Show and tell comes to campus

Remember in grade school when children would parade in with a handful of odd toys and random trinkets so the teacher could dedicate an hour of class to show and tell? Well, the EWU music department has brought it back.

Every Friday, students and music professors gather in the Music Building to share what pieces they have been working on in the past week. It not only provides an opportunity for students to perform, but also to listen and digest the new directions their colleagues are taking. The short pieces range in mood and difficulty as well as medium. The instruments on March 5, the first show and tell, ranged from violins and classical guitar to the marimba and mobile phones.

Most musicians just show; they simply come on stage with their instruments and begin performing. EWU guitar professor Michael Millham decided to “tell” by explaining the story behind his programmatic piece “La Huida de los Amantes por el Valle de los Ecos,” an African folk tale about a musician prince who rescues his princess by horseback, by Leo Brouwer. The opening arpeggio simulated the rushed, yet graceful galloping hooves of the prince’s horse. 

The most peculiar piece was “Orbits in Canon” by EWU’s Dr. Jonathan Middleton. The piece was recorded onto five mobile phones and performed by students as they changed the vibrato, feedback and tone by tilting the phones on an X and Y axis. The students forewent the stage and surrounded the audience giving the piece an enveloping and spacey feel.  

The phone software was designed by Finnish developer Henri Penttinen in cooperation with Middleton.

Audience members were mixed in their opinions. “It’s useless. It involves no skill at all,” said EWU student Igor Gorkovechenko. “Clarinet players have 10 fingers to move at once.”

Music major Heidi Altenhofen agreed that the piece lacked the musicianship of the others, but it was still very innovative.

“It’s a unique idea, and it’s cool that the technology exists,” Altenhofen said. Her personal favorite was the closing string duet between EWU professor and violinist Julia Salerno and professor of cello and chamber music Dr. John Marshall. 

The duo performed “Passcaglia” by Johan Halvorsen with exquisite care, transitioning from offset speedy scales to harmoniously sustaining notes.

Students or professors interested in performing can contact the music department at (509) 359-2241. This is not a talent show or open mic. All performances are to be properly presented, rehearsed and prepared with the reverence expected at recital.