior Sarah Sutter will sing the melody in Keebaugh’s adaptation of “The Lord’s Prayer” with the women’s choir. She appreciates the unique opportunity to work with the composer and learn the inspiration and intent behind the music. In this version of “The Lord’s Prayer,” the choir surrounds the audience while mimicking the echoes of singing in a cave or cathedral. With this format, Keebaugh intends to make the audience part of the ensemble – breaking down the “us versus them” structure of traditional performance to better commune the personal sacred themes he writes into music.

Other musical numbers include Bartok’s “Romanian Folk Dances,” a contemporary orchestra piece, and “Music Down in My Soul,” a spiritual arrangement by Moses Hogan in the chamber singers’ repertoire.

“Even if you think that classical music isn’t your thing, you should come and give it a shot,” says Sutter. “We’re doing things in a whole range of styles and eras, so come and listen before you say you don’t like it!”

For more information, contact the at 540-432-4225.