Musical plagiarism

I attended the Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars Concert series on Sunday, February 28, 2016 in Wright Auditorium. The stars consisted of Janai Brugger a soprano, Sarah Mesko a mezzo-soprano, Sean Panikkar a tenor, Trevor Scheunemann a baritone, and lastly Brent Funderburk the pianist. These performers are apart of the S. Rudolph Alexander performing arts series. The audience consisted of a wide range of people; from college students to the elderly citizens of Greenville, NC. First, I would like…

Every since 7th grade I was in ABC. ABC is an advance class of orchestra where we play anything but classical music, hence the name. ABC was a class that started before school, and anyone who was in 7th or 8th grade could join. Usually our orchestra teacher was Mr. Hudson but the teacher for ABC was Mrs. Dykman. ABC music in middle school is meant to be harder and faster but at the time the music seemed easier and I was ready for a challenge. Mrs. Dykman told us our 8th grade year that if…

Casting celebrities to boost ticket sales! In the past, Broadway seasons have been filled with productions (plays and musicals, revivals and originals) that have had large celebrity names attached to them. Once Broadway was home for creating stars, that would later go on to mega-stardom by being signed on for movies or TV but today we see that going more in reverse. Film…

“Alle Psallite Cum Luya” is a three part motet composed during the Gothic Period in France. It is 27 measures long, in triple meter, sung in Latin, and has three parts: Triplum, Duplum and Tenor. It is made to empower the Crusaders spiritually by God via the inclusion of spiritual numbers and has as a Gregorian Chant (Cantus Firmus) sung by the tenors. Through the lyrics, music, and interconnected logic, the composer is able to communicate the message of spreading Christianity during the…

“I never thought I’d sing or dance on national television,” -Jane Krakowski. This what Jane said after the fact that she has been in famous movies and hit television shows. Jane has also been in some broadway shows like “Starlight Express”. Jane also got more than one Tony award in her career. Her latest broadway show is “She Loves Me”. This was released in 2016. I believe she still acts to this day. Jane was born on October 11, 1969, in Parsippany, New Jersey. This is where she grew up most…

As the conductor entered the silent hall, the lights over the audience started to dim until only the orchestra was illuminated. With his penguin-like coattails wobbling behind him, the conductor stepped onto the gray and worn-out podium, and checked each face of his performers. The small wrinkles on his cheeks slightly lifted as each member grinned back at the conductor. The dimly-glowing white baton began to rise in the air, and with a small twist in the wrist, slowly swirled in front of the…

first stage musical, Golden Gate was never produced, it did convince producer Harold Prince to hire them for his Flora, the Red Menace, a satire of bohemian culture and radical politics based on Lester Atwell's novel "Love is Just Around the Corner". Kander and Ebb's next collaboration continued with 1966's Cabaret, a brilliant examination of fascism in pre-war Berlin. It rocketed the duo to massive critical and commercial success, receiving seven Tony awards (including Best Musical) and an…

Every morning it’s always the blaring of trumpet horns and the pounding of drums ringing in your ears. There’s the shrilly yet beautiful sounds of flutes and the smooth noise coming from saxophones. Every morning it’s always music and noise in the band room, and that’s what I love about it. The band room, one of the most well known room’s in the entire school. You can always hear music coming from there at any part of the day. The people in the band community are always up for playing a tune…

Diegetic or nondiegetic is used in many ways to add sound to a movie. Diegetic sound is acknowledged by the characters and the characters usually interact with the sound. Nondiegetic is only heard by the audience which lets the audience foreshadow what will happen to the characters. Burton uses nondiegetic in his introduction credits that come before the film to let the audience start to imagine what the film might be about. Burton uses more nondiegetic sounds instead of diegetic music in all of…

On November 27th, 2016, I sat in awe as I watched Guys and Dolls at The Asolo Repertory Theatre. The playwright is Damon Runyon and the director of this production was Josh Rhodes, also included was Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser. The play was based on a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. Based in the 40’s and involving gangsters, gamblers, showgirls, and a save you soul missionary, the Golden age of Broadway came to life. The stage was set on a proscenium theatre with beautifully made…