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| Oct. 21, 2004 | ||||
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Fat Tuesday meets Black Saturday So much to do and so little time. There will be many Homecoming events for students, faculty, staff and alumni to attend and “Spirit Under the Stars” will be one of them. “Spirit Under the Stars” will consist of a lip sync contest, pep rally, bonfire and fireworks and will begin tomorrow at 6 p.m. on Duck Pond Field. “There will be a picnic provided by ASU Food Services, so anybody can eat with their ID or with cash. The lip sync finals begin with 20 student organizations who advanced from the preliminaries,” Director of Student Programs David L. Robertson said. Robertson said the lip sync competition will be held on a big stage outside and will finish around 8 p.m. After the lip sync contest finishes, the pep rally, which is also on Duck Pond Field, will begin, Robertson said. The pep rally will feature Coach Moore and the football team, the cheerleaders, the marching band and the Homecoming court, Robertson said. “The cheerleaders and the band will lead the crowd in a bunch of Mountaineer cheers, it’s a traditional football pep rally,” Robertson said. “It’s a real special fireworks show this year; we’ve dolled it up some,” Robertson said. “As soon as that [fireworks] ends, the party begins in the Holmes Center,” Robertson said. The party will feature Rosie Ladet and the Zydeco Playboys and doors will open at 9 p.m. “They are one of the country’s foremost zydeco bands, which is Cajun music that has a lot of infectious sing-song rhythms and dance melodies,” APPS Program Coordinator Randy M. Kelly said. Tickets will be $5 for students in advance and can be bought at Plemmons Student Union Information Desk. Tickets for everyone else will be $7 and can be bought at the Holmes Center Web site or at the Holmes Center Box Office. Tickets can also be bought at the door. There will be a student ticket line and a line for everyone else. “For the first time ever, if you’re 21, there’s a cash bar allowed as well for beer and wine inside the Holmes Center. The Holmes Center floor area will be decorated with the Mardi Gras/Bourbon Street logos and we’ll try to recreate the feel that you have on the crowded Bourbon Street at Mardi Gras,” Kelly said. A step show and after party with DJ Tab of Power 98 will close out Homecoming 2004 and will be Saturday at 9 p.m. in Legends. Tickets will be $5 for students, $7 for others in advance at the Student Union Information Desk and $7 for everyone at the door. “It’s a wonderful crowd, because it attracts a real mixed audience. It’s a multi-ethnic experience,” Robertson said. The event will be BYOB, but the consumption of alcohol will not begin until all the children have left the event and the after party starts, Robertson said. The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is involved in the step show. “I think it’s a good opportunity for students to see something they’ve never seen before. A lot of students have never seen a step show before and adds some diversity to Homecoming because they’ll get to see historically black fraternities and sororities perform in the step show,” NPHC President Kendrick C. Tillman said. East Hall holds 'Smelly Cat Cafe' The East Residence Hall Language and Culture Learning Community have recently put on a show called the Smelly Cat Café, a fusion of poetry, art and singing. Ferrin "Skip" Gipson and Catherine R. Potter, two Appalachian State University freshmen, came up with the idea, with ample help from Appalachian freshman Summer S. Wisdom. "I thought it would be a great way for the residents at East Hall to bond, and not only that, but students from other residence halls to bond as well," Potter said. "We have several students in our residence hall with varying talents and the Smelly Cat Café provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate their abilities and help us to get to know them a little bit better." The Smelly Cat Café drew a large number of students from the East side of campus at its first meeting. Students read poetry, sang songs and presented original artwork. Artwork by various students lined the walls of the sub-level floor in East Hall. "It was kind of like an open mic night too. There were several people, myself included, that sang songs," Wisdom said. The show is also themed--attendees must wear black. "What is so great about the Smelly Cat Café is that we students get a chance to show why we are talented. Some students can even just get up on stage and read us their favorite poem and share with others why they like it so much," Wisdom said. "It is just a really cool experience to get to share things like this with the rest of our residence hall and other students and get positive feedback." The premiere of the Smelly Cat Café was in mid-September. Oct. 19 was the second show. Gipson and Potter are looking to have another Smelly Cat Café in mid to late November. "Originally, we figured it would just be an activity for our dorm. However, now, we are trying to encourage people from all over campus to come and share with us their talents. Most of the Residence Assistants from our dorm came, too. I just can't wait until the next one. I really feel like a lot more students will come since more and more people are starting to find out about it," Gipson said. "It's really awesome because the Smelly Cat Café has also provided a lot of enrichment for our Language and Culture Learning Community." All Appalachian State University students are welcome to attend the Smelly Cat Café. There is no charge and food is provided. Students interested in participating in the next Smelly Cat Café should contact Gipson, Potter or Leigh Lane Edwards, the Language and Culture Residence Assistant, at East Hall. "Though it is a pretty relaxed environment, a lot of effort goes in to preparing for the event. Everyone is welcome and we always look forward to having new people perform and attend. Even if students do not want to perform, they are always welcome to come and attend and just enjoy the experience," Potter said. Three-day brass forum celebrates quintet While the rest of Appalachian State University celebrates Homecoming this weekend, the Hayes School of Music will have its hands full for an entirely different reason. In conjunction with the Office of Cultural Affairs, the school of music will present a three-day Brass Chamber Music Forum in celebration of the 50th anniversary of The New York Brass Quintet's debut performance. "It's a very comprehensive forum. It will include concerts, master classes with visiting artists, panel discussions with composers, open rehearsals, class lectures, social events and more," Dean of the school of music Dr. William G. Harbinson said. The workshops, ensemble performances and special programs start today and run until Saturday night. Although the forum is designed primarily for music students, visiting composers and guest artists, there will be three performance events open to the public. The concerts tonight and tomorrow night at 8 p.m. at Rosen Concert Hall are free of charge. Tickets for the concert Saturday night at 8 p.m. at Farthing Auditorium are $16 for adults, $14 for faculty and staff, and $8 for students. "The main focus is the 50th anniversary of The New York Brass Quintet," Trumpet and brass chamber instructor for the school of music Dr. William L. Jones, Jr. said. "They invented the brass quintet. Now it's a standard chamber ensemble for brass players." Jones particularly noted the forum's emphasis on the history and musical repertoire of the brass quintet. "The whole idea behind the forum was to connect the musicians with the composers. We wanted to highlight the fact that we survive because of the composers," Jones said. To that end, composers Eric Ewazen and Gunther Schuller will attend the forum to lead symposiums and participate in programs designed to further instruct brass students in the elements of the quintet. Additional guests and visiting artists will participate in the forum, including founding members of The New York Brass Quintet, members of The American Brass Quintet stationed in residence at The Juilliard School, members of the Appalachian State Brass Faculty at the school of music and several guest ensembles as well. Dr. Karen Robertson, horn and theory instructor for the school of music, emphasized that "students won't have a chance like this again. Education majors will learn how to perform in their own chamber ensembles, professionally." Many brass players will use the quintet form to make a living, either in a performance capacity or in an instructional capacity. Harbinson commended Jones on his exhaustive efforts on behalf of the forum. "He conceived it, contacted the people, budgeted it, wrote the grants, made the arrangements for housing, concerts and programs, ran the composition contest ... he was working on it for more than a year," Harbinson said. Saturday evening's performance will also see the debut of a piece commissioned particularly for this event, composed by Harbinson and performed by The American Brass Quintet. |
© 2004 ASU Student Publications
