Music Day!!!

Monday is our very first open-house style Music Day for prospective students and their parents. We have a lot of very exciting events planned including a showcase recital, a sample music theory lecture, lunch with current students and many master classes throughout the day. If you're still thinking of coming, it's not too late! Go to music.uoregon.edu/musicday  to register.  Hope to see you here!

Picking the Right School

My sister just happens to be a senior in high school this year. She’s never played an instrument and she’s not quite sure about her future major (psychology and communications are two frontrunners).  We’ve been trying to narrow down her options for a while, but the list of eligible colleges just keeps on growing! It’s very hard to pick a school that will be the best fit for her. Also, the more we talk, the more I realize that there is a huge difference between her college search and a typical music student’s search. 

I think this whole process is actually much easier if you’re a prospective music major. The most important thing in the college search will probably be your future instrumental/voice teacher! If you are inspired by them and can imagine yourself growing as a musician under them, then you’re all set. If you plan on being a music education major, make sure you meet with the music education faculty, or if you’re thinking of going into composition, meet with the music composition faculty.

Of course, some other factors that you should consider may include the quality of ensembles, the caliber of the program as a whole and the general feel of the school (can you imagine yourself as a student there? – small tip, go on a music school’s facebook page, you’ll get a good sense of a school’s atmosphere and vibe). However, the private teacher that you’re going to be seeing every week is probably going to shape your experience the most. That teacher is also someone that you’ll keep in touch with for the rest of your life.

So, here are some simple steps for music major success:

•    Visit (schedule ahead of time!) and take a lesson with the faculty
•   Listen to the ensembles rehearse
•    Walk around and see if you can talk to some current music students
•    If you live far away, there’s bound to be clips you can watch online. You can also email the teacher; I know that some of our teachers are open to Skype lessons, never hurts to ask!
•   Make sure to peruse the music school’s website inside and out. There’s going to be a ton of information on there that you can use when making decisions (for example, check out my recent addition to the SOMD website, the Inside Scoop). 

I hope this is helpful and, as always, feel free to email me (elaskus@uoregon.edu) with any questions or suggestions for topics that you would like me to cover on this music admissions blog. Having been a music major myself, once upon a time, I know what it’s like to go through the whole process and I love being able to help students and their parents with it. It’s quite an adventure!

Aaron’s Extraordinary Concert

Last month, I attended one of the most interesting and memorable performances that I’ve seen here at the SOMD. To my surprise, it was a bassoon doctoral recital.

Aaron Pergram, UO doctoral student in bassoon performance, put on not just your everyday degree recital, but a multimedia presentation of interdisciplinary arts entitled “Urban Arts.” The recital incorporated music, dance, film, art and media in an ingenious and memorable way. It took place in Aasen-Hull hall – our new large, instrumental rehearsal hall – with its soaring 35 ft high ceiling.

Aasen-Hull hall

Here’s the layout of my evening:

Right from the start, I walk in and feel as if I’m at an art gallery opening, or a coffee shop, or at a happening jazz club. The room is filled with paintings by local artists, fresh flowers and shimmering tea lights (safely housed in glass vases – to calm our worried facilities staff).  People are looking at art, laughing, mingling, listening to jazz tracks in the background – already a far different experience from the more typical silence and coldness of a classical pre-concert atmosphere. The giddiness and excitement in the air becomes palpable. Way to start off on a good note!  Finally, the lights dim, the background jazz fades and Aaron walks out to briefly discuss the experience we’re about to have and the ideas behind his project. Again, a far cry from the typical silence of classical artists. Aaron is a brilliant musician AND a human being who talks to us and concocts fascinating projects. This is going to be fantastic!

The program begins with an arrangement of a piece by Leonard Bernstein from the musical West Side Story. Aaron is joined by piano, drums, bass and seven dancers from the dance department. As the piece unfolds, Sondheim lyrics are brilliantly displayed on the projection screen, accenting and complementing the music and the dancing. Then comes a world premiere of composer Jeff Parola’s Downtown Detour, in which we are treated to sizzling bassoon pyrotechnics with a backdrop of the 1982 cult film Koyaanisqatsi by Godfrey Reggio. Bassoon sounds zoom by as do the cars in the time-lapse video of a Los Angeles freeway. Simply mesmerizing.

The next piece, Andy Warhol Sez by Paul Moravec, explores the high art of urban life. The seven movements present seven famous Warhol quotes. Here’s one of my favorites:

“I broke something today, and I realized I should break something once a week...to remind me how fragile life is.” – Andy Warhol

The paintings that are physically displayed throughout the room are also projected on a large screen in front, each of them complementing a quote from the King of Pop. I’m swaying to the music, reading Warhol and staring deeply into the paintings in front of me– all my senses are triggered. Later that night, we are treated to a piece for electric bassoon, a tango from Buenos Aires, a composition for bassoon and boom box, and an exploration of Urban Jazz Club and Piano Bar music – arranged by Aaron himself.

Aaron's Poster

After the concert, I walk away feeling highly entertained, stimulated and excited. This was an event that I couldn’t stop talking about for days and would have happily come back to see again. Now, you’re thinking, what does this have to do with music admissions? 

Choosing the right music school these days is very different from what it was 50 years ago. I feel very strongly that the kind of performance that Aaron put on is just the thing that will transform and revitalize classical music. If we are to train the 21^st century musician, a music school’s general attitude and structure has to be open to these types of imaginative concerts. 

Students majoring in music need to be in tune with their communities and with the ever changing landscape of live performance. They need to know the challenges of attracting an audience, as well as the rewards of presenting something extraordinary to their community. What we do is very important, so how can we make our art more approachable and present it in ever more innovative ways? In response to its current identity crisis, can classical music adapt? How can we make our performances a higher priority for the general public?

This is meat and potatoes for the next generation of performers here at the SOMD.  With the support of our faculty and staff, we hope to nurture and encourage this spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation that’s already rife throughout our student body. 

Before writing this entry, I caught up with Aaron, hoping he could tell me more about the process that went into putting on an innovative concert like this (check out Aaron’s highly successful marketing campaign that involved these movie-like trailers of his upcoming recital). 

Aaron Pergram, bassoon

 

Click here to read my full interview with Aaron.

"In the end, everything depends on you doing something that is truly meaningful for the people who you serve." Clive Gillinson, executive and artistic director of New York's Carnegie Hall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_EYx7g0Aog&feature=player_embedded

Where's our Faculty!?

Summer’s the perfect time to finally catch up on your practicing and visit colleges. The only problem with visiting is that most of the music performance faculty is not on campus! This often frustrates prospective students, so this year, I decided to draw up a little list (not at all complete but getting there) of the summer festivals and camps at which our faculty either teach or perform. So whether you’re from Australia, Singapore, New York or Oregon, you just might find them in your neck of the woods. If you do, feel free to shoot them an email, they might be available to meet with you and even hear you play. How’s that for getting a jumpstart on your college search!

If you're having trouble reading the chart, click here and we will send you a pdf version of it

End of the Year Celebrations

Barbecues, sunshine, graduates… yup, it’s here again, we made it to the finish line! As the academic year draws to a close, it seems like there are constant celebrations with free cupcakes, free ice cream, and today: free barbecue (courtesy of our music fraternity). Congratulations to all our students and graduates on a spectacular year of music making!

I follow my nose to find the free barbecue right outside of my office!

the chefs..

Jennifer (our music adviser extraordinaire) and Frank (new superstar music ed faculty) Diaz share a laugh with Caitlin (our music admissions guru)

Sarah's having a good day.. (Sarah Dodson - our coordinator for athletic bands, aka "band mom" :)

Dean Foley speaking at graduation

You just never know what you're going to see outside of the music building.. (yes, that's a tightrope walker)

No More Starving Artist Myth!

I just came across two articles about a recent study of music and art alumni:

Inside Higher ED “Graduate of Arts Programs Fare Better in Job Market Than Assumed” article

Strategic National Arts Alumni Project Press Release

The results are in and contrary to the many dismal rumors out there, most students that graduate with art and music degrees are employed and hold jobs that are consistent with their educational goals. Musicians are by nature creative and highly entrepreneurial so these findings are not surprising to me. Check out my career and alumni page on our website to see the wide variety of jobs that our very own SOMD graduates hold! The study is based on information from 13,581 alumni and one of the study’s senior scholars writes “Artistic careers exemplify new ways of working in the growing contingent economy, and the experiences of artists might increasingly become the norm for many 21^st century workers.”

How’s that for dispelling starving musician myths!

Last Weekend..

I wanted to write a few words about this past weekend at the School of Music and Dance. I attended three very different concerts that really exemplified the broad range of musical events we put on here at the SOMD and the different ways that students can get involved.

Yes, being a college music student means playing in orchestra, band, singing in the choir, studying music history and practicing, A LOT. But, there are also tons of opportunities for young musicians to broaden their skills set, expand their creativity and put on concerts that stretch the imagination and invigorate the mind. 

Friday, April 29^th 7pm. Jazz café. Friday night found the audience giddy and excited. Jazz Café occurs every month in one of the modern jewels of our building, Aasen-Hull Hall. Our jazz combos performed standards as well as their own arrangements and compositions. What a fantastic way to ease young musicians into the real world of performing, gigs and a captivated audience who’s comfortable and happy to be there!

UO Opera in an exhilarating performance!

Friday, April 29^th 8pm in Eugene and Saturday, April 30^th in Portland. UO Opera program presented “Senile Madness”- two madrigal comedies by 20th century Italian composer Luciano Berio and a Renaissance composer Adriano Banchieri. This was no ordinary opera performance; the bawdy and hilarious madrigal comedies were simply enchanting! The performance was an ingenious collaboration between the dance department, music department and theater department. Click here for a full review of the Portland production.

traditional madrigal masks

Saturday, April 30^th 4-9pm [m] concert. An annual modern music “concert” where the audience was invited to move from room to room and sample the electronic instrument petting zoo, live looping jam, new music concert and public improv session among other things. [m]3 also featured some really neat ways of interacting with multimedia. A live blogging lounge was set up for those who wanted to post in real time. Entries, tweets, photos and videos were all uploaded onto a live feed through a common online conversation tag. QR codes were also featured throughout the building, these could then be scanned using a camera phone to reveal more information about any given event.

electronic instrument petting zoo!

jazz combo in the courtyard

live improv session in Beall

new music concert in Aasen-Hull

Stimulating all my senses, this was a classical music concert for the 21^st century. I came away challenged and invigorated. What was most impressive about it was the fact that it was entirely student run, student formed and marketed.  These young musicians are on their way to becoming the creative leaders of tomorrow!  

If your cup of tea is somewhere along the more traditional lines, this coming Sunday, all of our top ensembles (symphony orchestra, band and choir) will be performing at the Hult Center in downtown Eugene. I’m hoping to record a video of the concert and put it on our YouTube channel, so stay tuned…

Post-Audition Updates

Phew! Audition season is finally over here at the UO, which means: first free weekend in months for the music admissions staff!  I think I’m going to start by checking out the Sarah Chang concert with Eugene Symphony and then going to the Duke Ellington Birthday Celebration at the School of Music and Dance this Sunday. But catching up on sleep might prevail.. 

 

Back to admissions, we've had a record number of applications this year and are finally wrapping up all the music school decisions for Fall 2011. Most of our letters have gone out by now and scholarship decisions should be going out next week. Just as a reminder, there are two very important dates to keep in mind as you're deciding on the next four years of your life. 

REMEMBER: Most colleges and universities follow the National Candidate's Reply Date, so you should have until:

May 1st if you're an undergraduate student (freshman, transfer)

OR

April 15th if you're a graduate (Master's, Doctoral) student

to decide where you’re going to go. No college should pressure you for a decision before that date (unless you applied as an early decision applicant).

If you're an undergraduate student, you still have more than two months to weigh all your options, compare financial packages, visit the schools on your list or ask any last minute questions from the admissions staff or the faculty. Also, many schools will be hosting senior receptions or having visitor days (at UO we call them Duck Days) during this time of the year. These are great opportunities for any last minute questions or one last talk to a current student or an admissions counselor. 

Caitlin Hutchison is our new Admissions Assistant here at SOMD (School of Music and Dance) and she and I would be happy to answer any of your questions. We've been there, we know you have some hard decisions to make and we'd love to help you sort it all out.

On lighter note, I've had the pleasure of talking to some of our students this past weekend who participated in the Eugene Opera production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Mikado". Scott Carroll and Marco Valerio were performing alongside 2010 Tony Award nominee Christiane Noll  and opera star Kurt Olds as part of the University of Oregon and Eugene Opera apprenticeship program. Scott is a 3rd year vocal music education major and Marco is a history and humanities double major in the Honors College with a minor in music here at the UO. They are part of the Eugene Opera Chorus and Apprenticeship program. Marco is also part of the Artist mentor program with Eugene Opera, in which he performs in schools and around the community. I got a chance to chat with Scott and Marco at intermission. Check it out!

  

Did you have to audition for the program?

Scott Carroll and Marco Valerio

Marco: Yes, you have to audition for the Apprenticeship program.

Can you describe what you do in the program?

Marco: As part of the Eugene Opera apprenticeship program, we understudy roles and as part of the artist mentor program we go out into the community and perform in elementary schools, banquets, abridged productions or opera scenes. We're basically the face of the opera in the larger community. 

What is it like being in a professional opera production?

Scott: It's been wonderful developing relationships with principals.

Marco:  Yeah, we've had coaching sessions with some of the principals, and they've been very helpful. We’re constantly observing them and picking up a lot of things. 

Would you recommend for students to participate in the mentorship program?

Marco: Definitely, they should get involved. It's a great opportunity to get real experience. We have an opera program at the UO, but this is the real thing!

 

Sounds like a great way to get your foot in the door, have real experience and start making connections for life after college... Look out for Marco and Scott at UO Opera production of "Senile Madness" on April 29^th at UO Campus and on April 30^th at the White Stag building in Portland. Please go to our Events page for more information. I know I will be there!