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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 1989)
Arts & Entertainment Former student receives artist award ? By Lisa Donovan Senior Reporter Wendy Lueth, the 1988 recipient of the J. Edmunds and Thelma Miller Young Artist Competition and Uni versity of Nebraska-Lincoln gradu ate, may be walking in the footsteps of her former college professor, Rich ard Drews. Ten years ago, Drews, also a UNL graduate, won the Young Artist Competition. He was the last UNL graduate to win the award. Like Drews, Lueth is spending her first year out of school teaching. Lueth is instructing elementary mu sic and physical education classes in the Lincoln Public Schools. What’s really ironic, Lueth said, is that he was her voice instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Irony may be instrumental in Lueth’s singing career. According to Lueth, Drews con tinued on after receiving the award to do some of the things she hopes to Drews went on to become an ap prentice and recently signed on with the New York Metropolitan Opera, something the 26-year-old Lucth wants to do, eventually. Although Lucth enjoys teaching, she said she would like to pursue a professional opera career. “I’d like to try out for an opera chorus,” she said. She said she would like to go to a larger U.S. city. “I’ve also been thinking about an apprenticeship,” she said. An apprentice plays the smallci roles in operas, but they are largei than chorus parts. According tc Lucth, one can learn a lot from ar apprenticeship because it’s like going to school again. While learning French, Germai and other foreign languages, the ap prentice is awarded a small siipcnc while he or she works for the open company. It’s important to learn the Ian guages, she said, because music isn’t the only thing that makes a good opera. “You need to make sure you know where you’re at in a plot and know the language and translate it,” she said. The opera as a whole is in the process of changing, she said. Lueth said directors arc looking for singers who can acL “It’s important to be believable,’ ’ she said. “People hear with their eyes.” Obviously, music is a very impor tant part of Lueth’s life. Lueth said there were three things in life that mattered to her. “I never could be without mu sic,” Lueth said. She said family and religion were very important to her, also. In fact, the Minnesota native started singing when she was 4. Dur ing grade school and high school, she sang with the church choir and devel oped an interest in vocal jazz. Lueth coiH Kr»r W3C Q VX'I'l fan so the group sang a lot of jazz. After high school, Lueth attended Eau Claire where she studied under Drews. During the 1983-84 school term at Eau Claire, Lueth became a member of the jazz quartet, “Hot Jazz.” Performing in the upper Midwest and the Minneapolis, St. Paul area, Lueth said, the group played at a variety of events including parties and various hotel engagements. “That’s how I made money for tuition and other expenses,’’ she said. A lot of the money, Lueth jokes, went towards her long-distance phone bills. Lueth was in the middle of a long-distance relationship will : her boyfriend, Bill, who was attend ing UNL. i A graduate of Eau Claire, he boyfriend attended UNL to work oi I his master’s degree in opera (per i formance) theater. Lueth admits lha her boyfriend’s interest influencec her. 1 We had some shows together,” she said. In her first operetta, Lueth sang in the chorus for Noye’s “Fludde.” It wasn’t until she sang in some operas that she developed a liking for it. “The grandeur of the opera — the casting and ensemble of characters -- is very' exciting to me,” she said. Lueth said dial the plots are espe cially interesting. Sometimes ‘ ‘ they ’re kind of silly, others are very complex,” she said. But it’s definitely the beauty of the music that Lueth found attractive and wanted to pursue as a possible career, she said. After marrying Bril in 1985, Lueth decided to come to UNL and finish school. Since the two had married, Lueth didn’t want to be separated from her new husband. Lueth said her best year was when she came to UNL. Aside from play ing the lead in Rossini’s “The Barber r>f ^pvillp ” I npth rprrivp/i ihe Pamela Lehr music scholarship. Lueth said she has won few awards since and was surprised that she won the Young Artist competi tion. Although she is confident about her singing ability, Leuth said, she was shocked and surprised to win the award. ‘‘I was so flattered, but thrilled,” she said. Lueth was awarded a cash prize and a performance with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra. The performance will be Tuesday, Feb. 7. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. at Nebraska Wesleyan Univer i sity’s O’Donnell Auditorium. Lueth ■ will perform selections from ‘‘Ro meo and Juliet” by Gounod, Puc r cini’s“LaBoheme”and“Candide” t by Bernstein. Tickets are $ 18, S15, $ 10, $8 and t $4. For more information contact the I Lincoln Symphony offices at 474 5610. The Alexander Quartet Alexander string quartet to play at Sheldon tonight By Micki Haller Senior Editor The Alexander Quartet, a rela tively new string group, will play at 8 p.m. tonight at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery. According to Paul Yarbrough, \iolisl, the group started in New Haven, Conn., in the summer of 1981. Although the quartet has undergone personnel changes, the average age of the members is more than 30. Other members in clude cellist Alexander (Sandy) Wilson, Eric Pritchard, first violin ist and Frederick Lifsitz, second violinist The quartet has won critical praise here and abroad, and hon ors, including being the first American quartet to win the jury’s highest prize and the Audience prize in the Portsmouth (England) International Suing Quartet Com petition in 1985. How does such a young group accomplish so much? “We’ve taken the time to re ally build a quartet,” Yarbrough said. “I think it’s (the group’s success) mainly being committed to the ensemble.” Part of being a good ensemble is a feeling of unity among the members. Yarbrough always spoke of “we,” never of what “he” had done or was doing. Decisions, he said, are made by the group. “It’s absolutely democratic,” he said. “We’re all hard-headed, but you can’t let the majority rule in a four-person unit.” Yarbrough said the group has patterned its career after several famous quartets, including the Budapest Quartet, the Amadeus Quartet, the Quarteto Italiano and the Juilliard Quartet. He said the ?;roup takes what they like best rom the others. “It’s a very traditional art in a way,” he said. “We try to be part of that tradition.” Beasts and blood highlight gaming convention in Reunion ... ... - ~ -. J _ _.I1. j un By Bryan Peterson Siatf Reporter Ogre. Diplomacy. Star Fleet Battles. Bloodbowl. Warhammer 40,000. All of these games and more will be played this Saturday in the Reun ion during a gaming convention hosted by Hobbies, ETC. The convention, Wintcrcon 1989, will be the first in a scries of free earning conventions in the Reunion. The convention is scheduled to run from 10a.m. to 10p.m. Saturday. Rick Kohn, owner of Hobbies, ETC., said it will likely run late Saturday and begin again at noon on Sunday. The biggest event will be a Bloo dbowl tournament. Kohn compared the game Bloodbowl to a sort of fan tasy football in which the ball never goes dead. One wins the game by knocking the other persons’ players out of the game. A trophy and certificates will be awarded to the winners. Anyone is welcome to attend the convention, Kohn said. Visitors can play scheduled games or bring games of their own. Other events will in clude the testing of a new game being developed by a Lincoln resident and an “Ogrethon,” based on the game Ogre. ‘I'm a sore winner. I cackle a lot and enjoy it... It’s better than going out and drinking beer and shooting pool.' -Kohn Kohn said he hopes to have a good day of gaming for everyone involved and to find people willing to run games in upcoming conventions, hc said he expects “anywhere from seven to 700“ participants. Because Hobbies, ETC. is located in the Reunion, there is no charge for gaming space. Thus, there will be no fees or charges for participants in the convention, Kohn said. Gaming seems to be a way of life for some people. The motivations are different for everyone involved. Kohn said hc enjoys the competition and excitement. “I’m a sore winner,” hc said. “I cackle a lot and I enjoy it. Gaming is like any other hobby , it is an exercise of your imagination in different roles. It’s better than going out and drinking beer and shooting pool.’’ Hobbies, ETC. opened in Septem ber in the Reunion and has since built a diverse group of customers in a short lime. Kohn chose the Reunion as a store site because it is close to the UNL campus, he said. Many of the customers are of college age, he said, although some are in their 3Us ana 40s. The store isopen from 10a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Kohn said the store sells mostly gaming-related items. This includes dozens of board games, role playing games and historical bailie games. Hobbies, ETC. sells games from most well-known game companies like Avalon Hill, Steve Jackson, TSR and Citadel. The store also sells such gaming accessories as miniature lead figures, plastic models and dice. The store also rents and sells comics, magazines, posters, books and computer games. Most of the items are oriented toward science fiction and fantasy. Every Sunday, Hobbies, Etc. sponsors open gaming from 1 to 6 p.m., although the sessions often last longer than scheduled, he said. Dave Barber, store employee, started a group caueo uamepiay ers” about six years ago. The Game - players now play in the Reunion. As with the convention, anyone is free to play any of the scheduled games or to bring games of his or her own. Kohn said the group shifts games frequently to learn new games. The group docs not often play role playing games such as Dungeons and Drag ons because there is another campus group oriented toward such games. In the past month, the gameplay ers have played Diplomacy, Sky Galleons of Mars and Bloodbowl. Kohn said Diplomacy, a game based on World War I intrigue, is one of the best board games on the market. More traditional games like chess are also played during the Sunday sessions, and card games also make an occasional appearance. On most Sundays, 20 to 30 people stop by, Kohn said. “It’s just for fun,’’ he said. “There is no admission.”