Cain College of the Arts in the process of hiring new director for USU art museum

Utah State University has not had a full-time director for the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art since Victoria Rowe Berry, who formerly had that position, left the museum to work at Oklahoma State University in January.

Though there is currently an interim director, it is important to those working at the museum that someone is able to work full-time in the position, and a committee is currently searching for someone to do so.

Chris Terry, the associate dean for Caine College of the arts and painting professor, currently serves as interim director. He said because of his other responsibilities, he does not have time to plan and organize new exhibitions like a full-time director would.

“If you know you’re only going to be there for a few months until a replacement is hired, you don’t really want to start a long-term vision for the museum that’s going to take us five years ahead,” said Andrea DeHaan, a staff assistant at the museum.

Terry said he will be relieved when the new director is appointed.

“I’ve got three jobs and three offices right now on campus,” Terry said. “I’d be happy to give one of them up.”

Nicholas Morrison, who oversees all searches for the CCA, said six candidates have been interviewed.

“We’ve attracted candidates literally all the way from the east coast to the west coast and in between,” Morrison said. “So it’s not a local thing. It’s a national thing.”

Morrison said all the candidates who have come to campus had a lot of experience in what the job requires.

“We want to get the right person in the position,” Morrison said. “That’s why it’s taking so long. It’s not that there aren’t people out there that could do the job. It’s doing the job really well. That’s the standard that we want to adhere to.”

Morrison said one person had been offered the position. However, the candidate declined because he did not feel it was the right time to leave the job he currently had.

According to Morrison, a candidate will come to USU in the next week. He said he hopes the committee will be able to make a recommendation soon after so the dean of the CCA can start the hiring process soon. 

Poetry and a Beverage has a large turnout

The International Lounge in the Taggart Student Center at Utah State University was packed with hundreds of students getting refreshments, listening to poetry, playing board games, and talking with friends.

On Saturday evening, Poetry and a Beverage, or Po Bev, had the largest turnout since the beginning of the school year.

“It’s not surprising when a lot of people come,” said Kaela Baucom, the director of Arts and Lectures – which sets up Po Bev. “But this is the most we’ve had this semester.”

Baucom said the number of students was probably between 800 and 1,000. She said there were about 300 seats in the front, where the audience watched performers, and they were filled. Besides those students, there were a lot of people standing throughout the lounge.

According to Baucom, Arts and Lectures sets up Po Bev to give USU students a different kind of activity to attend.

“It’s just different from all the other events, which is why I think people like it,” Baucom said. “Because you can go and sit down and listen, but you can also socialize with other people.”

Megan Frodsham, a member of Arts and Lectures, said students come for both the social atmosphere and the performances.

“Even if you’re not interested in listening to poetry or songs, you can still find something,” Frodsham said. “You can still talk to people. You can eat food. You can play games. It’s just a good atmosphere to be around other Aggies.”

According to Baucom, the only people who perform at Po Bev are students. She said this is an advantage because a lot of students do not typically get much stage time or get to know many people.

“It’s good for the students to be performing because then they get to meet other peers,” Baucom said. “And they get recognized for their talents.”

Frodsham said Po Bev gives students a chance to test out what they have prepared to perform.

“It’s a good atmosphere,” Frodsham said. “People are really nice. People are really accepting.”

“Coming up here, I used to do slam poetry, which is competitive poetry,” said Kaitlyn Lang, who recited an original poem at the event. “This is the closest thing we have at Utah State.”

According to Frodsham, there is typically one Po Bev per month, but there will not be one in December.

Frodsham said the next Po Bev will be on January 11.

Visitors coordinate a concert at Utah State University

Lights flashed different colors in the Kent Concert Hall at Utah State University while the USU Symphony Orchestra, along with the university’s combined choirs, performed Alexander Scriabin’s “Prometheus: Poem of Fire.”

Anna Gawboy, a musicologist from Ohio State University, and Laura Jackson, music director for the Reno Philharmonic, came to USU to coordinate Scriabin’s piece, which was played in a concert Saturday evening.

“If you’re going to do Prometheus, you need to do it with lights,” said Christopher Scheer, who organized the event. “And you need someone who knows how the lights are supposed to interact with the music.”

Scheer said the person with this knowledge is Gawboy, who has been studying Scriabin since 2008.

Gawboy said Scriabin wrote “Prometheus: Poem of Fire” when technology was not advanced enough to do the lighting effects he had envisioned. However, he was able to write out how he wanted the show to look.

“To think that this was done in 1910 is extraordinary,” said Jackson, who conducted the performance. “He didn’t have these kinds of lighting racks to do amazing things like this. So his resources were very primitive, but his vision was very complex and wonderful.”

According to Gawboy, though modern technology made it possible to perform the piece closer to Scriabin’s vision, it is not advanced enough to be exactly what he wanted.

“An authentic performance of the piece is something that’s going to happen in the future, not something that happened in the past,” Gawboy said.

Scheer said the piece reflects the Greek story of Prometheus, a Titan who stole fire from the Gods and gave it to humans.

Gawboy said Scriabin’s interpretation of the story was influenced by theosophy, a spiritual movement that took place in the early 20th century.

“He adds a little bit of a twist on it in that the fire that Prometheus stole from the gods is actually intellectual light and intelligence and creativity,” Gawboy said.

Jackson said it was challenging to figure out how to make the piece flow best while the performers were on stage with lights flashing in their eyes.

“It’s a complex piece to perform, but it’s really a thrill to be in the middle of,” Jackson said. “When everybody comes together and moves together and does something subtle and beautiful, that’s the reward.”

Thomas Pratt performs his string instrument in the Chase Fine Arts Center

  Family and friends of senior music major Thomas Pratt watched as he played rare high notes on his string bass during an open recital in room 214 of the Chase Fine Arts Center at Utah State University.

The performance, which took place Monday evening, was a requirement for Pratt to obtain a bachelor’s degree in music education.

“I think it went quite well,” said Erik Horne, Pratt’s friend who came to the performance.

Horne, a music major at USU, said Pratt played high notes that are rare to the string bass. Many notes were played on the highest string that went past the fret board near the bridge.

Pratt said the reason for the higher notes is the bass, which is usually played in lower registers, is mainly used for accompaniment with other instruments. When it is accompanied by piano – which it was during this performance – the lower notes are not heard as much.

“With bass solo repertoire, it spends a lot more time in the upper register so that it can be heard,” Pratt said. “And the point of bass repertoire is to show off.”

Pratt said this performance was required for him to graduate with a music education degree.

Corbin Johnston, Pratt’s private instructor, said the requirement follows a logical progression of mastering pieces.

“You actually take it to the next step and perform them to complete the entire experience of taking the piece that you don’t know all the way to the level where it’s performance ready,” Johnston said.

                                                                                          

According to Pratt, the three pieces he played are from different time periods. The first, “Sonata in G Minor,” is from the baroque period. The second piece, “Introduzione e Gavotta in A Major,” is mid-romantic. The final piece, “Double Bass Concerto, Op. 3,” is from the late romantic period.

Johnston said Pratt was to play songs from different time periods because they each require different knowledge of the performance style used during the time period the composer lived.