FEATURE
PAGE
4
OCT
3
2013
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music David Glenn (left above) and Music Assistant Maya Takemoto show off their instruments. They will both play in the Walla Walla Symphony performance on Oct. 8. Photo by Sloss
Symphony starts new season by Isabel Mills Staff Reporter
Twenty-five years ago, conductor Yaacov (Yaki) Bergman didn’t know where Walla Walla was. Nonetheless, his great desire to be a director led him all the way from his small hometown kibbutz in Israel to the Walla Walla Symphony. Bergman began playing the violin when he was very young. He went on to receive undergraduate degrees in composition and conducting from the Rubin Academy of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and then to complete post-graduate studies at the Mannes College of Music in New York. He has conducted orchestras around the world and has been with the Walla Walla Symphony for more than 25 years. The Walla Walla Symphony itself is more than 100 years old. It had its first performance on Dec. 12, 1907. According to their website, the Walla Walla Symphony is the oldest continuously operating symphony west of the Mississippi River. Bergman said the symphony has seen some big changes since its beginning a century ago. “The orchestra wasn’t in the greatest shape when I arrived as the new music director. With time it became a real love affair with the community and with the orchestra, and I am very proud of what we do and how we do it. The orchestra today is loved and respected.” One of the musicians in the orchestra is Profes-
sor of Music David Glenn, who has played the trombone ever since he was in fifth grade. He is now on the Board of Directors for the symphony. “It’s a remarkably good symphony orchestra for a town this size, especially for a somewhat isolated geographic situation. On a number of occasions I’ve talked to people from out of town who are just dumfounded that we have an orchestra of this quality. The players are very, very good. It’s really grown over the years,” said Glenn. He especially enjoys working with Bergman. “He was here when I first joined the orchestra. It’s one of his main jobs. He travels all over the world conducting, but this is his main focus. We’re very good friends. We hang out occasionally, and he’s a good guy and a fantastic musician.” Music Assistant Mayako Takemoto has been playing with the symphony since 1992. She teaches private lessons at Whitman, at Walla Walla University and in the community. Some of her youngest students are only three years old. She hopes that watching the symphony will be an inspiration to her students. “I play with the symphony because I want my students to see somebody they know on the stage. Few violin players can become great violinists ... So I want them to come and watch, so that someday they can play too,” said Takemoto. Junior Ryan Jacobsen has been playing the violin since he
was 5 years old. He auditioned for a seat in the Walla Walla Symphony as a first-year, and he has been playing in it ever since. Balancing schoolwork and rehearsals can sometimes be stressful for Jacobsen. The week before a concert, the symphony rehearses for three to six hours at a time, multiple times per week. Nonetheless, Jacobsen expressed disappointment at the number of Whitman students involved in the symphony. “We should have more Whitman students in the orchestra. I think if you’re a fairly serious music player, it’s not that ambitious to at least audition, and I know that Yaki is always looking for more people to audition and bring a little bit more youth to the orchestra. Plus it’s fun, it’s good and you get paid,” said Jacobsen. There are normally between six and eight concerts per season, and each season runs from October to July. The concert orchestras vary in size from 25 to 75 people, and the musicians range in age from 17 years old to over 50. Many of them live out of town. But despite their differences, all symphony musicians have a few traits in common. “We don’t just accept musicians; we audition them. If you play well and have the ability to keep up with a demanding repertoire, then, obviously, we’ll accept you. It takes a lot of discipline and a lot of preparation. Every situation has its own challenges, but that’s what we learn and study our whole lives to deal with,” said Bergman. The Walla Walla Sympho-
ny is fortunate to have an extremely supportive community. Unlike many struggling orchestras from around the country, this one attracts an ample and diverse audience. In order to keep audiences engaged, the symphony keeps a wide variety of pieces in its repertoire. “One of the things that the board works on is trying to make sure we don’t end up with an audience [composed entirely] of people over 60. There are all kinds of community outreach events to try to get the symphony known to school-age students. Whitman is also very good about providing tickets for students,” said Glenn. The Walla Walla Symphony will perform its next concert on Tuesday, Oct. 8. This performance, titled “The Dynamic Duo,” will feature a violinist and cellist from Boise who happen to be twin sisters. Like every symphony concert since 1967, it will be performed in Cordiner Hall. Before this concert, like all symphony productions, there will be a short program called “Inside the Music.” “We basically run what we call ‘preconcert lecture.’ We invite people around 6:30 p.m. to listen to a short lecture about what is going to be played at the concert. It’s a very wonderful way to share more, and for the audience to learn more about the program,” said Bergman. There is no place Bergman would rather be than conducting. “I love what I’m doing. It’s a wonderful, wonderful journey. The creative process is so energizing. It’s a wonderful place to be.”
Musicians commit in, out of classroom by Serena Runyan Staff Reporter
At almost any given time, a group of music majors can be found talking in the Hall of Music hallway or slaving over homework in the music library. From striking up conversations about theory, to performing, to composing quintets at 3 a.m., all of these students have a commitment to the music department that goes beyond simply getting their homework done. Music majors focus their degrees in general music, performance, history or theory/composition. Depending on which track they choose, music seniors must take four written exams, an oral and an aural, in addition to either performing a recital or writing a thesis. All music majors are required to take lessons and get involved in an ensemble for at least part of their time at Whitman College. Because they have such multifaceted requirements, music majors are often involved in several different musical activities simultaneously. For example, senior music composition major Erik Feldman composes, sings, plays three instruments and per-
forms in four student ensembles. With so many recitals and lessons to prepare for, his daily life revolves around his rehearsal schedule. “I try to practice half an hour for every instrument every day. Chorale or chamber is sort of my starting point, and then I practice; I might have orchestra in the evening. I’ll probably do a bunch of homework and then I’ll work on composition late at night,” said Feldman. Fellow senior composition major Will Ekstrom composes, sings, conducts and performs in chorale and chamber. “There’s a lot more to being a music major than learning your notes ... I try to get an hour daily for piano and voice, conducting goes in about every other day, and, well, I like to think of composition as trying to get lightning to strike twice. Sometimes you’re up until 3 a.m. because you had a good idea,” said Ekstrom. Junior music performance major Karl Mering is also very busy. In addition to practicing piano and taking lessons, he is working on requirements for his English major and competing with the varsity swim team. In order to better manage his time, he keeps a healthy perspective. “I just feel like there’s more
time than people realize,” he said. “You always hear about those musicians who learned 40 Bach preludes in one month, and you realize what people are capable of doing when they really focus on something.” Each major focus has its own unique challenges and rewards. Music composition major Feldman has spent plenty of late nights trying to figure out exactly how he wants a piece to sound. “You always have the best ideas when you don’t have anything to write them down with,” said Feldman. “Or you wake up at six in the morning and say, ‘That was a brilliant idea in my dream. What was it?’” Feldman has written a variety of pieces, ranging from a pianocello piece about walking through the forest, a viola-piano duet at the request of friends and a piece about the life of a star for a dance performance. Composing each piece is rewarding because it allows him to connect with others. “[I’m] walking through the music building and hearing my piece being practiced and thinking, ‘That’s really cool.’ That might be a favorite memory composition wise — hearing a piece I wrote being performed for the first time,” said Feldman.
Music performance major Mering has a constant desire to improve. “I think the most challenging thing is that there’s no endpoint,” said Mering. “There’s no ‘you’ve learned it.’ No matter how many times you’ve played it, you can still play it better. Even the simplest Bach Minuet in G, I can still 50 years from now not feel like I’ve played that piece perfectly.” Each of these music students took a slightly different path when deciding to be music majors. Feldman fell in love with the music department as a prospective student. He had the opportunity to play his trombone while visiting a jazz theory class, and then he declared music as his major early on in his first year. “The music department is home. I can come here and practice at 4 a.m. if I like, which is nice because when composing I like being in my own little world. It’s a really good group of people, and I just love being in the music building,” said Feldman. Ekstrom was similarly drawn to the community atmosphere within the department. He enjoys knowing that he can have nuanced conversations with like-minded music students.
“There was a time we had a 10-minute debate in the atrium about whether you could have a Neopolitan seven chord,” said Ekstrom. “For anyone outside our conversation it must have just been the nerdiest thing, but it was just pretty funny looking back on it saying, ‘Yeah, we debated about Neopolitan seven chords.’ It’s definitely a little geeky.” Unlike Feldman and Ekstrom, Mering didn’t come to Whitman expecting to be a music major. Before he knew it, though, his commitment to music had warranted a major. “I was spending about two hours a day practicing ... Music has always been something fun to do, so I guess I just started taking classes and I liked the classes, so why not? I really enjoy it, and it’s not going to be a burden to do it.” Different experiences aside, music majors from any track can agree that studying music was a good decision. “My favorite part [of being a music major] is easy, and I imagine it’s the same as being an art major,” said Ekstrom. “You’re studying how to express yourself, which is a lot of fun. There’s a reason why music has been around all these years. It’s a primal thing.”