Chumbley dreams up music in spare time
Lied’s director
composing opera,
children’s songs
By Stacey McKenzie
Senior Reporter
When he’s not at work as the ex
ecutive and artistic director of the
Lied Center for Performing Arts,
Robert Chumblcy can be found dream
ing up musical theater at his piano, at
his desk, or somewhere in between.
He hasn’t had much time to do
anything else.
Late this summer, the composer
was commissioned by the Boston
based Radiance Foundation, which
supports programs for abused chil
dren, to create a series of songs for
children based on the poetry of Ruth
Krauss.
“I had to write these songs real
quick,” Chumbley said, “because the
concert’s Friday night.”
“Three Little Daydreams,” for so
prano, mezzo-soprano, piano and per
cussion instruments, will premiere
Friday at Boston’s Tsai Performing
Arts Center.
Katherine Ciesinski of the Metro
politan Opera and her sister, Kristine
Ciesinski of the Covent Garden Opera
in London, will perform the songs. On
Saturday, the performance will be
repeated on National Public Radio.
Besides composing the songs for
children, Chumblcy has been work
ing on another project.
Two weeks ago, he was notified
that he would receive a second gram
from the Opera America New Works/
Development funds for his ongoing
work on the contemporary opera,
“Ordinary People.”
The opera will be based on the
novel by Judith Guest and the Acad
emy Award-winning movie directed
by Robert Red ford.
“This story appealed to me so much
because it takes ordinary people and
rcafly makes them heroes,”Chumblcy
said. “1 get tired of making herocsout
of people who arc already heroic.”
The first grant for the opera,
awarded to Chumblcy about 1 1/2
years ago, was for $21 ,(XX). The sec
ond grant was for $5,(XX).
The grant is a help financially, he
said, but more than anything, it is
prestigious and attention-getting.
The Piedmont Opera Theatre of
Winslon-Salem, N.C., nominated
Chumbley to compose the opera’s
music.
“Ordinary People” is scheduled to
premiere in September of 1994.
Chumbley’s work will be completed
about one year before the premiere. A
libretto for the opera is being written
by Dugg McDonough.
For now, the composing is non
stop, Chumbley said.
“It’s taken since I woke up this
morning,” he said. “It lakes all of my
weekends, my evenings and vacation
time. Writing an opera is a huge un
dertaking for a composer.”
Jazz concert to feature guest
From Staff Reports
The Nebraska Jazz Orchestra
will present “Classic Jazz from the
Masters — Duke Ellington and
More” at 7:30 p.m. today in Omaha
and Tuesday in Lincoln.
These presentations arc the sec
ond concerts in the orchestra’s 17th
anniversary season and will feature
guest artist Chris Varga on the vi
braphone
Varga has attended the the
Bcrklcc College of Music, where
he studied with Victor Mendoza,
and the University of Nebraska
Lincoln.
Selections from the program
include: “C Jam Blues” by Duke
Ellington and arranged by Dave
Wolpc, “The Jitterbug Walt/” by
Fats Waller and arranged by Kenny
Berger, and “Barriers” by Varga.
Tonight’s concert will be per
formed at Omaha’s Crown Hall.
The Lincoln concert will be per
formed at the Ramada Hotel and
Conference Center, 141 N. 9th St.
Single admission tickets at the
door arc S6 for students, S10 for
senior citizens and S12 for adults.
Education First! Week begins
From Staff Reports
National Education First! Week
begins today and will run through
Dec. 6, as declared by the U.S.
Congress.
During the week, the Los Ange
les-based organization, Education
First!, and the four major networks
— ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox —
will use programm mg and media to
promote public awareness about
education.
In total, more than 140 hours of
I
programming, nearly twice last
year’seffort, will bring educational
information into living rooms na
tionwide this week.
This marks the second year of
the organization’s 10-year drive to
make education the nation’s num
ber-one priority.
Education First! was founded in
1988 by Lynda Guber and Carole
Iscnbucrg, two former New York
school teachers who became tele
vision and motion-picture produc
ers.
Costner, Houston make magic
on screen in romantic thriller
“The Bodyguard”
By Anne Steyer
Staff Reporter_
After 15 years, “The Bodyguard”
(Edgcwood 3) is no worse for the
wear.
Lawrence Kasdan penned the story
line for the romantic thriller for actor
Steve McQueen, but it languished on
the shelf of some Hollywood store
room after McQueen’s death.
That is, until last year, when it was
put back into production, this time
with Kevin Costner in the title role
and singer Whitney Houston as the
woman in need of his talents.
Kasdan updated the script to the
’90s by making Frank Farmer
(Costner) a former Secret Service
agent who retired from presidential
-1 --
safeguarding after President Reagan
was shot.
The type of threats to singcr/ac
trcss Rachel Marron (Houston) have
been updated loo, now including not
only threatening letters, but also ex
ploding Barbie dolls.
Farmer agrees to protect Marron
reluctantly, just as she is reluctant to
hire him. Unaware of all the threats to
her life, she secs Farmer as an unwcl
:omc and unneeded accessory to her
already busy life. Not surprisingly, he
becomes much more than an acces
sory.
The core of the movie is the ro
mance between the leads, but there is
also plenty of action and suspense as
Farmer tries to protect Marron from
Jcath threats and w ould-be assassins.
The plot, while a familiar story,
has enough twists and jumps to make
it fresh and thrilling — and it ends on
an unconventional note.
Costner, always the Gary Cooper
guy-ncxt-door, handles all the com
plexities of Farmer well. OK, he has a
bad haircut; but beyond that, he docs
a fine job of capturing the persona of
a man on the edge who lives life in the
face of danger.
Houston, surprisingly, docs a cred
ible job as Matron. Granted, the part
cannot be much of a stretch for her,
but she has an undeniable chemistry
with the camera and with Costner.
Having her sing a number of times
during the film doesn’t hurl either.
As screenwriter, Kasdan once again
uses the same deft touch that has so
successfully blended serious themes
with a stroke of comedy in his other
films: “Silverado,” “Raiders of the
Lost Ark,”“Thc Big ChilT'and “Grand
Canyon” among them.
The tension, both romantic and
otherwise, coupled with solid acting
and realistic dialogue, makes “The
Bodyguard" an exciting and highly
entertaining movie.
On Our Entire
Collection Of
HERFF JONES
College Ring
Styles
Our entire collection
of Herff Jones
College Ring styles
are now on sale!
Stop by the Herff
Jones display and
our sales represen
tative will be happy
to assist you with
your selection.
November 30 CoMayRi^
December 1
Why is this man smiling?
Once upon a time this cute, little guy was a lonely old man.
Then, he found happiness. You too can look this content. Just get a
job at the Daily Nebraskan.
The Daily Nebraskan is now accepting applications for senior staff
positions for the spring semester.
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ate news editor, writing coach, sports editor, arts & entertainment editor,
opinion page editor, wire editor, senior reporters, copy desk chief, night
news editors, photo chief, assistant phoK> chief, art director, cartoonist,
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