GAMELAN
Continued Irom Page 7
relumed to Eugene in 1980 Eventually the
Lynns were permitted to bring the gamelan to
the United Stales, where they decided to
donate it In the School of Music
While the music is unique, the gamelan
instruments themselves are anything hut
usual A metal xylophone (called Pomade or
lublag). a two-headed drum (Kemiang). nipple
gongs (Xiong). Tibetan cymbals. Chinese bells,
wind chimes in various tunings, African
Cankogui (clapperless bell-like instruments
struck with sticks), several bell trees and even
brake drums are used
Yet, while the concept of the gamelan is
exotic, the music of the Pacific: Kim (iamelan
does not carry an ethnic: slant "What attract
ed me to the group was the fact that they
don't try to play Indonesian music." Trent,
who plays the gongs. said "Unlike a piano
piece where textures can be changed for
instance, we're forced to use rhythm in inter
esting ways with the gamclan "
As a result of the gamelan's creative
demands, the group performs many original
pieces composed by the students themselves
“Rarely do members of an emsemble get
involved to this degree," Scott Barkhurst,
pulilii ity-direi tor for the Si hool of Musk ,
said "Our gamelan community is one-of-a
kind because the members are both com
posers and performers
TUBA
Continued from Page 7
from far ami wide to congregate in the mall, making this tuba
concert one of the country's largest The Eugene branch of the
Oregon Tuba Association, which co-sponsores the concert
with the Downtown Mall, expects as many as 200 tuba players
and an audience of about 2.000
Because this concert is outside, rain or shine, these "heavy
metal" devotees risk more than spraining back muscles while
lugging around their huge instruments For the past 13 years
the weather just has not always cooperated
This poses a problem for both the tubas and their players.
John ('. Huenink. Eugene's Oregon Tuba Association President,
said. He recalled "the year it hailed "
Tu-ba or not tu-ha was the question that year, he said “It
was raining, and we were deliberating whether we should go
outside to do the concert Well, the sun came through, so we
decided to go ahead with it At one o'clock the director gave
the downbeat, and on the first note sleet started pouring down
on us We pist kept going, hut pretty soon the instruments
were gurgling Of course, as soon as the concert was over, the
sleet storm stopped, too."
Some tubas are especially prone to gurgling when it rains.
Gene Slavter explained. One type of tuba, the Baritone, has a
bell — the wide, fluted part of the instrument — that tapers
upward instead of forward Appropriately, these tubas are
called "rain catchers." he said.
But when it's dry and cold, other problems arise, Todd Nix.
a University music major and tuba player, said In this case,
tuba players not only have to deal with heavy metal, but also
cold metal. "Your lips freeze to the mouthpiece and the valves
freeze up And it's also hard to play when your fingers can't
feel what they’re doing." he said He has received the School
of Mush \ Oregon Tuba Association scholarship award for
three years in a row.
Nix has also played in the TubaCarolConcert for the past five
years because he enjoys the "overall fun effect" of the show
Anyone who wants to play is welcome to in this informal gath
ering of tuba buffs What he likes most is that the concert
brings together tulta players ranging from 'as young as age ms
to as old as age 80," he said "We just get out there and have
fun. It's hard to make 200 tubas sound good, but somehow we
do it," he said, adding, "It doesn't matter if you miss a beat
because nobody can tell anyway with that many tubas
It all began with a group of about a dozen tuba players and
has grown, largely from wiml-of-moulh. to the impressive
showcase of tuba talent that the concert now is. said lames
Newell, the business manager of the Oregon Tuba Association
in Eugene and one of the original organizers of the concert He
gradually compiled a mailing list, and now they send out over
1,000 invitations to tuba players that live as far away as
Alaska.
Annual "low blow" concerts are also a nation wide occur
rence On Dec 12. holiday music in low-brass harmony will
also take place from coast to coast in at least l‘l other cities,
Richard Frazier, a music instructor at the University's School
of Music, said But that includes only one da) 's worth of lubn
concerts His list showed .1 total of aluuit lit) such concerts
that will lie held this time of year
But why tubas7
"People think of tubas .is being loud and crass They .11 tuully
have .1 very gentle sound." Frazier said Hut with that many
tubas being played .ill over the country, he said, "It's a wonder
we don 1 blow the Karth oil its axis
Huenmk said the "mellow" sound is especially suited for
holiday musn The effect of so many tubas playing together is
similar to the sound of an organ, he said Also. "The low brass
sound carries for blin ks and blocks lust try that with a hunch
of flutes.” he said
Newell gave 1 different reason, however “John (Huenmk)
thinks that when God created the tuba, he should have |ust
stopped there." he said I he real reason they do this concert,
he said, is bivause "we tuba players are |ust a bunch of hams
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