Tag Archives: music

April ARTS

Leave a reply

At the end of every semester I find myself booked with seeing and/or participating in a wide range both student and faculty produced theater, dance, music, and art shows. While I have always been a patron of the arts, it is always exciting to see a fellow friend in a production!

For example, the first week in April the Department of Theater put on its first show of the semester, Eurydice, at the Seeler Studio Theater. This play, written by Sarah Ruhl, is a modern adaptation of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice that focuses on Eurydice’s journey into the underworld and her struggle to keep her memories of life. In addition, there was an original play, MOVE, based on the Philadelphia MOVEMENT that was written and produced by a Middlebury senior.

April 15-17: Low Level Panic and the Senior Dance Concert impressed both a student and community audience. Both shows were the final senior thesis for 7 Middlebury students that were coordinated with the Spring Student Symposium. Low Level Panic was the combined Theater 700 Thesis for Lindsey Messmore’11.5 in directing and Ele Woods ’11 and Jess Spar ’11 in acting. Read more about the production in the Middlebury Campus.

Coming this weekend: The Department of Theatre and Dance Presents: Victory by Howard Barker and Speed the Plow by David Mamet (senior work of Willy McKay and Dustin Schwartz). Get your tickets at the Box Office today!

ARTS at Middlebury are truly a vibrant part of our college community. Whether it is a professional faculty production or student produced concert or play, Middlebury is always able to showcase the incredible talents of so many students!

How many MiddKids does it take to sing a song?

Leave a reply

If you’re counting by a cappella groups, 8. With anywhere from about ten to fifteen members in each group, that’s a lot of people singing on campus (not to mention the College Choir, Community Choir, music department ensembles, student bands, individual performers…).

A cappella has a visible and really varied presence on campus: with two all-guys groups (Stuck In the Middle and the Dissipated Eight), two all-girls groups (Mischords and Paradiddles), two co-ed groups (Mamajamas and Bobolinks), a renaissance group (Mountain Ayres), and a Christian group (People Get Ready), it’s hard to miss the small huddles of people around campus who are able to spontaneously burst into song. For instance:

[youtube hypASNEOEDE]

The best (and maybe surprising) part about it, is that each group has a truly unique flavor of sound and jive of its own in comparison with other Midd groups.

That said, we like to mix ourselves up and collaborate sometimes, too. Last Friday, my group, Stuck In the Middle (SIM), and the Mischords (shout out to Senior Fellow Cloe!), performed together at a Middlebury alumni event in Greenwich, Conn. at the Belle Haven Yacht Club. Both groups had great sets, which we concluded with the SIM-Mischord choir’s rendition of the Middlebury Alma Mater, “Walls of Ivy.”

It’s amazing to see (let alone do, as music director) the work that goes into planning and executing music tours of any sort. Apart from hours of rehearsing, logistics like finding gigs, negotiating pay, reserving vans, getting group members’ schedules to work together, finding food, finding lodging, and getting people dressed and to the venue on time all take a lot of preparation.

Having acted as a member, the social director, (advertising, outreach, performance, etc.) and now acting as music director, a cappella has been a time-consuming, but totally worthwhile and rewarding activity: getting to sing and be creative with a group of great guys for four years is priceless.

Though Midd’s a cap groups might have yet to make it to the “big-leagues” (see YouTube video below) — not to belittle my group’s own music video, Middlebury-related musicians like Dispatch and and most recently, Ezra Axelrod ’07, have made more than just ripples in the music industry.

[youtube E46BhMIRujI]