music
Six
and a
half
million
see
uso
group
in concert
(Editor’s Note: Glen Bushey is part of a 15-member University
dramatic group which is touring the Orient for the USO. The group
calls itself "The Celebrities" and their variety show is called “A
Summer Celebration." The tour began June 22 and will end August 15.
This is the first in a series of reports Bushey will write for the Emerald
this summer.)
JULY 2,1973, KOREA — It is very difficult for me to describe fully
the sights, cities, stores, and even the smells that we have met so far.
Our flight from Eugene to Oran, Korea, on June 22 was our first
big adventure. We spent 15 hours in the air, and most of it was over the
ocean. The view, therefore, was not continually captivating.
When we arrived in Korea, we could hardly wait to kick off our
shoes and begin to sample the native food. Unfortunately, on the bus
ride from the airport to our hotel, we were informed that we must
wear shoes at all times, or run the risk of getting worms. We were also
told not to eat any food that wasn’t purchased in a high-quality
restaurant.
For the first two weeks of our tour, we are staying in Seoul, Korea.
This is the 11th largest city in the world and has a population of almost
seven million.
On our first evening in Seoul, we went to a night club. We were all
excited to see live Korean entertainment. The show consisted of a
group of seven Koreans singing country-western music in English.
A small group of Eugeneans
were treated to a selection of
sacred and secular music last
Friday. A performance by the
Bowling Green State University
A Cappella Choir was very well
received by the Eugene audience.
The choir, consisting of 45
members (only 16 of which are
music majors) was so obviously
enthusiastic, any flaws in their
presentation were quickly
forgiven. And. considering tire
circumstances, there were very
few flaws, indeed.
The group is covering 23 states
and two Canadian Provinces
during their 46-day tour. Ac
cording to the choir’s director,
Richard Mathey, the group
had suffered many injuries, some
illnesses, but was “still eager to
sing.”
There is an incredible vocal
range within the group, with bass
soloist Paul Zeit and tenor soloist
Dan Clark each doing
remarkable jobs. A few times
throughout the performance it
became difficult to understand
the lyrics—the sound was still
nice, but it is rather frustrating to
listen to a song and not be able to
hear the words. This, however,
was more a problem of changing
performance halls night after
night, and not having a chance to
adjust to the acoustical dif
ferences, than it was of the
singers themselves.
Director Mathey indicated that
the writers and arrangers of all
the songs being performed were
American. This deliberate, he
said. “We’re doing an
American tour, so we want to do
American music.” The sacred
selections on the program were
very typical arrangements of
some very beautiful pieces, and
the choir did them justice without
exception. One particular piece,
“Praise to God,” was extremely
well done with the use of point
and counter-point harmonizing in
the background giving some very
nice effects.
The secular repertoire was a
little more cm the light side, with
not quite so many outstanding
moments. “In Wonder, Love,
And Praise” was written by
Rebecca Griffin, a sophomore
member of the choir. It was an
excellent piece, but again, the
inability to clearly understand
the lyrics hindered it somewhat.
Most of the secular music was
inocuous, and although well
done, simply did not give the
choir the chance to show the
ability they obviously have. One
particular number. “Ballad for
Americans,” was not part of the
regular program—and should
remain ^as such. The song
praised American liberty, which
is okay, but is somewhat hard to
swallow in face of Watergate.
The song was reminiscent of
something I use to sing in the
third grade, even down to the
part where every one calls out
their “profession” and the men
are all enginers, doctors and
lawyers and the women are
nurses, stenographers and
housewives. It was the only
uninteresting portion of the
evening.
The choir is undoubtably one of
the most talented college choirs
in the nation—and the audience
obviously appreciated it. An
almost spontaneous standing
ovation followed the concert.
Director Mathey then added two
encores—two of the high points of
the evening. The first encore,
“Amen.” ended in the entire
audience joining in the hand
clapping on the chorus. The
second encore, a humorous piece,
was called “No One’s Perfect,” a
funny but unneccessary apology
to the audience for any mistakes
the group had made.
If you ever get a chance to hear
the Bowling Green State A
Cappella Choir you may at first
think, as I did, “This is going to
have to be boring.” But you will
probably be standing along with
everyone else in a standing
ovation at the end of the concert.
Rita Tliomas
This weok there's something for ovoryono at
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Wednesday and Thursday, 11dW a.m., Under-the-Tent
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Most of the singers did not know English, but were able to sing it quite
well with even a little Nashville accent.
The driving custom is unbelievable here. The main streets are
usually four lanes, but they seem to carry seven lanes of traffic. The
great amount of cutting in and out of traffic, and the number of near
accidents would cause most of us to give up driving.
If anyone ever tells you that things are much less expensive in
Korea, believe them. One of the members of the group bought a tailor
made pantsuit, and the entire deal, including material and tailoring,
was $12.
For $2.50 a night, we are staying at a very modern hotel. The
rooms have shag carpeting and even piped-in music. 'Hiey’re even
better than dorm rooms.
Our variety show performances are going great. Our second show
had probably our largest attendance, about six and a half million
people. This may seem exciting, but we were disappointed, because
there was almost no audience reaction. After we taped our show, it
was broadcast over country-wide television.
The city of Seoul has modernized greatly in the last 10 years, but
still a great many of the old buildings and customs are here. This
beautiful blend of the old and new makes this an incredible city.
Coming up: Japan.
Glen Bushey
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TWO DIFFERENT ENTREES NIGHTLY
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1 VEGETARIAN
Entertainment nightly
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Call for Reservations
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