The Westminster Journal

Places for Act One! Curtain up! A+

Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 PST

This is what the students in the arts management minor of Westminster Choir College of Rider University will be hoping to earn by their efforts in producing a play as a class requirement. The project, which is three semesters in the making, was a collaborative effort with both the Black Box Theater and Stephen Crane House in Asbury Park, NJ. A venue-specific play, “Words from Arbutus Cottage,” written by Midge Guerrera uses the writings of Stephen Crane’s family. The students also hosted a fundraising champagne and dessert party for the two non-profits. Beginning in spring 2005, the Fundraising in the...

Music Connects: MENC Collegiate Conference

(Erika Hebert) — Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 PST

On Sunday, January 29th, 2006, future music educators from across the state of New Jersey came to the campus of Westminster Choir College for the MENC Collegiate Conference. Around eighty students from Westminster, Rutgers, Montclair State, TCNJ, Rowan, William Patterson, and Georgian Court spent the day attending various workshops and seminars all relating to the theme “Music Connects.” Guest presenters came from around the state and beyond, representing music education departments from MENC affiliated universities. Professor Heather Buchanan from Montclair State University led a seminar encompassing an introduction to body-mapping. Professor Wilbur Wittemann from Georgian Court State gave a workshop...

Introducing Joe Miller

Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 PST

Dr. Joe Miller has been appointed director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, beginning July 1, 2006. Miller is currently director of choral studies, professor of music and voice-area chair at Western Michigan University’s School of Music. His previous positions include serving as director of choral and vocal activities at California State University, Stanislaus from 1994 to 1999, artistic director/conductor of the Stockton Chorale, and music director of the Mother Lode Music Festival. He has conducted his choirs in both national and international festivals, and he has served as guest conductor for numerous honors choirs. In...

Summering at Spoleto

troxel@rider.edu (Meghan Troxel) — Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 PST

For most college graduates, Commencement marks the end of one learning experience and often the beginning of another. Members of the Westminster Choir are no exception to the rule. But for us, the new learning experience starts the very next day, as we journey to Charleston, SC, for the Spoleto Festival USA. There is something about wandering one of the South’s most beautiful cities and hearing the streets buzz with talk of the arts, where even dubious teenagers are impressed when you flash your Festival ID and tell them you’re with the Westminster Choir. All over town, windows are filled...

La Traviata at the Met Opera

(Francesca Altema) — Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 PST

Several Thursdays ago, a colleague and I witnessed the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata. I had heard several recordings of this work, and was enthusiastic about the chance to witness this work on stage. Based on Alexandre Dumas’ novel La Dame aux Camélias (1848), the story depicts the affair of a young man, Alfredo, who falls in love with a high class prostitute, Violetta. The two meet at one of Violetta’s many parties, and shortly thereafter they fall in love and move in together outside of Paris. When Alfredo’s father finds out about...

Westminster Senior Goes Home to Help Local High School

Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 PST

Stacey Church, a senior at Westminster Choir College, returned this past semester to her hometown to intern in the Pottsgrove High School Music Department. Stacey, 22, hopes to attain her dream of going to graduate school for Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. She has gained a good deal of performance experience during her past three and a half years at Westminster, but to gain further experience in the pedagogy field, she is working with the choirs and some individual students at Pottsgrove. Ms. Church has always wanted to have a voice studio, and possibly conduct her own choir. This internship is...

Mazeppa at the Met Opera

(Sarah Materniak) — Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 PST

This semester, I attended the Metropolitan Opera House’s production of Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa. The entirety of my experience can be summed up with a simple statement, “Even the Met makes mistakes!” More often than not, young singers view the Metropolitan Opera house as their own personal golden calf, a glorified idol to be worshipped, incapable of doing wrong. But, this production of Mazeppa would have made even the most inexperienced of young singer squirm uneasily in their bright red theater chair. The problem was blatantly evident early on when the soprano Olga Guryakova (Maria) began to sing. The audience could see...

La Forza del Destino at the Metropolitan Opera

(Carly Rapaport-Stein, Travis Sherwood) — Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 PST

A night at the Metropolitan Opera should be a night to remember. The gorgeous, imposing marble, red, and gold foyer is enough to put us in a mood of awe and anticipation, delighted for the impending phenomenal singing. We also might add that previously, every production at the Met that we have attended has been a talking piece for months, as we delight in going over the incredible details of the singing, the music, the acting, and the phenomenal production values. It is with the utmost regret and some disappointment that we write about the recent production of Verdi’s

Beach Books

(Andrew Megill) — Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 PST

As you head off to the nearest bookstore to find the perfect beach read, take along this short list of suggestions from Dr. Andrew Megill MM’89. 1. On Beauty by Zadie Smith (ISBN 1594200637) – a terrific book by one of the great young writers of today Libraries: Moore, Princeton Public Buy Online 2. Late Wife by Claudia Emerson (ISBN 0807130842) – a brilliant book of poetry that just won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature Buy Online 3. The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathon Lethem (ISBN 0375724885)–...

The British Winter

(Matthew Mueller) — Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 PST

There are many joys implied in holding a full-time job. One of these is “continuing education,” in which a certain amount of time and money are made available so that the employee can stay on top of his game. In planning my “continuing education” as a professional Organist and Choirmaster, I toyed with the idea of attending a convention this summer. I even considered spending some time in a Westminster classroom. Finally, I decided to get in touch with the Anglican Heritage – after all, this born-and-bred Presbyterian is now in the employ of the Episcopal Church, and looks to...