Browsing: Arts and Entertainment

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.

Pianist Helge Antoni, an Exclusive Steinway Artist from Malmö, Sweden, will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10 in Roxy Grove Auditorium.

The recital, Inspiración Latina, will feature the music of composers Scarlatti, Albeniz, Turina, de Falla, Villa-Lobos, Ginastera and Piazzolla.

The student-organized ensemble Renew Music Group will offer audience members a different experience not typically heard in the School of Music at its upcoming concert.

“This sort of thing hasn’t really happened at Baylor in a long time,” said Mark Utley, Fredricksberg senior and percussionist in the group.

The concert will take place at 10 p.m. Nov. 6 in Jones Concert Hall in the Glennis McCrary Music Building.

If you’re like the rest of the world, music is part of your daily routine.

You crank it at the gym. You blare it in the car. You hum along to it while boiling pasta for dinner.

You can’t imagine life without music. But are you hearing it?

Bond Girls are known for being symbols of beauty, class and style, so it’s no surprise that actress Berenice Marlohe has taken on the role. She plays Severine in the upcoming 23rd James Bond film, “Skyfall,” slated for release Nov. 9.

You find yourself in a dark forest, with only a flashlight and a cheap camera to chronicle your experience. You begin walking through the forest, the only noise being the gravelly sounds of your footsteps as you venture deeper and deeper into darkness.

Approaching a makeshift tunnel, you notice something that shouldn’t be there. A white piece of scratch paper taped to the inside wall. Picking it up you can see what it says with help from the flashlight.

“DON’T LOOK… OR IT TAKES YOU.”

Coming from a place of pain and brokenness may be enough to cripple the average person, but Christian singer and songwriter Kyle Sherman has responded to difficult times in life by calling out to God through his music.

Sherman’s debut studio album, “Hear Me,” was released Oct. 7.

A decade after George Lucas said “Star Wars” was finished on the big screen, a new trilogy is destined for theaters as The Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday that it was buying Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4.05 billion.

The seventh movie, with a working title of “Episode 7,” is set for release in 2015. Episodes 8 and 9 will follow. The new trilogy will carry the story of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia beyond “Return of the Jedi,” the third film released and the sixth in the saga. After that, Disney plans a new “Star Wars” movie every two or three years. Lucas will serve as creative consultant in the new movies.

The full-band stylings of Lomelda echoed through the auditorium of University Baptist Church on Friday, with front-woman Hannah Read delivering a solid performance, according to those in attendance.

Lomelda, which started as a solo project by Read, has expanded to a huge local following over the past five years. Their music, which could be called a mellow, harmonic sound, had the audience in awe at the CD release show.

“I thought it was a really cool experience to have such an intimate show with all the instruments put together,” said Corpus Christi freshman Jeaneva Alvarez, who attended the show.

Wednesday’s annual Halloween organ concert will be a different way to spend the holiday and is likely to change some people’s perceptions of the instrument.

“When people think of organ they think of two things: They think of church music and they think of scary spooky,” said Isabelle Demers, assistant professor of organ at Baylor.

Demers, who has only taught at Baylor since the beginning of the year, said she thinks the spooky organ sounds people are used to hearing, such as in film scores, are often synthesized and usually don’t do the real thing justice. She said the organ should be experienced in a hall.

It’s funny how the beloved movies of one’s less politically correct youth turn out to have a lot more edge to them once you show them to your own kids. “Back to the Future” has more sexuality than you remember, and little blasts of profanity. “Adventures in Babysitting,” “Bad News Bears” and “Goonies,” even more.

Housed in a shabby little building at 1815 N. 18th St., Kitok is one of Waco’s more unconventional restaurant options. The mixture of American and Korean cuisine has earned quite the reputation among Wacoans who can look past the first impression.

Taylor Swift’s fourth studio effort, “Red,” makes a statement as bold as its namesake color: As Swift matures into a woman, her talent is here to stay.

With an eclectic mix of radio-ready pop songs, twangy country tunes and heartbreaking ballads, Swift proves her range both lyrically and musically.

Although she teamed up with several co-writers for this album, the lyrics are still signature Swift.

As an avid horror movie fan, I was eager for the release of the newest “Paranormal Activity.”

“Paranormal Activity 4” is the latest film in the “Activity” series, and many had hyped it up to be a good one.

I excitedly waited several months in hopes of leaving Waco’s Starplex Cinema startled at every shadow and wary to hang out with any people named Toby.

Layne Lynch, the only returning Uproar Artist from the 2011-2012 school year, is determined to hit the ground running this year.

“I was really shocked and also just really grateful,” Lynch said. “I felt really cool and really honored. I want to do this with my life, so I was really excited to be certain that I could use this year to focus to the best of my abilities on music.”

Lynch is unsure of what exactly would classify her genre.

Few Baylor students have frequented the family-owned café in Hewitt, The Mix Gifts and Café, but a new expansion that includes a coffee shop and food truck on Speight will be hard to miss.

The food truck, Street Eats, is currently open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday on the corner of Speight and 14th Street, and will continue the tradition of the Hewitt café’s famous French style quiches, sandwiches, soups and homemade desserts.

The Derivatives, chosen for representation by Uproar Records this year, will blow up the stage with their unique full band atmosphere.

Composed of Spring junior Tyler Reno on rhythm guitar and vocals, Plano senior Reece Beall on drums, Missouri City senior Jake Barr on saxophone, Fair Oaks Ranch senior Trey Hampton on keys, Waco freshman David Rosenbaum on bass, and managed by Edina, Minn., junior Nash Peterson, delivers a unique sound that distinguishes them from other Uproar artists.

Everybody knows the three certainties of life — death, taxes and speed traps.

But it has become apparent that a fourth certainty must be added to that list.

I am speaking, of course, of the certainty of more “Taken” movies in our future.

While voice acting may be a niche form of acting in the real world, it thrives on the internet with such websites as the Voice Acting Alliance and the Voice Acting Club.

On the Voice Acting Alliance website, users can become a member of an interactive community where not everyone has to be talented with their voice. There are writers, actors, producers and musicians with a common goal to have fun while doing what they love. When you become a member, you can choose to audition for original audio or visual productions, or projects that are associated with a pre-existing medium of art, often called fan productions.

When you mix an atmospheric sound, origami and a dynamic duo, you get Dreamboat.

Composed of Boerne junior Tessa Gaston and Castle Kirk, also of Boerne, Dreamboat is one of the musical acts chosen by Uproar Records for representation in the 2012-2013 year. However, they are determined to make sure that they stand out among the crowd.

For those tired of the monotony of the city’s limited breakfast spots, Waco’s newest restaurant, The Egg & I, will offer an eccentric home-style breakfast and lunch spot.

The restaurant, set to open Monday, will serve interesting additions to the typical egg and sausage breakfast with vegetables such as asparagus, avocados and artichokes, breaking from the typical Texas breakfast with a healthier side.

It’s time to tidy up your room.

This weekend is Parents and Family Weekend, which means that campus will be filled to the brim with both seasoned veterans of the event, as well as first-time families of freshmen. The question to ask is “What is there to do in Waco, both on and off-campus?”

Baylor’s annual variety show, After Dark, will be held tonight in Waco Hall. Artistic talents that have been practiced for weeks will be displayed for all to see.

Out of more than 70 talents who auditioned, there were 13 acts chosen to participate, a difficult decision according to Cheryl Mathis, the assistant director of campus programs.