Percussive Notes Vol. 54, No. 5 –  Published November 2016

 

Electric Rebel Poetry

Southern Oregon University Percussion Ensembles
Terry Longshore, Director
Self-Released

This recording features the music of Bryan Jeffs, Mark Applebaum, Collin Malloy, Hikaru Sawai, and Jeff Richmond. The performance by the SOUPE is exceptional and musically inspiring. Highlights include Mark Applebaum’s “30” for percussion soloist, quartet, and septet. The piece is every-
thing we have to come expect from this incessantly creative composer. Layered soundscapes and complex rhythms flourish throughout the performance of this fascinating work. Sawai’s “Yume no Wa,” arranged by Collin Malloy, is a delightful work played beautifully by the ensemble. And the last track, “Sex, Drugs, and Poetry” by Richmond is a delightful contemporary jazz piece for percussion ensemble. This is a truly magnificent recording by the Southern Oregon University Percussion Ensembles and Terry Longshore. I highly recommend it.

—Brett William Dietz

 

La Alma Del Ábol

Southern Oregon University Percussion Ensembles
Terry Longshore – Director
Self Released

This is another great recording by SOUPE and Terry Longshore. It features performances of Chris Burton Jácome, Alport Mhlanga, Christopher Deane, Nigel Westlake, Bryan Jeffs, and Peter Garland. The first track, “La Alma del Álma, la Resonancia de una Rama,” is a Flamenco piece with gorgeous guitar playing by the composer, Jácome. The performances of Deane’s “Vespertine Formations” and Westlake’s “Omphalo Centric Lecture” are incredibly musical and precise. “A Maroon Hog’s Rebel Frog” by Jeffs hints at several distinct musical styles including reggae, funk and rock, and Garland’s “Apple Blossom” is delightfully well performed by the ensemble. The Southern Oregon University Percussion Ensembles have produced another solid recording of new music and well-known percussion ensemble standards. Longshore’s musical leadership of this group is phenomenal, and I look forward to more recordings from this group.

—Brett William Dietz

Mail Tribune – Posted Nov 21, 2016

When Austin Brayfield was diagnosed with brain cancer, her painting took on new urgency.

The 83-year-old Ashland artist, who started painting at 70 after a career as a psychologist, began turning out anguished, feverish works packed with emotional power.

Learn more about Brayfield’s work on the full article.

Ashland Daily Tidings – Posted Nov 17, 2016

Director and mezzo soprano O’Scannell pairs with lutenist James Bishop-Edwards performing the works of English Renaissance giant John Dowland’s songbook. He was a pioneer in writing highly personal and moving lyrics for his music, says O’Scannell. The show is entitled “Come Again: John Dowland First Book of Songs.”

Learn more about ‘Come Again’ on the full article.

Mail Tribune – Posted Nov. 10 2016

ROW 211 FILMS, a Rogue Valley production company composed of Southern Oregon University alumni, is planning to make its first independent feature film in 2017: “Emma Was Here,” a poignant drama about a terminally ill young woman’s decision to end her life via Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act — but not before journeying to the coast to have the vacation of a lifetime with her sister and closest friends.

A reading of the screenplay, written by Daniel Rester, will be from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13, in the Arena Room, Stevenson Union Building at SOU, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd, Ashland. Tickets are free, but donations are encouraged to help support the making of the film. The concept trailer will be shown after the reading, which is being sponsored by the SOU Film Club.

KDRV.com – Posted Nov. 9 2016

MEDFORD, Ore. – The annual Dancing with the Rogue Valley Stars is this weekend.

Tonight, we take a look at our next star, Bailey Aldrich. She will be dancing the American Rumba with her partner, Anton Drummond.

 

Learn more about Dancing with the Rogue Valley Stars on the full article.

broadwayworld.com Sacramento – Posted Nov. 9 12016

Darek Riley, who received his bachelor of fine arts degree in acting/performance from SOU, plays Robin Hood in Greg Banks’ adaptation of “Robin Hood” at Sacramento’s B Street Theatre.

Learn more about B Street Theatre’s ROBIN HOOD on the full article.

Mail Tribune – Posted Nov 8, 2016

Small-time gangster Arturo Ui sets out to take over the Chicago cauliflower trade by ruthlessly disposing of the opposition in Bertolt Brecht’s surprisingly contemporary and comical take on the rise of fascism in a free society.

“The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui” — written in just a few weeks in 1941 by the German playwright while he waited for a visa to leave Finland for America — is a satirical allegory of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany prior to World War II.

Learn more about SOU’s ‘The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui’ on the full article.

Ashland Daily Tidings – Posted Nov. 7 2016

Bertold Brecht left Germany shortly after Hitler came to power in 1933. But Brecht’s dislike of Hitler waned little in self-exile, resulting in the play “The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui.”  Audiences recognize a Hitler-like figure in Arturo Ui, a Chicago mobster trying to monopolize the cauliflower market.  Yes, cauliflower.

Learn more about ‘The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui’ on the full article.

Mail Tribune – Posted Nov. 5 2016

CENTRAL POINT — About 40 students from two local high schools got a concentrated taste of the play production process Friday and Saturday nights.

For the first time, Crater Renaissance Academy’s annual 24 Hour Play Cabaret event, in which students perform short plays written only the night before, has expanded to include a second high school’s drama students, Rogue River High School’s troupe, the Arden Ensemble.

Learn more about the 24 Hour Play Cabaret on the full article.