s.
By Jason Hardy
Senior staff writer
Once a semester, student com
posers in the University of Nebraska
Lincoin School of Music get a chance
to showcase their work.
Tonight, students and faculty
members will perform original music
composed by the students of profes
sors Randall Snyder and Tyler White.
It’s an event that helps students under
stand the nuts and bolts of composing
while exploring their creative side.
Tyler White, assistant professor
and director of orchestral activities
for the UNL School of Music, said
the concert was incredibly valuable
for student composers. -
“It’s a real-world experience,”
White said, “both in terms of the
practical aspect of organizing perfor
mances and then in the basic aesthet
ic practicality of hearing the music
come to life in real sound, not just
how you hear it in your mind.”
He said it was one thing to write
music but another to actually move an
audience with the piece.
“It’s important for the training of
any composer to oversee the perfor
mance of your work,” White said, “to
convince (the players) that your
music is important to perform. That’s
all part of die entrepreneur side ” -
The concert also gives student
composers a chance to work with
other students while being able to
make the final decisions.
“It’s important for the composer
to take full responsibility for the
piece they’ve written, but a lot of
composers find it very fruitful work
ing in a rather collaborative way with
performers,” White said. “It’s always
good to get some feedback from per
formers, in particular when you’re
writing about an instrument you don’t
play
“Those are things this setting can
be really useful for. It’s a chance for
student composers and performers to
work together and achieve the best
results.”
Students have worked on their
pieces in classes such as composition
seminar and private composition
lessons. White said students were
given almost total creative freedom
with their projects, and over the years,
the concerts have developed a reputa
tion for being a break from the norm.
“The concerts are a great tradi
tion,” he said. “This is a chance to
hear stuff that is completely new and
may be very different than anything
you’ve ever heard. It’s always an
adventure going to these, because you
never quite know what you’ll hear. ,
“There is a certain segment of the
Lincoln concert-going community
that is a real devotee to these con
certs. You’re just waiting to see what
happens next. It’s really pretty fun.”
While the audience’s reaction to a
uuiiccn rrewcw jil
THHeti I |
What: Music of student composers ^
Where: Kimball Recital Hall
Whan: 8 tonight
The Skinny: Concert features original music
composed by UNL music students.
performance is an important aspect of
the concert, White said, more empha
sis is placed on the composers defin
ing their personal style.
“It’s terribly important for young
composers to feel they can take some
chances,” he said. “It’s good for them
to really spread their wings and do
what they need to do to grow as
artists.”
■ Work from three award
winning firms shows good
design in the Heartland is
possible, professor says.
By Josh Nichols
Staff writer
Although we are surrounded by
what one might call “normal” archi
tectural design in the Midwest, some
unique, interesting design does exist
out there, said Carl Matthews, associ
ate professor of architecture.
To expose students to the cutting
edge design developing in the
Midwest, the Department of
Architecture brought in a traveling
exhibit^ - titled * “mid-western
ARchitecTs 3.”
On display are'drawingsfand pho
tographs of architectural" projects
by three national award-win
Midwestern architectural firms,
exhibit runs in the Architecture
b$t this showsthat cron
oiit here in the
Heartland good design
Students in the College of
Architecture are encouraged to check
out the ideas on display and open
their minds to new ideas.
“I think the display is here mostly
to show the students the potential of
what can be done here in die Midwest
rather than focusing on the limita
tions of what -is being done,”
Matthews said.
The work on display by Randy
Brown Architects of Omaha demon
strates work done at a modest price.
Randy Brown Architects recently
developed a law firm that is a
“nice use of raw industri
_• 1 _ xl_X_
ai maicitaia mai a
put together in a
fairly sophis
t i c a t e d
w a y , ”
Matthews
said.
Also
on dis- |
play by
Randy
B r o w n
•Ijt-J’’ 'i
Architects is a proposal for a
Hummel Park day camp project in
Omaha.
Matthews said this display shows
a mixture of new digital technologies
with traditional types of drawing.
“We are trying to stress to stu
dents a flexibility in ways to show
their ideas in traditional ways as well
as the new ways,” he said.
The work on display by Herbert
Lewis Kruse Blunck is larger-scale,
corporate work. ,
Matthews described their work,
which is basically
sophisticated design one might not
expect to see in that state.
One project based in Des Moines
is simply a parking garage, but the
design itself isn’t so simple.
Matthews said this project shows
even a parking garage can be an inter
esting landmark.
“It doesn’t matter what type of
project it is,” Matthews said. “Good
design can happen whether it’s a
parking garage or a church.”
Also on^dispjay by. the De.sM
Moines-based firm are pictures of the
Iowa State athletic offices, designed
by Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck. ^
Along with outdoor pictures of
the buildings are interior pictures for
those interested in interior design.
Unique, contemporary design
is stressed, but one must also "
keep in mind who these
buildings and
offices
are being designed for, Matthews
said.
“The human element is not sacri
ficed in these exhibits,”<he said.
“They have a sensitivity to how peo
ple would want to live and work.”
Matthews hopes the display,
which shows uncommon, somewhat
peculiar work, will open students’, '
minds to new ideas.
“We try to encourage the students
to push the envelope and not accept
whatthey’ve grown up.wfith prwhat
they see getting built around them as
the way the world has to be,”
Matthews said.
Shawn Drapal/DN
