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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1998)
Ensemble to perform melodic musical mix By Barb Churchill Assignment Reporter Tonight, your ideas of what a per cussion ensemble can do wall be chal lenged. The University of Nebraska Lincoln Percussion Ensemble is hold ing its spring concert this evening. UNL Percussion Ensemble conductor John DeStefano, assistant band direc tor and percussion instructor, believes the audience will enjoy this concert “People think (percussion ensem bles) are all loud, dynamic rhythmic music. And, yes, we do play that, but we also have the ability to be quiet A percussion ensemble by itself can cre ate melodies and harmonies,” DeStefano said. “It’s not your typical ensemble, because there are no brass or wood winds,” DeStefano said. “But we can be as pretty as anyone else.” The UNL Percussion Ensemble uses every known percussion instru ment caiH irw-luHirirr tirm_ pani, all forms of drums, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, bells, chimes, piano, harmonium, celeste, electronic percussion and many other instruments too numerous to list. Instruments as disparate as a police whistle and a marching machine may be used as per cussion instruments. “The stage should be completely full, because we use all the percussion instruments we have,” DeStefano said. The UNL Percussion Ensemble is made up of 17 different musicians. Sixteen of them are music majors, DeStefano said, but the 17th individual is quite unusual. That’s because Wilson Akortia, the 17th member, is a foreign exchange student from Ghana. African music is known to be quite percussive and rhythmic, with extensive usage of dif ferent types of drums, mallets and other percussion instruments. DeStefano is proud to feature Akortia as lead drummer in “Ghana Dance Music,” written and arranged by Akortia. ‘“Ghana Dance Music’ is tradition «— We use all the percussion instruments we have.” John DeStefano percussion instructor al African music that the audience should enjoy,” DeStefano said. In addition to “Ghana Dance Music,” tiie UNL Percussion Ensemble is playing F. Michael Combs’ “Antiphon,” Pat Methany’s “Letters From Home” (arranged by DeStefano), Julie Johnsonis “Vision of Mars,” Tom Gaugeris “Portico,” Steven Paxton’s “Chorale” and Chick Corea’s “Central Park” (arranged by Jeff Hunter). This program encompasses many different types of music, including a jazz ballad (“Letters from Home”), a slow melodic work (“Chorale”), a world premiere (“Vision of Mars”) and an up-tempo jazz-funk piece featuring a full rhythm section of piano, bass and drum set in addition to the more expected instrumentation. The up-tempo jazz-funk piece is “Central Park.” “The great thing about ‘Central Park’ is that you get the chance to hear the percussion ensemble against the rhythm section, and it’s a very nice effect,” DeStefano said. The program is eclectic, DeStefano said, but he did have a goal in mind. “I’ve tried to pick newer pieces that not only have good educational value, but also are fim to play for our students and fun to listen to by our audience,” DeStefano said. The UNL Percussion Ensemble concert is tonight at 7 in Kimball Recital Hall. Admission is free. across the U.S. • - f ■ '***.* • V •' ^ I By Sarah Baker Senior Reporter Take off your bra and send it to the president Hey, it’s for a good cause. The National Bra Tapestry, a 40 foot wide by 100-foot tall tapestry made of bras that creates an image of the Statue of Liberty, is one man's way of attempting to advance breast can cer research. Nicolino, the conceptual artist and art director for the project, said he hopes to gather 40,000 bras for the project. “The bras are symbolic,” Nicolino said. “They are a political request by women all across the country to get Clinton to do more breast cancer pre vention research.” The tapestry is slated to travel throughout the United States and end up in Washington, D.C., where it will then be presented to President Clinton in the hopes to advance breast cancer Nicolino said the basic design of the tapestry will consist of an outline of the Statue of Liberty, made out of colored bras, and the rest of the pic ture will be filled in with the remain ing white bras. The torch is a special attraction. “We are hoping to collect ‘celebri ty bras’ to make up the torch on the tapestry,” Nicolino said. “So far we don’t have any, but we plan to contact Madonna, Sharon Stone and Dolly Parton” Nicolino said he is working with R. Singer and Soma Grismaijer, authors of “Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras” on the project. *‘I first got involved when the authors contacted me about creating a public event surrounding this idea, and I was delighted with it,” Nicolino said. Nicolino said the book advances the theory of a negative impact from wearing constricting clothing, partic ularly bras. He also said the book shows results from a study stating that in non-bra-wearing countries, the rate of breast cancer patients with the dis ease in their family history were 1 in 168, whereas in Nebraska,, the rate is 1 in 8. “Even though this research has been done, it is being virtually ignored,” he said. “So we’re going to the presi dent” Nicolino said he has worked on a similar pro ject before. “In 19941 did a project called ‘Bras Across the Grand Av Canyon,’which dealt j / with social and political commentary,” Nicolino said. “It was a personal and artistic eXpre&m&i around breast obsession in Western cultures.” Although the main concept of the tapestry is a political statement, Nicolino said he thought the artistic aspect of the project was equally important “I view this project as some thing pretty unique,” he said. “Thousands of people can participate in one single artistic adventure. The idea of getting many people involved is really exciting to me.” _ Nicolino said the tapestry will H travel to cities where more than ^ 1,000 bras are donated, and he invited women in Lincoln to jom m on the offerings. Anyone who is interested in donating should send their bras to: The National Bra Tapestry, 4298 Vineland Avenue, Studio City, Calif., 91602. Polka to invade the Zoo Bar By Jason Hardy Senior Reporter Polka is where it’s at Or at least that’s what the Denton, Texas, band Brave Combo wants you to think, They’ve been playing various styles of polkas, waltzes, mambos, two-steps and rock ’n' roll for the past 19 years. But the craziness is just beginning. Tbesday Brave Combe released yet another new album - their 19* U.S. release - “Polka Party With Brave Combo: Live and Wild,” aid on April i_a _1 _ .a _ +*** iuv uauu win piajr at 1 iiv Simpsons” 200* episode party in Los Angeles. Matt Greening, “Simpsons” creator, is a longtime Brave Combo fan and invited them to play the star-stud ded event Even with all that going on, Lincoln lucked out, because tonight Brave Combo will light up the Zoo Bar’s stage with an arsenal of wacky music that even frontman Carl Finch has trouble describing. “If you just sort of heard us in a quick moment you’d think ’rock band playing weird music,”’ Finch said. He said the group was influenced by many different musical styles and that they have more than 600 songs they can play, 60 to 70 of which are origi nals. “We just keep trying to play new things so we don’t get bored,” Finch said The songs the band plays range in style from traditional Greek music and 1950s crooner-type songs to genres that defy spelling. Finch said the unhipness of what Brave Combo is doing is part of what makes them hip. “We don’t seek out any sort of cur rent trends,” Finch said “We don’t want to spoon-feed people stuff that they’re already getting” Janet Froschheiser, manager of Homers, 2711 S. 48m St., said Brave Combo helped to make polka and other types of music appealing to younger generations. . “I got one of their albums for my brother-in-law, who is 19 now. He was 16 when he got it, and he just loved it,” Froschheiser said. “A lot of people who put down polka haven’t really listened to it” Finch said people often are too judgmental when they listen to music, and he hopes Brave Combo will make people a little more receptive to things that traditionally seem nerdy. “I would like for people to have a more open mind when they come to music,” Finch said. “A lot of those old things that our parents listen to, if you take the squareness out of it, you can see that there’s some value there and some merit” What goes around comes around, because Finch said a lot of older Czech musicians like Brave Combo Is music, just as Finch has always liked theirs. “They almost always dig it,” Finch said. “We regularly play all the big Czech festivals in Texas.” Lincoln is always a great place to play, Finch said. The band usually comes here about three times a year, and he said it is always fun. “It’s one of our favorite places. We have a lot of friends there,” Finch said. “It feels like home to be there, and I really mean that” Froschheiser said Brave Combo shows in the past have been great fun. “I think it’s because they’re a really fun party band,” she said. “Itfc uplifting music, and everybody can dance to it” As for the future of Brave Combo, Finch said, anything is possible. “Ifyoucangetarock ’n’ roll crowd to admit they like polka, you can do anything.” Tonight’s concert starts at 9 at the Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th St. The cover charge is $9. Megadeth alive, well in Lincoln tonight __£ From Staff Reports Megadeth just refuses to die, despite the hopes of heavy metal naysayers. Formed in 1983, the often derided but hugely successful heavy metal group has watched music fads come and go. Tonight, Megadeth brings its 15-year tradition of heavy rock and long hair to the Pershing Auditorium, 226 Centennial Mall South. Originally slated for The Royal Grove, the show had to be rescheduled to the larger venue because of the demand for tickets. This was no surprise for most fans, who are well aware of the group’s rock-solid fol lowing. Megadeth’s newest album, “Cryptic Writings” is expected to soon join the band’s three other platinum, records. 1994’s “Youthanasia” topped at number three on “The Billboard 200,” the industry album charts based on number of sales. Headed by ex-Metallica member Dave Mustaine, Megadeth has received criti cism as being heavily deriva tive of their heavy-metal prog enitor. These accusations are countered by claims of authen ticity and steadfastness in a continually fluxing industry. This persistence has been rewarded with invitations to Howard Stern’s recent birthday party, where the band played with David Bowie, and a recent deal to work with Puff Daddy on a new single. Tonight’s show begins at 7. Tickets are $20.
