State of the Arts: June 24, 2009 Archive

Talking about happiness

Posted at 10:35 AM on June 24, 2009 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Culture

It seems the recession has inspired a lot of us, or at least the media, to talk about what it means to be truly happy. The New York Times has an entire series dedicated to it, called Happy Days. The piece that's drawn the strongest response details one man's second chance at life, and how it changed his attitude.

The public's response to his story inspired a conversation on NPR's Talk of the Nation. And this week Midmorning asked if our definition of happiness is changing, and looked at what a longitudinal study of Harvard students begun in 1937 tells us about leading a fulfilling life.

One of the interesting revelations? The paradox of choice, and how having fewer choices in life makes it simpler, and creates less anxiety.

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Roseville resident makes Barbershop Harmony Hall of Fame

Posted at 11:00 AM on June 24, 2009 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, People

84 year-old Jim Richards has been singing with barbershop choruses for over half a century. The international singing organization, Barbershop Harmony Society, recently welcomed Richards into its Hall of Fame, not just because of his tenure as a singer, but also his role as a teacher. Richards has used his PhD in Physics to teach barbershop singers about the physics of sound.

For those of us who are music theory novices, Richards explains that a "tuned" piano is actually slightly out of tune, in order to divide up the notes into a 12 key scale. Singers can actually hit the "pure" or "true" notes, which he says is much more satisfying to the ear:

When you hear it sung and sung in tune, it is magic. It is pure magic and being part of that, it feeds the soul. That's why it's not a hobby for me, but an obsession.

Richards will be heading to Anaheim, California in the next few days for the Barbershop Singers annual international convention. Two local groups will be performing there - the Minneapolis Commodores (in which Richards sings) and the Great Northern Union.

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Jeune Lune redux; a new chamber group, too

Posted at 3:26 PM on June 24, 2009 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music, Theater

The Southern Theater just announced its 2009/2010 season, which tends to be a long list, since it hosts many events that last only a weekend or two. A couple of items on that list popped out, however.

First, Dominique Serrand and Steven Epp, two of the artistic directors behind Theatre de la Jeune Lune, and the creative duo behind some of the theater's most successful shows, are back in action. While they give no solid details as of yet, they are on the docket to perform a new work October 22-25, 2009. Epp will write and perform, Serrand will design and direct.

Second, the Southern promises not one, not two, but three different performances (in September 2009, and January and April, 2010) by a new chamber music group called "Accordo." The group (which I can't find mention of anywhere on the web) features SPCO principal players Steven Copes, Ruggero Allifranchini, Maiya Papach and Ron Thomas, and Minnesota Orchestra principal cellist Tony Ross.

(Photo © Michal Daniel, 2008)

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