Musica! Choral group shares passion of singing

By Burt Saidel

We are now firmly in the “tween season.”. It is that period between the all-absorbing arts season and the beginning of the summer activities.  I am reporting on several noteworthy performances weeks after they occurred in order to give you, my readers, a taste of the quality which surrounds us.

One of my favorite performing groups is Musica!  These singing jewels are approaching their 15th season.  The director and conductor, Robert Jones, is well known throughout musical circles in Dayton and beyond.  He serves as professor of music at UD, conducts many ensembles in his specialty, vocal music.

Musica! is a collection of gifted singers, many of them professional musicians. They share Bob Jones’ passion for the finest in choral singing.  They have a wide repertory
of classical, folk, spiritual and traditional songs.  Most important, they sing them with joy and élan.

Their final concert was held in the perfection of the Art Institute’s Gothic Cloister.  The acoustics of the now-covered cloister give the singing voice a sound not unlike singing in the shower.

The ensemble consists of 15 singers.  For the concert, they invited the Ippolito String Ensemble, pianist Jennifer Shoup and hornists Jerry Beck and Mike Singleton to join them.

The program, rich in spirituals and art songs, was a perfect Sunday afternoon adventure in serendipity.  The smiling faces of the singers complimented their fine voices, making each song a special exploration.  Many of the songs were contemporary but had roots firmly in the rich soil of traditional choral singing.
I was especially moved by the three songs comprising Chanson des Roses by Morton Lauridsen.  Based on the French poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, and made more understandable by translations in the program, these evocative songs gave life to the poetry and the magnificence of vocal magic.

Following intermission, the musicians joined the singers in Daniel Pinkham’s Wedding Cantata.  Again, there were three songs with compelling instrumental accompaniment.  Solos by Mark Bartsch and Amanda Newhart, the richness of the music and the singing provided a new experience, demanding a repeat performance.

Musica! has several signature pieces. One, “The Banks of the Ohio” by Gwenyth Walker is a comic romp.   Another, the traditional “Shenandoah,” was given a thrilling “surround sound” treatment by the singers circling the audience.

And, there was an encore!  I am an unabashed fan of one of their special songs, The Song for the Mira.  Bob Jones shot me a wry smile as he began what he knew was my great favorite.

Every Musica! concert ends with the feeling that it can’t be better – yet
it always is.

Shavey Brown recital at WSU

The strength and the magic of the Wright State musical theatre department rests on its excellent faculty and staff.  It rests there but it moves through its talented students.
WSU has been able to attract generations of highly talented, motivated and loving singers, dancers and actors.  One of the great beauties of the program is its emphasis on ensemble - actors dance and sing, singers dance and act and so forth.
At the end of each year, we bid fond farewell to the senior class.  So many of them have contributed immeasurably to our enjoyment as members of casts.  Some stay in the area working with various agencies and appear with The Human Race or community theaters.  Others we see in New York either on stage or working in restaurants.

As a final hurrah of this season, I attended the recital of one of our favorite actors, Shavey Brown. We predict greatness for this affable young man.  He is imposing on stage and sings and dances with an easy lightness.  His characterization of Coalhouse Walker in Ragtime will always remain as a crystalline theatrical memory.
What was so moving about the experience was that Shavey was saying goodbye to so much of what he loves – his classmates, his theater and his audience.  He and others in his class carry their great talents robed in a special humanity.  This is gained from the enlightened associations they have enjoyed for their four student years.  

In singling out Shavey, I recognize so many others who have gained and given as Wright State actors and will continue to do so.  Ave atque Vale, Hail and Farewell.  You wear the mantle of greatness whether you successfully find a place on the stages of our great land or find other areas to let your fire burn.

A final note on theater.  We have so much here in the Dayton area that we often neglect Cincinnati’s Playhouse in the Park.

In former days, we made the trip more often.  We did attend Smoke on the Mountain at the playhouse in May.  “Smoke” is a Gospel musical told through the adventures and misadventures of a North Carolina family.  Generations of preachers have served their ministry through song.  Their story is charming and the performance delightful.

Now, here’s the rub.  We are so fortunate to have such good theater here in the Dayton area and so very convenient.  Wandering about Mt. Adams’ one way streets to find a restaurant and a parking place is “guts football.”   Then to drive to the Playhouse only to have to park back at the restaurant and hoof it back in time for the curtain made me appreciate our home-grown conveniences.

Cincinnati has wonderful arts.  Only Music Hall is easily reached and used, the other venues have difficulties compared to “good old Dayton.”

Summer theatre workshop at OCC

By Jane Kuntz

As sure as summer follows spring there will be dozens of children, who after the first week of the school vacation will complain, “I’m bored…there’s nothing to do!”  Jean Howat Berry, Oakwood’s own acclaimed artist and teacher has the answer—“Mythic Shorts.”

Berry has put together a summer theatre workshop for sixth to tenth grade students who would like to be teen actors.  Participants will have the unique opportunity to choose, write, design and direct a group of short plays based on familiar Greek myths. “I’ll have the kids read a selection of myths and decide for themselves which ones they want to dramatize,” Berry explained. “Next they will write the scripts, design, direct and, finally, perform the plays.”

Berry, a bundle of enthusiasm and energy, comes to this project with a wealth of experience. Most recently she received national recognition when she won the Dorothy R. Mullens Arts & Humanities Award through the National Parks and Recreation Association. Berry, in a four- week residency sponsored by the Ohio Arts Council in the summer of 2006, worked with a diverse group of eight to twelve year old students in the Price Hill area of Cincinnati doing theatre and mask, culminating in a performance; more than 70 youngsters benefited from this workshop that won first place honors in the Youth Division of the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association’s annual awards program.

The “Mythic Shorts” project will be held from June 25 to July 28, Monday through Friday, with rehearsals from 12 noon to 3 p.m., in an air-conditioned double classroom in Harman Elementary School.

“During the last week we will troupe with the plays to Orchardly and Shafor Parks as well as to Smith Gardens,” Berry said. “We may even be able to take them to Sunrise Assisted Living center.” Berry continued, “Sign up is at the Oakwood Community Center and I have space for thirty kids and will keep a waiting list. The cost for fifteen hours a week, for a total of five weeks, is $120.” She added, “I checked the schedules for swim teams and other activities and this workshop shouldn’t interfere with other extracurricular programs.”

Jean Berry glows when she declares, “Let’s get ready to skip out on boredom and jump into big fun!”

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June 12, 2007
Volume 16, No. 24

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A listing of visual arts, music, theatre, and other events in Dayton and beyond.