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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 1996)
W EDNESDAY. OCTOUKl? 2. l’\( .1- 9 Performance to highlight German lied By Emily Wray Staff Reporter Leading performers of the lied will present a concert Thursday night at Kimball Recital Hall fea turing German contributions to clas sical music. The lied, a German art song de veloped between 1800 and 1920, contains short lyrical poems of vivid imagery well-adapted to music, said Margaret Kennedy-Dygas, associ ate professor of voice at the Uni versity of Nebraska-Lincoln. “It is one of the major contribu tions of German musical culture to Western art music,” Kennedy Dygas said. The 8 p.m. performance features two gifted singers specializing in art song who teach and perform in the region, Kennedy-Dygas said. Stephen Town, professor of music at Northwest Missouri State University, sings baritone. Richard Bobo, professor of piano and mu sic literature at Northwest Missouri State University, accompanies Town on the piano. Town’s program, Romanzen aus Tiecks Magelone, Op. 33, by Ob Johannes Brahms, features poetry based on a famous folk tale, Kennedy-Dygas said. “The story line is not presented in the songs, it’s in the program notes,” she said. “The songs are in serts of characters speaking in the story.” Soprano Wendy Zaro-Fisher sings the second half of the pro gram. Zaro-Fisher, an assistant pro fessor of voice at the University of Kansas, is accompanied by pianist Cory Hall. Zaro-Fisher will perform part of composer Paul Hindemith’s piece Das Marienleben (Selections), Ver sion u. Zaro-Fisher’s program includes contemporary reflective fantasy poems based on the life of Mary, the biblical mother of Jesus, Kennedy-Dugas said. “ItVneo-classicar, tuneful, but with more dissonance,” Kennedy Dygas said. “The poetry and music as well is more personal and ab stract at times.” Thursday’s free performance will appeal to students interested in German culture, Kennedy-Dygas said. *The images in the text are re flected in the music to a sophisti cated degree,” she said. “It should be a real good performance.” The Tibetan Monks of the Sera Je Monastery Monks will entertain, send message By Bret Schulte StaffReporter Feeling a lack of spiritual fulfillment in your life? Has it been awhile since you’ve attained a plane of elevated con sciousness? If the answer is yes to either of these questions, help is on the way. The Tibetan monks of the Sera Je Mon ▼ as H tery will be visiting Nebraska Union’s Centennial Room to night. The monks plan on providing a multime dia event complete with a va riety of dance, music and pro jected images of their homeland onto a large screen. Excerpts of the film “Compassion in Exile,” a biography about the plight of the current Dalai Lama’s forced emi gration from 111)61 and his triumphs of nonviolent opposition. The odd combination of Buddhism and advanced technology may seem a bit paradoxical, but this format has been quite successful in allowing the monks to convey both a message and entertainment simultaneously. Kent Porter, coordinator of the Lin coln chapter of Jewel Heart, an inter national organization dedicated to the study of Tibetan culture, said the pur pose of the tour is two-fold. “First, (we want) to raise an aware ness of (Tibetan) history,” he said. “Second, (we want) to raise funds for their monastary.” The monks have been forced to take their cause on the road because of increasing financial pressure from constant flow of refugees who seek shelter in their f ” monastary. .» Portersaidalthough themonks are Tibetan, they were forced to move the monastary from Tibet to India because of increasing anti-religious movements on behalf of the Chinese government, which has occupied Tibet since 1959. The Chinese government issued the death penalty for any citizen carrying a picture of the Dalai Lama. This persecution sent the Tibetan monks to the U.S. in search of support. Three monks will be returning toUNL in November for a week. The Monks plan on constructing a sand mandela, an elaborate circular sand painting, on the second floor of Morrill Hall. Tonight’s presentation begins at 7:30 at Nebraska Union. Tickets are $8 at the door and $5 for students. Prosecutor angered by ‘Doonesbury’ comic strip SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s top prosecutor lashed out at the comic strip “Doonesbury” on Tuesday for pok ing fun at his raid on a club that sold marijuana to medical patients and the elderly. Attorney General Dan Lungren said such ridicule encourages a “wink-and-nod” attitude toward drugs that is responsible for destroy ing children’s lives. Lungren asked the Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes the popular satirical comic strip, to either withdraw this week’s series or run “a disclaimer side-by-side with the strips which states the known facts related to the Cannabis Buyers’ Club.” Calls to Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau were referred to Lee Salem, Universal’s editorial direc tor, who said the syndicate would do neither. “A disclaimer really violates the premise of die strip,” said Salem, adding that it is up to individual newspapers to provide any addi tional context they believe their readers need. “I don’t think it’s the intent of any conic strip to provide a full dis cussion of all the facts in a political discussion,” Salem said. In August, Agents from Lungren’s Bureau of Narcotics En forcement raided the San Francisco club, which had sold marijuana to AIDS and cancer patients for use as a pain reliever. The club had the tacit approval of city officials and local police, operating openly for five years without interference. Lungren said at the time that in addition to providing marijuana il legally to ill patients, the club was a major source for dealers who peddled drugs on the street. 1 heater artist speaks of Multicultural issues By Ann Stack Senior Reporter Almost every kid has the fantasy of running away and joining the circus, but most don’t act on it. Except Jeff Raz. Raz, a traveling theater artist, is vis iting the University of Nebraska-Lin coln this week as part of the College of Fine and Performing Arts Artists Diversity ResidencyProgram. The pro gram brings artists with diverse back grounds to the UNL campus to address multicultural issues. - The 39-year-old San Franciscan didn’t have to run away to join the cir cus, but he has performed extensively as a clown and an acrobat. He got his start performing when he was 14,«vhen he learned how to juggle at a Renaissance fair in San Francisco. “I was running a games booth, and we got excruciatingly bored,” he said. “Someone taught me how to juggle with croquet balls. Aim! at 14, when you find something that people will actu ally watch yon do, it’s thrilling.” He continued to perform street the ater through high school. In 1978, Raz turned professional when he got a job with the city’s top juggling group, per forming up to five shows a day. Frustrated with the street perfor mance scene and feeling that it lacked depth, Raz attended the Dell’Arte School of Physical Comedy. “I thought I’d be an actor but found there was no money and no depth in that either,” he said. For seven years after that, he toured with the trio Vaudeville Nouveau, per forming original plays. Then he got the break of a lifetime when he becarneth&lead character and ringmaster ofthe Rickie Family Cir cus. He retired from the circus in March 19%, after more than five years of clowning and acrobatics. **I learned acrobatics as a teen-ager to go along with juggling,” he said. “A clown needs Urknow everything about a circus and go from there.” Raz even trained clowns for The Ringling Bros, at the Ringling Clown College in Florida. “The American circus is based cm the Ringling Bros, model — and Ryan Soderlin/DN JEFF RAZ demonstrates one of his many talents, juggling, on the balcony of his apartment clowns are at the bottom of the heap,” Raz said. ‘That’s not how it should be, and they’re finally starting to get away from that ” * He said circuses are also getting away from the triteness that’s always followed them, becoming more enliv ened with the theater and the aesthet ics of the performance. Because he incorporates theater into whatever he does—be it juggling, acrobdftcs or clowning—he appreci ates the duality the circus strives for. Please see RAZ on 10