Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 13, 1981)
‘Oh Magnum Mysterium’ embellishes stairwell By JIM GERSBACH 01 the Emerald The PLC stairwell is ugly. The steps are a cold gray, the dirty walls a sickly cream color. But Thursday morning something beautiful happened there. On the first floor landing, four singers from the music school cleared their throats of the stairwell dust and performed ‘‘Oh Magnum Mysterium” by the 16th- century composer Tomas Luis de Victoria. The singers were testing the acoustics in the stairwell that attracts a parade of amateur musicians, whis tlers and singers. Most are drawn, no doubt, by the irresistible silence. Even tone-deaf students can’t resist humming in the caverns of Chapman, Condon, Science II or Lawrence Being surrounded by your own voice is mesmerizing, and empty stairwells are protectively private. The same anonymity that inspires graffiti artists tempts potentially great tenors to flex their vocal chords. And cement doesn’t snicker. Neither do the tiles in the men's shower room in Esslinger Hall, also an excellent place for singing, says mu sic student Ray Morse. The room's smooth walls and large size “make you sound good," he says. But the PLC stairwell doesn’t fare as well in comparison. It sounds slightly harsh because it's so closed in, Morse says. But the reverberation there en hances the music “so it really balances the harshness caused by the relatively small space,” he adds. The result is PLC is “a fun place to sing." It certainly was for Morse and Julie Vander Schaaf, Sonja Rasmussen and Scott Manton, the four music school singers. While fluorescent lights hummed like wasps, the singers’ voices rever berated off the smooth walls and shot upward through the nine-story stair shaft. Somewhere above the singers’ heads a door squeaked open, sound ing like a great Medieval church door. When the doors shut, they sounded like cannon shots. Midway through the impromptu performance, a professor walked in. Momentarily startled to see four faces intently offering up Latin hymns, he instinctively ducked and sneaked past, taking stairs two at a time At the top, the wafting voices sounded like a musical wind from a cave. Is this how the voices of choirs sound to God in Heaven? Vander Schaaf thought not. “It’s sort of like singing in the shower.” Along with our typesetting service, we also do paste-up and photo work (screening photos, enlargements, reductions, toned screens and reversals). For more information, call 686-4381 or come up to the Production Department of the ODE on the third floor of the EMU. STRETCH YOUR TRAVEL DOLLARS TO EURGPE Contact EUGENE TRAVEL for details 687-2825 Be a part of the committee that spends your incidental fees. Run for IFC For more information come to Suite 4, EMU or call 686-3724. Successful Careers Don't Just Happen At the Institute for Paralegal Training we have prepared over 4,000 college graduates for careers in law, business and finance. After just three months of intensive training, we will place you in a stimulating and challenging position that offers professional growth and expanding career opportunities. As a Legal Assistant you will do work traditionally performed by attorneys and other professionals in law firms, corporations, banks, government agencies and insurance companies. Furthermore, you will earn graduate credit towards a Master of Arts in Legal Studies through Antioch School of Law for all course work completed at The Institute. We are regarded as the nation’s finest and most prestig ious program for training legal specialists for law firms, business and finance. But, as important as our academic quality is our placement result. The Institute’s placement service will find you a job in the city of your choice. If not, you will be eligible for a substantial tuition refund. If you are a senior in high academic standing and looking for the most practical way to begin your career, contact your Placement Office for an interview with our representative. We will visit your campus on: THURSDAY APRIL 9,1981 The Institute for Paralegal Training (Operated by Para-Legal. Inc ) Approved by The American Bar Association Programs Earn Full Credit Toward M.A. in Legal Studies through Antioch School of Law.
