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CPVA Dean chosen for Fulbright International Education Administrator Program
Gene Aitken, Emeritus Director of UNC Jazz Studies, Headed To Iraq for Historic Performing Arts Academy
The first-ever Iraqi Performing Arts Academy, organized by Houston–based American Voices with funding from the U.S. State Department, will unite over 350 artists from all parts of Iraq, including the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Aitken along with German jazz-musician/educator Warner Englert will work with the Iraqi All-Stars Big Band, a band made up of 18 outstanding musicians from throughout the entire country; Jazz Bridges Iraq, a fusion of jazz with Iraqi traditional music and dance; and all interested participants, in an Introduction to Jazz Improvisation. Many thanks to those who have supported the Iraqi Performing Arts Academy with instruments, jazz education materials, and music: The Trumpet Trader, Greeley, CO; University of Northern Colorado Jazz Press, Greeley, CO; Jamey Aebersold, Inc, New Albany, IN and DownBeat Magazine, Elmhurst, IL. American Voices (and our staff of 10 teachers from Europe, South America, and America) was able to pull off a nearly impossible feat under very unusual and sometimes difficult circumstances. The jazz area had great support from Jamey Aebersold, UNC Jazz Press, DownBeat magazine, and the Trumpet Trader. Many, many thanks. Although the soldiers and security people with machine guns and assault rifles were everywhere as a fact of daily life, it still took some adjusting. And, there was not a time in Kurdistan in which we felt threatened in any way. Our jazz students were from Eribil, Sulimaniya, and Ranya, all cities located in the northern part of Kurdistan. Most students had never seen method books, Jamey’s materials, or had CDs of any jazz artist. Most of the students learned learned about jazz from what they were able to see on television. Some very talented musicians. We took a television crew of three from the US, so there will soon be a documentary of our work. ABC World News joined us for the last few days of our rehearsals and performances. Last night ABC aired a short story which can be viewed at: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3418287 Thanks, and hope you enjoy the short video clip. Also, attached a picture of the Jazz Bridges All-Star Combo saying ‘Thank you, America!’ Best to everyone always, Photos of Gene at work http://www.americanvoices.org/projects/2007/unity/
UNC Students to Perform with World-renowned Artists in European Opera Program “There are universities that offer international study tours,” Wilson says, “but in the last 15 years I’ve spent singing with opera companies in Europe, I’ve never seen an opportunity like this one. These students will be performing with some of the world’s best-known artists. Eduardo Villa, for example, could easily be the next Pavarotti.” Prior to his position at UNC, Wilson was a career opera singer in Germany and Switzerland. UNC students will be featured in key roles in their performances with the Opera Classica Europe chorus andsoloists, including international opera stars such as Eduardo Villa and Keith Ikaia-Purdy who have performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, La Scala in Milan, and other major opera houses of the world. The students will also be performing with renowned sopranos Yuka Masuoka of Japan and Barbara Dobranska of Poland, Italian mezzo-soprano Maria Chiara, and baritones Marcello Lippa of Italy and Juri Batoukov of Russia. They will be accompanied by the Frankfurt Symphony, the Symphony of Minsk, and others. Wilson will be singing the roles of Sacristan in “Tosca,” Sharpless in “Madama Butterfly,” and Montano in “Otello.” Wilson describes the venues as “mostly open-air arrangements, such as courtyards of castles.” Their first performance, “Otello,” will be at Castle Braunfels in Germany. The group will perform at the Opera Gala Concert at Castle Wehen in the Taunus Mountains before departing for Valencia, Spain, to perform “Tosca” at the Gala Concert and again in Gijon, Spain. Additional venues include Castle Hayn, Wetzlarer Festspiele, Palmengarten Frankfurt, and others. The students will spend a month of intensive on-campus preparations of chorus and compimario parts to Puccini’s “Tosca,” “Madama Butterfly,” and Verdi’s “Otello,” as well as opera scenes before leaving for Germany on July 9. Preparations for the program also include German language lessons. Wilson explains that German is the language of the opera business “since 85 percent of the opera performances on earth occur in the German-speaking world.” Students will also participate in the Eduardo Villa International Vocal Competition along with students from Germany. Winners will receive cash prizes as well as the opportunity to sing a duet in one of the Gala Concerts with Eduardo Villa. The competition will be adjudicated by Eduardo Villa, William Wilson and a German judge. “You can study it in the classroom and listen to the records, but it’s not the same as actually being there,” Wilson says of the effect the program will have on participants. He expects some of the students will pursue careers in Europe after this experience and hopes to make it an annual program. Student Nathan Howe Describes his Experiences Traveling to
First, let us address the area of musicianship, which is our primary focus as an ensemble in the School of Music. The United States obviously do not have a monopoly on serious musical talent, but I was quite surprised at the level of performances we heard from Ecuadorians, Venezuelans, and native Colombians. Notably, we heard a fabulous original flute piece performed by the composer, a bass player who made his instrument sing like a cello, and a pianist who played an intensely challenging Barber piece after only five years of musical study. We also heard excellent choirs that sang everything from Palestrina to Lauridsen to rhythmic Latin music with professionalism and beautiful expression. We represented UNC well in our performances, and we used our combined musical talent to arrange an impromptu spiritual version of Amazing Grace to share with the other choirs in a casual setting. Secondly, this excursion provided unique and excellent cultural exchanges. As US citizens abroad, we experienced conflicting views of Colombia - the troubled nation mentioned on CNN did not represent the beautiful place and people we saw around us. Likewise, our fellow musicians from other countries and the common people in the cities were surprised by our group. Although we represented our nation and our university proudly, we did not represent any particular political view. We were not there to proselyte our way of life, but to understand and to be understood. With current politics, I know of no other situation in which a group of Venezuelan students and a group of U.S. students could meet without animosity and learn openly from each other. Mostly, our Spanish was halting and their English was simple, but we gained many strong friends from three nations who now admire us for our music and personality rather than hating us for our President. We also exchanged culture through music; Dr. Darrough gave an excellent lecture in Spanish about the history of the Negro Spiritual, using our choir for demonstration. Professor Gomez-Giraldo conducted bilingual rehearsals. Professor Wilson conducted a master class with an excellent translator. The other choirs sang some of the music of their nations for us. It was a rich experience. Third, as an educational experience, this journey blended many disciplines and taught practical skills. Learning basic Spanish conversation was obviously necessary for many of our members, but this was not the extent of our education. Following the demographic of UNC, many of the students who went were white. For many of us, this was the first time we were minorities in a place that was not accustomed to us. I had never before had someone take my picture because of the color of my skin, hair, and eyes. I hasten to say that it was not discrimination so much as curiosity, but for us it was a taste of what it means to be the different one, and an experience we would probably never encounter in the U.S. We made great friendships among ourselves because of shared experience and united several groups of musicians in the process (nearly half of this group was composed of instrumentalists from various areas of the School of Music). Many of us would not have a reason to become acquainted otherwise. Even setting aside the intercultural part of the experience, the communication skills we refined by working with different personalities within the group are more useful than many of the formal education classes I have taken at UNC.
After all that, I do not really have to mention that it was fun. That was a beautiful side benefit. Travel is generally more fun than classroom lectures. It was wonderful. I am grateful for the experience, and it will live in memory and continued friendships for a very long time. However, besides the fun aspect, I hope that I have given you a glimpse of the justifiable benefits of this program. I hope that you feel that your investment was warranted and that you will seriously consider expanding future opportunities for this type of educational experience. Again, I express my gratitude, and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this beautiful trip. Intercultural Conversations About Contemporary Art Images During the fall semester of 2006, graduate students from both universities were engaged in an online discussion about current art images from Taiwan and the United States. The format of this dialogical experience encouraged critical questioning and personal interpretations of current art imagery. Its design enabled participants to clarify their own perhaps, taken-for-granted cultural points of view and also to discover commonalities emerging from their different cultures. This project was conceived, in part, as a way to develop a supportive intercultural community of new scholars. The graduate students and professors continued their conversations about contemporary art at the National Art Education Association annual conference in New York during March 2007 when some participants had the opportunity to meet face-to-face. Dr. Bethards and Dr. Lai will continue their research project during spring semester of 2008 when they will teach concurrently an online course exploring the theme of contemporary artists from Taiwan and the United States. Saxophone Professor Makes On-Going Connections in South Korea UNC Music Professor Andy Dahlke describes his experiences: In March of 2004 I performed the Ingolf Dahl saxophone concerto with the Seoul Wind Ensemble for their 35th anniversary concert at the Seoul Arts Center. The conductor was Hyun Suk Suh, he also started this professional wind ensemble and is the wind conductor at the Seoul National University of the Arts. This concert was promoted by a Korean agency called Music and Sound. On this trip I also conducted a 2-hour master class for five saxophone majors and gave a 1-hour lecture/presentation on jazz saxophone styles and techniques geared toward the classical saxophonist at the Seoul National University of the Arts. Was the first person to lecture/present on jazz in the history of the conservatory. I also Gave a 1-hour-and-15-minute presentation/performance entitled The Contemporary Saxophone: Multiphonics, Microtones, and Interactive Electronics at Hanyang University, another top music school in Seoul. Here I introduced and performed my own microtonal composition Three Excursions. I was the first guest saxophonist to perform/present in the history of the university. From August 8-18 2005 I was invited as guest soloist and conducted a week-long saxophone camp for the Jeju Island, Korea International Winds festival. This is a huge festival with ensembles coming to perform from all over the world. There were around five international guest soloists like myself. For the camp I worked with Korean students ranging in age from 14-33. Topics included saxophone fundamentals, ensemble and solo playing, and jazz style and improvisation which I administered through group instruction and individual lessons. As guest performer I played in two concerts as soprano and alto saxophone soloist along with other international guests with the Jeju Festival Wind Orchestra for two public concerts at the Seaside Arts Center on Jeju Island and at Sejong Concert Hall in Seoul, featuring William Schmidt‚s arrangement Puccini Variations and William Bolcom‚s Concert Suite for Alto Saxophone and Band, conducted by Virginia Allen, faculty at the Julliard School and Curtis Institute of Music. I arranged to have conductor Hyun Suk Suh and the Seoul National University of the Arts wind ensemble here at UNC as guests in September of 2006. We performed a joint concert with our wind ensemble at the Greeley Civic Center where I also performed William Bolcom’s Concert Suite with Dr. Singleton. I also arranged master classes for the Korean students with UNC faculty and a trip to Estes Park. The Korean students stayed with UNC students and attended classes, rehearsals, concerts, etc. for a week of cultural exchange. In addition, the Koreans brought the great soprano Young Mi Kim to perform and she also conducted a vocal master class. The Koreans also brought a member of their composition faculty, Young Jo Lee, also former dean of the Seoul National Conservatory of the Arts, and performed one of his compositions on the joint concert. 'Tu-Du or not Tu-Du': The Art of Articulation as Advanced by Jean Baptiste Arban". Murray's paper was of a performance and pedagogy nature and was titled " 'Tu-Du or not Tu-Du': The Art of Articulation as Advanced by Jean Baptiste Arban".
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