Arts & Entertainment
_ I
Courtesy of First Run Features
The lives of Borneo’s Penan Indians are depicted in “Tong Tana,” this week’s UPC foreign film.
Ecological message clear
“Tong Tana”
By Mark Baldridge
Staff Reporter__
This Sunday’s foreign film offer
ing from the University Program
Council journeys to Borneo and the
oldest, and possibly most critically
endangered, rain forest in the world.
The film, “Tong Tana” (Ross),
centers on talks with Bruno Manser, a
34-year-old Swede who has lived
among the Penan Indians of the re
gion for four years.
Manser has “gone native” to an
extent, hunting for his food with a
blow pipe and poison darts. He takes
extensive and beautifully illustrated
notes on the daily life of these people
and commits himself to aid them in
their struggle to survive in the face of
extreme and foolish logging prac
tices.
According to the filmmakers, the
rain forest of Borneo has been de
pleted by 50 percent in the past 20
years and is expected to disappear
almost completely by the mid- to
late-1990s.
The film’s Swedish directors make
no pretense at objectivity; one may
argue that time for such has passed.
Borneo currently produces half of
the world’s hardwood supply. Much
of the wood is board-cut and sold
cheaply to be used as scaffolding and
then thrown away. Borneo also pro
duces billions of disposable Japanese
chopsticks.
. For this the government of Borneo
is willing to sell resources that may
never be renewable. The rain forest is
thought to be 160 million years old,
supporting a limitless variety of plant
and animal life.
Malasia's Minister of Environment
is the owner of one of the nation’s
biggest logging operations. The idea
that such a person could be unbiased
is, of course, laughable. The filmed
interviews with him would be hilari
ous if the stakes were not so high.
See TONG TANA on 10
Recital to give students
peek at composers ’ world
By Andrea Christensen
Staff Reporter
Some University of Nebraska
Lincoln music students will get a
' taste of the real world Sunday when
they perform the Student Composers
Recital.
The students wrote, rehearsed and
will conduct the pieces, something
unusual for academic composers.
But according to a UNL music
professor, composers in the “real
world” are expected to wear many
hats._ _
-
“When you’re a composer, you
don’t just write the music and put it
away,” Randall Snyder said. “You
have to follow through with getting
rehearsals and maybe even conduct
ing your own piece so that the musi
cians get an idea of how you want the
music to sound. This recital will give
student composers a chance to prac
tice doing that.”
The students have been compos
ing the pieces since early September
and have spent the last few weeks
practicing with the musicians who
will perform them.
Students and faculty from UNL
and a chorus from the First Plymouth
Church, 20th and D streets, will per
form the compositions.
Snyder said the style of the music
is not easily defined.
“There is not a common term or
label that’s been invented, unfortu
nately, to describe this type of mu
sic,” he said. “Some people call it
modem classical or concert music.
They’re pieces that are descended
from European classical music, but
they don’t sound like Mozart.”
Snyder said it was essential for
student composers to hear their music
performed.
“You can’t tell whether your music
is going to work or not until you hear
it played,” he said. “You can put it on
computer, but it’s not the same as
hearing it performed by fiesh-and
blood musicians.”
This is true even for experienced
student composers like graduate
composition student Jack Rinke.
Although he said he had a good
idea of how a piece would sound
before he heard it played, Rinke said
having his work performed is helpful.
“I have a very good aural idea of
what my pieces are going to sound
like,” he said. “It’s very rare that I
write a piece and am surprised by
how it sounds. I hear it inside before
I hear it outside.”
Rinke said he likes to rehearse two
or three times with the musicians who
will perform his piece. During these
rehearsals, efforts are made to im
prove phrasing and style. Rinke said
he hopes that by rehearsing the com
position, he can perfect it by Dec. 4,
when it will be recorded by the
American Suing Quartet.
“Even more than the performance,
we leam so much from the rehearsals,
putting the piece together and hear
ing what the musicians can actually
do with it,” he said.
-if
You can’t tell whether
your music is going to
work or not until you
hear it played.
Snyder
music professor
-ft -
Rinke said his music has been pri
marily influenced by Beethoven,
Brahms and Bartok, but he empha
sized that everything he has heard
affects his music in some way. He
also said his work was influenced by
Sny der, his composition instructor. _
“He pushed me to take a step back
and see where the piece was going,”
Rinke said. “When I was looking at
the notes, he told me to back up and
figure out what was going on with the
whole piece and how it was going to
lay out.”
Senior music student Bob Miller,
one of the composers featured in the
recital, said he doesn’t plan to be a
professional composer. He is taking
See RECITAL on 11
UNL Powwow
returns to boost
understanding
From Staff Reports
Intertribal dancing contests, craft booths
and raffles will all be part of the 2nd Annual
UNL Powwow, which will take place today,
Saturday and Sunday in the Nebraska Union
Ballroom.
Judges will be selected for the dancing
competitions, which will feature American Indian
dancers in three different age groups compet
ing in a variety of dancing styles.
All events will be open to the public and
admission is free.
Frank Forman, president of the University
Program Council, said 1,200 attended the
powwow last year and he is expecting more this
year.
One purpose of the powwow, according to
Forman, is to open up the Indian culture to
other people.
“When Indians have a powwow, people of
all races and creeds are invited,” he explained.
“We’re hoping to break down barriers between
our cultures and build new lies.”
Another purpose of the powwow is to
strengthen the relationship between the Ameri
can Indian community and the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln.
Forman said he hopes to see a lot of UNL
students at the powwow because it will be an
entertaining and informative experience that
will give them insight into the world of the
American Indian.
Powwow events on Saturday and Sunday
will include “grand entry,” in which all dancers
enter single file; intertribal dancing contests;
and a supper break at the Culture Center.
Comedian to perform in Union
Courtesy of University Programs Council
Comedian Brad Montgomery will discuss his hangups today in the
Nebraska Union.
_v i • •1 .
From Staff Reports
One of the Midwest’s top comedians will
be performing at the University of Nebraska
Lincoln today.
Beginning at 11 a.m., Brad Montgom
ery, comedian and magician, will be per
forming “teasers” from his show in the
lobby of the Nebraska Union. At 7 p.m., he
will perform a full show in the Centennial
Ballroom.
_
The Denver native began his career after
getting his bachelor’s degree in political
science from Brown University in Rhode
Island.
He is the only Colorado comedian to win
first place in the People’s Choice Awards at
Magic Days ’89, in Denver. That award
helped make Montgomery the 1989 Colo
rado Magician of the Year.
Having performed in 10 states over the
past year, Montgomery said he loves play
ing to different crowds and giving college
students something to talk about other than
the “mystery meal in the cafeteria.”
In addition to his show tonight, Montgom
ery will hold a “Tricks, Stunts and Gags”
semin&r following his show to let the audi
ence know how he does his tricks.
Montgomery’s show is sponsored by the
UPC Best of the Rest Committee.
