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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 1999)
UO composer shows passion for music A graduate student expresses elements of nature through music By Erin Snelgrove Oregon Daily Emerald When Daniel Heila observes nature, he doesn’t just see trees and water, he sees music. As a graduate composer for the Oregon Composers Forum, a Uni versity course that offers profes sional composition experience, Heila is learning the tools needed to develop his craft. He learns how to prepare for concerts and perform the administrative tasks involved with performing. Heila, a flutist, performed with six other graduate students Feb. 16 at Beall Hall. Each presented his or her own compositions. The forum is a group of gradu ate composers that organize four concerts a year, work with musi cians and do occasional presen tations. Heila said his music is a full time job. But it is not the forum experi ence that fuels his passion. Absorbing what he sees in his day-to-day existence, Heila uses music to express his feelings about culture and environment. “To remain sane, I had to ad dress this passion," he said. “It’s one of the ways I make sense out of things.” Heila is unable to separate music from life. Every scene he encounters — from a lake to a wedding—gives him ideas for compositions. Whether consciously or uncon sciously, every moment has the potential to be inspirational. “When I’m not composing, I’m writing down my thoughts or shaping ideas in my head,” Heila said. “I don’t think of my composing as a career. I didn’t Amanda Cowan/Emerald Student composer Daniel Heila (left) and a University ensemble will perform his piece, ‘Me, His Idea,’ at an upcoming concert. choose it. It chose me.” Heila’s inspiration stems from more than just visual experi ences. The sounds of nature have continually played an important role in his compositions. From the time he was a child, even the most seemingly ordinary scenes had extra significance. “When I was a kid, I liked swimming in a particular area of a creek and ducking behind wa terfalls,” Heila said. “The waterfalls would be in front of me, and I would stand there, listening to the sound. It was so exquisite I could only stand it for a little while.” Elements of nature have contin ued to play an important role in Heila’s adulthood. A memory of a wedding reception, in particular, was an unforgettable experience. Late into the evening during the reception, Heila and some of his friends went down to the lake and sat on the dock. They heard what they thought was rain, but because the sky was clear, the ori gin of the sound was a mystery. “We realized the sound had been fish sucking at insect eggs at the surface of the water,” Heila said. “For me, it was a moving experience, and I wanted to draw something out of that. ” Bemie Sherr, the director of the composing forum in which Heila is enrolled, recognizes that much of Heila’s inspiration comes from the environment. “Dan has a deep connection with nature,” Sherrsaid. “He sees these things visually, and he trans lates that imagery into sound. ” Although Heila works with many styles and formats, he struggles with deciding whether his works should have meaning. He said his music represents mutual experiences and he hopes his audience will be able to understand that. “I hope that if anyone is in spired by my music that they would try to achieve the same kind of integrity that I look for in my life,” Heila said “I’d also want them to be able to find their own original voice — what they truly are instead of what society has pressured them to become.” f CRIME [WATCH {Reported from Feb. 9 to Feb. 12) ■ Feb. 9, Theft 1,1100 block of Franklin Boulevard, Lawrence Hall: items taken. ■ Feb. 9, Theft It, 1400 blot* of Moss Street, Bean Complex: bike stolen. ■ Feb. 10, Shoplifting II, 200 block of East 13th Avenue, Circle K: items stolen. ■ Feb. 10, Reckless Burning, 1300 block of Agate Street: posters burned. ■ Feb. 12, Trespass II and Un lawful Possession of a Con trolled Substance, 1400 block of Moss Street, Hamilton Complex: transient in the building with LSD. ■ Feb. 14, Missing Vehicle, 2900 block of Willamette Street: vehicle taken. News Brief Career Center to hold interview workshop The Career Center is holding a workshop on interviewing skills to day from 1p.m. to 3 p.m. at the EMU Multicultural Center at the EMU. This is the second of three workshops hosted by the Career Center that targets students of col or and leaders of ethnic student unions. The mock interviews that will occur are an opportunity for students to practice their inter viewing skills with professionals from the Eugene community. The mock interviews will be taped so students can evaluate their skills. For more information, contact Pam Howard, multicul tural affairs liaison, at 346-6040. HOPE PHOTOGRAPHS January 13 ~ March 7, X999 Musi-vcnings! \\» iliu sil.n |, hm.ii\ | . | ')•)•) / /(’/>i1 I'hoiogriiphs la uuv In la ry loaltaiu'ia. au.unrol photographs', I’ortlaiul An Museum. Don’t just spend your summer. Invest it. classes • workshops • mini-courses OSU Summer Session offers more than 400 courses in 70 departments. So, if you're home for the summer, take a course you haven’t been able to get, lighten your load before next fall, or get a jump on graduation! And for nonresidents there are no out-of-state fees. Call us for a free Summer Bulletin. It’s a good investment. 800-375-9359 541-737-1470 osu.orst.edu/dept/summer summer OREGON STATE U rt i v $sjr i i I y Open minds. Open doors.™ The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Mon day through Friday during the school year and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Dally Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University ot Oregon. Eugene. Oregon. A member of the Associated Press, the Emerald operates in dependently of the University with offices in Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private property. The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law. NEWSROOM — S46-SS11 Editor in chief: Ryan Frank Managing Editor Kristina Rudinskas Community: Mike Hines, editor Felicity Ayles, Amy Jennaro Entertainment Mike Burnham, editor. Amy Boytz Freelance: Ashley Bach, editor Higher Education: Teri Meeuwsen, editor G. Jaros, Tricia Schwennesen In-depth: Nicole Gallon, David Ryan Penpecthra: Kameron Cole. Stetanie Knowtton, editors. Aaron Altman, Amy Goldhammer, Vince Medeiros, Ashley Bach, columnists Brian Dixon, Giovanni Salimena, illustrators Student Activities: Sarah Skidmore, editor, Jason George, James Scripps, Erin Snelgrove Sports Joel Hood, editor, Rob Moseley, asst, editor. Tim Pyle, Scott Pesznecker, Allison Ross Copy Desk: Jennifer Shinen, Rich Dirks, copy chiefs. Emily Aanderud, Jacquelyn Bayonne, Monica Hande, Stephen Palermini News Ait Matt Garton, editor. 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