Browsing: Music

Nothing consumes and defines Baylor life in the spring semester so much as All-University Sing, a marathon of Broadway-style shows put on by Sing Alliance, Baylor Chamber of Commerce and various Greek organizations every year in front of family and alumni from all over the country as part of a 61-year tradition.

When the curtain rises, all the audience sees is the glare of stage lights against dramatic make-up, flashy costumes and newly painted props. This year, 18 acts are performing, including paired acts and Sing Alliance, which consists of students who are not involved in Greek organizations but still want to participate.

I’ve seen a lot of Sing acts — 6 or 7 years’ worth of them to be precise. I have a very strong idea about what makes a “good” Sing act. I look at song choice, creativity, story, execution and, to an extent, cleverness. I appreciate novelty and new-ness, as well as risk-taking. I’m going to try to reward acts when they are good, but I’m not going to hesitate to criticize them when they miss opportunities (or notes during a solo). This year, we will be working on a 5-point-scale. A 5 is near perfection and a 1 is barely showing up. Since Chamber is actually competing this year, no zeroes will be given.

Prosecutors have asked a judge to revoke Chris Brown’s probation, saying there is no credible evidence he completed his community service sentence for beating Rihanna, and citing several other incidents they say point to anger management issues.

The motion, filed Tuesday by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, focuses heavily on issues with Brown’s community labor in Virginia, citing numerous discrepancies and claiming the R&B singer was essentially unsupervised.

Few lips in 2013 have been as scrutinized as Beyonce Knowles’. On Sunday evening during the Super Bowl halftime show, while the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers were recovering from an hour of head-bashing action, Knowles’ lips and the ringing, pitch-perfect voice behind them were the focus of a national drama that had unfolded in the weeks prior.

There’s a new group in town among the many vocal ensembles here at Baylor. They’re called VirtuOso and it looks like they’re here to stay.

The group was first started by Dr. Aaron Hufty, lecturer of music, in the fall 2012 semester. Hufty also directs the Baylor Women’s Choir and teaches Choral Conducting, Applied Conducting and Introduction to Music as well as VirtuOso.

The new “Star Wars” director J.J. Abrams is.

Disney and Lucasfilm announced Saturday that J. J. Abrams will direct the new “Star Wars Episode VII”. Abrams is best known for his involvement in television shows, including “Lost” and “Felicity,” both of which he co-created. He has also directed films such as “Super 8,” “Star Trek” and “Mission Impossible III.”

By Rebecca Fiedler Reporter This week, the story of “Dialogues of the Carmelites,” an opera by Francis Poulenc, will unravel…

Watch out, Wild West — Melody Ranch is back in action as Waco’s largest country dance hall.

The Melody Ranch, located off the traffic circle on Robinson Drive, reopened this month after a nearly 13-year hiatus.

The Ranch first opened in 1972 and brought in large crowds for big-name artists, including George Strait, Willie Nelson and Tim McGraw, who played at the Ranch early in their careers.

All is not lost for the Hippodrome.

A development company has big plans to renovate and manage the once great movie theater that hosted everything from Broadway plays to silent film to children’s shows.

The Hippodrome, located at 724 Austin Ave., has received $423,900 in Tax Increment Financing zone funds approved by the Waco City Council last week. The council approved $1.4 million total in downtown renovations including the Hippodrome.

It’s that time of year where the countdown to spring break is what most students have to look forward to. The same goes for the Baylor A Cappella Choir.

This semester marks the choir’s 4th concert tour conducted by Dr. Alan Raines, associate professor of ensembles and director of choral activities. Raines is also the Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Music.

They can be found walking around college campuses in their vintage clothes, listening to the strange music of obscure artists through their headphones.

Many people follow their style precedent, yet many find them too egotistical to stand. They are hipsters, and they are taking America’s thrift shops and record stores by storm.

A small group of people is trying to change Waco’s image in the music and film world.

The group is Waco Arts-Media and their event is the Waco Independent Media Expo.

Baylor University sees its share of talent come and go as it often hosts famous guests, and it will uphold that legacy by hosting critically acclaimed pianist, Joyce Yang.

Yang will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Roxy Grove Hall, as part of the Lyceum series. Yang will be treating audience members to a plethora of musical pieces, from works of Chopin and Beethoven to George Gershwin’s “The Man I Love.”

Yang’s concert is free and open to the public.

America’s Got Talent television program will hold auditions Saturday and Sunday in San Antonio at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention…

Despite Baylor’s place in Waco, there could not be a further distance between the two in terms of the live music scene.

Or so it seems.

With the exception of perhaps pop singer Kelly Clarkson, no “American Idol” graduate has had as much career quality control and album-making vision as 29-year-old Carrie Underwood.

She knew she was a country star since before her 2005 season on the show, and this has allowed her to focus — on her image, as an elegant, beautiful Faith Hill successor; on her songwriting, which relies on subtle detail and classy metaphors; and, most of all, on her singing, which can both hammer a high note and draw out a nuance.

With the exception of perhaps pop singer Kelly Clarkson, no “American Idol” graduate has had as much career quality control and album-making vision as 29-year-old Carrie Underwood.

She knew she was a country star since before her 2005 season on the show, and this has allowed her to focus — on her image, as an elegant, beautiful Faith Hill successor; on her songwriting, which relies on subtle detail and classy metaphors; and, most of all, on her singing, which can both hammer a high note and draw out a nuance.

Common Grounds live event coordinator and musician Wes Butler lets the Lariat in on the secrets to success at CG’s rapidly growing backyard stage presence.

From the details on what exactly Butler looks for in an artist to the gigs CG is working on bringing to us next year, Butler reveals the details of CG’s backyard.

Stephen Heyde is the conductor of the Baylor Symphony Orchestra and the Waco Symphony Orchestra and is a prominent figure in the School of Music.

Sitting down with him, the Lariat learned about his views on the progression and future of music, as well as its role in peoples’ lives.

The Rocket Summer, the stage name for solo artist Bryce Avary, is the prime definition of a self-made musician.

Getting the name of the solo project from a chapter title of Ray Bradbury’s “The Martian Chronicles,” Avary has been recording and performing since age 12.

Sitting down with Avary before a recent performance in Waco Hall, the Lariat learned more about Avary’s entry into the music scene and his life experiences so far.

Baylor has a rich musical scene, and it’s about to get even richer with the third annual JaZZ and StanZaZ show tonight.

The show, hosted by the Zeta Phi Beta sorority and Diverse Verses Poetry group, will be held from 6:20 to 9 p.m. in the Bill Daniel Student Center Den.

Performances will include song and spoken word poetry selections by Baylor students from a variety of backgrounds.

A 2,500 year old Eurepides classic is getting a steampunk makeover in the Baylor Theatre’s production of “Hecuba,” showing nightly until the weekend.

The show itself was truly a work of art. From the beginning to the end, the actors and actresses, including Michael Griffin as Polydorus and Nellsyn Hill as Hecuba, helped bring the performance to life through pure emotion.

Though the story contains historical elements, Waco graduate student and director Christopher Peck says the play speaks for itself.

Today’s Baylor Symphony Orchestra concert will shine the spotlight on one of the School of Music’s outstanding student musicians.

Ricardo Hamaury Gómez, winner of the 2012 Baylor Concerto Competition, will perform Hungarian composer Béla Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2 today at 7:30 p.m. in Jones Concert Hall in the Glennis McCrary Music Building.

Uproar Concert Promotions, an organization that is branching off of student-run record company Uproar Records, is launching its first show this week.

The Rocket Summer, a one-man band started by Bryce Avary, will perform in Waco Hall this Thursday, with both David Dulcie and Layne Lynch opening. Lynch shares an interesting connection with Avary.

Contestants of the 12th annual Miss Phi Iota Alpha scholarship pageant will showcase brains and beauty at 7 p.m. this Saturday in Waco Hall.

Pageant vice president David Luna says that they try to make every year better than the last, with more contestants and more money.

Located on a street once ravaged by prostitutes and drugs in a low-income, low-education area, Mission Waco’s Jubilee Theater and World Cup Café offer a ray of hope to a neighborhood that most people often avoid.

Country singer Sammy Kershaw is thankful to be alive after his tour bus was struck by another vehicle.
It happened Friday in Nocona, Texas. The impact caused major damage to the bus, and the car was totaled.

Sure, Carrie Underwood might have lost out to brassy spitfire Miranda Lambert at the 46th Country Music Association Awards in Nashville last week. But the host – who pulled off the duty for a fifth time with fellow country star Brad Paisley – is reveling in all the attention the genre is currently getting.

The Waco Symphony Orchestra’s “A Salute to Sgt. Pepper!” concert on Thursday night is sure to be nostalgic for some and perhaps novel for others.

The concert will commemorate the 45th anniversary of The Beatles’ eighth studio album, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” which was released on June 1, 1967.

Rolling Stone magazine ranks the album No. 1 on its “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list, saying, “‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ is the most important rock and roll album ever made…by the greatest rock and roll group of all time.”

Rock band No Doubt quickly found itself in hot water after releasing a new video last week for the song “Looking Hot,” which featured an Old West theme and singer Gwen Stefani in Native American-style clothing and taking part in native rituals.

At 5 p.m. today the bells in the belfry of Pat Neff Hall will knell as part of the homecoming festivities.

Lynnette Geary, resident carillonneur (pronounced CARE-uh-lahn-oo-er), and one of her students, junior from Spring, Texas, Jonathan Castillo, will perform the annual homecoming carillon recital.

Geary said she’s lost track of how many years she’s been performing this recital now, but she’d guess at least 16.