Posts by :
Toes tapping, hands clapping at Kouyate and Ngoni Ba concert
April 12th, 2010
Leanna Bales / The Current Bessekou Kouyate playing the Ngoni in the Ngoni Ba Concert at the Touhill on Wednesday.
The Center for International Studies’ International Performing Arts Series brought a wonderful concert by Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba to the Lee Theater in the Touhill Performing Arts Center on April 7. It was an evening filled with African music, dancing, much applause and contagious smiles.
The evening started with a presentation by Aurelia Hartenberger, Ed. D., about the instruments used during the concert, some dating as far back as the 14th century.
After the presentation, the performance began with beautiful music by the musician Bassekou Kouyate and his musical group. It was fascinating to watch them play, dance, and sing with such happiness, passion and, of course, talent. They all wore lovely traditional garments of purple and gold.
Bassekou Kouyate is a master of the ngoni, a traditional West African lute. His music is called Bambara, which comes from the region of Segu. The African music is similar to the blues, and is considered by many to be the African root of that American music.
Instantly the crowd was transported to West Africa, a completely different world from the theater in which they were sitting. It was amazing to see just how many melodies came from those simple lute-like instruments.
The musicians dazzled the crowd with their fast fingers and beautiful guitar solos.
Yells of appreciation rang out both from the crowd and from the stage for these solos. As the tempo and the energy built, the musicians were in their own world, and the crowd enjoyed seeing them in that world. They were truly at home on that stage.
The audience was very appreciative of the music, judging from the gleeful applause at the end of each song.
As the concert went on, Kouyate would ask the crowd if they were happy and this was always met with a series of “yeses,” applause and whistles of appreciation. The beats were rhythmic and the singing mesmerizing.
As the hypnotic music played, audience members could not help but tap their feet, clap their hands and/or bop their heads.
The musicians’ movements made it apparent that musicians are the same all over the world, and that no matter where one is in the world, one will always find a love of music.
At one point after a standing ovation, toward the end of the concert, the crowd was encouraged to dance along with the group. This was not hard to do, considering the crowd previously had been invited to sing along with the group.
Bassekou led the men, and his wife Ami, the “Tina Turner of Mali,” led the women. It was fun and made for a great atmosphere of unity and happiness.
This performance was enchanting and engaging. Not only did the crowd get to enjoy the talent, but the talent got to enjoy the crowd.
The music was bouncy and energetic, and so were the musicians and the crowd. It was with reluctance that everyone stood and clapped for the last time for Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba; they did a phenomenal job.
Hopefully they will come back soon, and once again enchant an audience at the Touhill. A+ –Amanda Roach
Nothing but home runs
March 22nd, 2010
Jennifer Meahan / The Current Megan Brussman, senior, business administration, focuses on first base during the first game against Central Missouri on Wednesday.
The University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s softball team, the Tritons, has been doing extremely well this season. Hitting more home runs than any other team, the Tritons have proven that they are ready for a great season. Heading into the final games of the weekend at Northern Kentucky on Sunday, the Tritons had already hit 23 home runs in their first 18 games of the season.
The all-time record for home runs in a season for UM-St. Louis women’s softball is 32, which the team accomplished in 2007. But the 2010 Triton softball squad is on pace to shatter that record, and many others, if they can keep bashing the ball over the wall.
Katie Bartlett, senior, biology, leads the team and the entire Great Lakes Valley Conference with seven homers, while teammate JaCee Ellis, junior, business administration, is second on the team and ranks fifth in the conference with five home runs this year.
The team has been working hard on practice and getting ready for the new season. The majority of their practices had been restricted to the inside of the Mark Twain Building on North Campus.
While this may be viewed as a disadvantage by some, head women’s softball coach Chuck Sosnowski, sees it differently. In an interview, he said that practicing inside was more of an advantage because they were limited and so therefore did more hitting.
He said another advantage of being inside was getting to “hammer the hitting.” While he felt that practicing inside could be seen as more of an advantage, Coach Sosnowski does not feel the weather was a factor with regards to practice, training and the team’s performance thus far this season.
With regards to practicing inside, Coach Sosnowski said, “You can work on the same things and get the same benefits.”
Coach Sosnowski said that the Tritons have worked extremely hard in the offseason, with lots of repetition in the batting cage and more training. Bartlett, the starting catcher for the Tritons, has been an example of hard work. “She is a perfect example of what hard work can do,” Sosnowski said. “She plays very well on the team as well as keeps her GPA up.”
Earlier this season, Bartlett was so good at the plate that she was named the GLVC Player of the Week and the NFCA National Player of the Week.
Two younger players that have also been launching the ball over the fences on a regular basis are infielder Heather Arras, sophomore, undecided, and pitcher Leslie Davis, freshman, psychology. Both players have had three home runs already this season.
As for the upcoming season, Coach Sosnowski said his biggest concern is consistency at the plate. The team will have to settle in and get rid of any tension that could still be there.
Judging by the number of home runs they have so far, it looks as though the Tritons are getting rid of tension at a remarkable rate. In regards to the team’s high number of home runs and the upcoming season, Coach Sosnowski said, “I don’t feel we have to hit home runs [to win].”
The team has been incredible so far. With consistent practice, hard work and the same determination already being displayed, there is no reason why the Tritons cannot bring home more victories this season than ever before.
Comments Off
Is 9% really enough?
March 8th, 2010On the 24th of February, an opinion was voiced by a student at a luncheon with UM-System President Gary Forsee that the UM-St. Louis needs more African American faculty members. Research into this subject has shown that the university actually has a higher number of African Americans on their faculty than any school in the Midwest. That student also brought up the issue of retention of African American students and whether or not more African American faculty members would help retain such students.
According to the university’s website, 20 percent of the student body at UM-St. Louis is African American; whether that percentage is too low is a matter of opinion. According to Alan Byrd, Director of Admissions at UM-St. Louis, about 9 percent of the faculty at the university is African American.
Byrd’s records read that 39 percent of UM-St. Louis graduates from 2001-2007 were African American. The general consensus seems to be that hiring more African American faculty members will not increase the numbers or in fact affect them in any way—Byrd says it is about interaction.
“If [students and faculty] were more connected, we would see a greater increase in retention,” Byrd said.
He pointed out that faculty has done things from “departmental pizza parties” to the Mentor Program to better interact with students.
“We need to know we’re meeting their needs and they need to know if they are meeting our expectations,” Byrd said.
The numbers show that the university has much to be proud of in regards to diversity. According to Byrd, more targeted efforts are needed to connect the students with the faculty, but UM-St. Louis does have potential in this area, and there is always room for improvement. So do students need to connect better with faculty?
The university has many ethnicities in the student body, students from some 68 countries according to its website.
“Diversity goes far beyond race,” Byrd said. “International students need the same type of support [as American students].”
Facts show that UM-St. Louis is a widely diverse institution of higher learning both in the student body as well as the faculty. Everyone has their own ideas about what needs examining or changing, some having to do with diversity and some not.
The university’s website says, “The University of Missouri-St. Louis is committed to maintaining a welcoming environment for all and will assume an expanded role as a valuable resource for work around social justice.”
It is up to the university’s community to decide if this commitment is being met.
Comments Off
Collaboration, cooperation, education
March 1st, 2010The multi-media art exhibit “The Art of the Book: Journals Then and Now” opened February 11 at Gallery 210, for a run through May 2, 2010. The exhibit celebrates books old and new as art objects, through cover art and beautifully constructed books but also books as parts of artworks. “The Art of the Book” exhibit is a wonderful journey from the past to the present, spanning over about 500 years. There were many works of art donated by many prestigious and many fresh sources.
The book-themed works of art are placed on shelves, or, in the case of the older artifacts, are encased on pedestals. The exhibit is one that can be physically felt and experienced as attendees can actually handle the artwork/journals and flip through them, seeing stories, lives and journeys unfold before their eyes. Some items were hundreds of pages and some were less than ten. A printed guide of the exhibit and its history, with commentary from various names in the art community, is available at the gallery.
This is an excellent exhibit for history buffs. For example, it features a Bible from 1539, some drawings from early Native Americans, and an original souvenir book of views from the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. Another piece of history is an advertisement for a lecture given by the well-known poet Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Some of the items are basic books while others come in different forms. One artist, John Bently, creatively put a book on the heel of a man’s shoe and then placed the shoe in a shoe box. Another artist folded a large piece of paper and drew on the sides of the folds. Every piece of artwork was unique and fascinating in its own way. Many tell stories, others review the past and still others make one laugh.
The journals, including their titles, were fascinating. “Bio Auto Graphic Scar Issue,” “Wanderlust” and “Ode on the Death of a ‘Favourite’ Cat Otto” are some titles to look for when viewing this exhibit. Some pieces tell interesting stories, while some contain drawings. Other artists elected to take pictures, like Sarah Bodman, who constructed the four-volume “Flowers in Hotel Rooms.” Her books consisted of pictures taken at various hotels in several different locations, including Berlin, Tokyo and London.
It is fascinating to note that in this exhibit there are many names known and unknown, from the very famous Michelangelo to students who have yet to become famous. Many artists and donors came together to make an artistic feast for the viewer. These works have come from far and wide, from American universities to areas outside of the country.
Another fascinating feature of this exhibit is that some pieces were done by college students who only had 10 days to complete them. The students successfully took the art of bookmaking to many interesting places.
Three words come to mind for this exhibit: collaboration, cooperation and education. This exhibit, which will be traveling to Bristol, England later this year, will be touching and inspiring people for many years to come. “The Art of the Book” incorporates unity, beauty and culture all in one exhibit, making it worth seeing.
Grade: A+
Comments Off
Good music, good stories in McGee Band concert at Touhill
February 22nd, 2010The McGee Band and Professor David Wilson entertained an audience with tales and music with an Irish flair in the Lee Theater of the Touhill Performing Arts Center on February 13. This entertainment consisted of a variety of Irish, Scottish and Quebecois music. Professor David Wilson, sometimes accompanying the band on a flute, told stories of Thomas D’Arcy McGee, for whom the band is named.
This was a fine performance, one with toe-tapping music and interesting facts. McGee had a truly amazing life.
Wilson read the passages with feeling and emotion, one felt as though they were actually there. McGee was a visionary who had enemies and setbacks, he did not let anything stop him, and he kept going right up until his murder at age 40. The respect for this man and his ways was heard as Professor Wilson read; it seemed that he wanted the audience to understand just how great a man McGee was, and thanks to his reading it seems they did.
The McGee band played with such feeling and passion. One could tell that they loved the music they play and playing with each other. Most of the songs would start with just one instrument, like the flute, then the accordion would join in or perhaps the piano. There was also a fiddle and a native Irish instrument called a bodhran which is a type of drum.
It was very easy to become engaged in the music, for the musicians themselves had to continuously tap their feet, bop their heads and move their shoulders. It was a night filled with applause and music that was worthy of it. Several of the compositions played by the band were written by two of the band members, but there were also two native Irish songs that were performed.
Though only one of the songs had actual lyrics, the songs the band played were definitely written with as much emotion as if they had lyrics. The pride and respect could be heard and felt with every stroke of the bow or pump of the accordion. It was a pleasant evening that the participants will talk of for a while to come thanks to the McGee Band and Professor David Wilson’s toe-tapping, emotion evoking music and touching, thought-provoking stories.
Grade: A
Comments Off
Recent Comments