ntertainment
Clackamas Prii
Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2005
Gabe Stone
The Clackamas Print
When walking • into Yoko
Miyama’s spacious office in the
Niemeyer Center, one’s eyes don’t
drift to the requisite plain desk or
bookshelf, but instead behold two
striking pianos.
One, a grand piano in every
sense of the word, suggests sounds
of fluidity and enchantment.
“It’s all about the grade,” said
Miyama, commenting on how
professionals choose pianos.
Miyama favors grand pianos over
traditional uprights.
It is Miyama’s first.term at
Clackamas Community College
as a part-time instructor, and she
has enjoyed her time here thus
far.
“I like the facilities. Students are
all hardworking,” said Miyama.
That is high praise coming
from someone with Miyama’s
musical background. Hailing from
near Osaka, Japan, she began for
mal lessons at.the age of four,
Reflecting on. her past, Miyam^
finds that the piano is an essential
part of it
When asked about how long she
has played the piapo, she answers,
“As long as I can remember.”
Miyama has been living in
the United States for 15 years,
initially in Indiana. Her resume
boasts teaching assignments at the
University of Illinois, University
. of the Pacific, and at the University
of Oregon, where she taught for
Gabe Stone Clackamas
Piano instructor Yoko Miyama (center) with students of her Piano for Pleasure (Music-111): (on Miyama’s left) Eric Lay, Isaac Li
(on Miyama’s right) Frances Sanchez, and Matt Binggeli. Miyama is preparing for her doctoral thesis in Piano Performance
four years.
She recently gave students a
taste of what she will be pre
senting in order to receive her
Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano
Performance from the University
of Oregon, regaling them
INTERIOR DESIGN AT MARYLHURST
dKKjü
r
with selections from works by
Beethoven, Chopin and Faure.
Her final recital is similar to a
doctoral dissertation.
When asked about her prepara
tion thus far, she said with a satis
fied weariness, “A .lot of study. A
lot of practice.”
Miyama teaches piano instruc
tion and keyboard skills here at
the college. She gives one-on-one
instruction through the school as
well. This term she is also teach
ing the popular Piano for Pleasure
Charles Dickens' classic corning
Katie, Wilson
Adam J. Manly
The Clackamas Print.
As the holiday season takes
off,
Clackamas
Repertory
Theatre prepares to dazzle audi
ences with their second produc
tion, “A Christmas Carol.”
Running Dec. 8 through 23,
David McCann’s edgy adapta7
tion takes, great care to avoid
departing too far from the clas
sic Dickens tale.
, “It’s what thebook was meant
to be,” said Matt Morrison, who
will portray several characters
in the play, including Jacob
Marley. “All the narration is
verbatim from the book. We’re
literally quoting the book, mak
ing jt applicable to. the sce
nario.”
“‘A Christmas Carol’ is not
really a sentimental story,”
added CRT manager Cynthia
Smith-English. “It’s a ghost
story. Kind of scary, but at the
end warm-hearted.”
The play will be directed
by Karlyn Love, who teach
es drama at Oregon City High
School. Morrison says that
Love’s approach to the play,
while different from the stan
dard approach of Clackamas’
Drama Instructor David Smith-
English, works perfectly.
“[Love] is also a choreogra
pher,” said Morrison. “And with
10 people on stage at the same
time, you have to be very detail-
VISUAL, TACTILE, KINETIC, PHYSICAL
Color
Texture
Light
Fabric
Carpet
Wallpaper
Concrete
Wood
* Metal
Paint
Glass
Blueprints *
CAD drawing
Drafting
Design Process
Furnishings
Windows .
Walls
Lighting
Floors
Ceilings
Hardware
Year-Round Admission
• Scholarships for transfer students
• Small seminar-style classes
To work with an advisor, e-mail studentinfo@marylhurst.edu
’or call 503.699.6268.
★ US News & World Report BEST COLLEGES 2006
"Number one in the Northwest for small classes"
MARYLHURST UNIVERSITY
JUST 10 MINUTES SOUTH OF PORTLAND
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accredited
17600 PACIFIC HIGHWAY (HWY. 43) MARYLHURST, OREGON
Serving students since 1893.
www.marylhurst.edu 800.634.9982 .
class, substituting for facJ
member Naomi LaViolette wha
currently on maternity leave. I
With her consummate work
a professional pianist, she shoi]
serve Jo make a walk tbroii
Niemeyer that much more low
oriented to know where pea
are and where they shouldbi
that it doesn’t look like a tn
wreck.”
The look of the play will
somewhat minimalist. With!
an extravagant set built!
stage, “A Christmas Carol’’!
rely more on the talented eil
person cast, who weave ini
out of multiple characters !
narrator roles.
. “It’s good to work with pl
pie who haye been doing this!
a long time,” Morrison said, I
anybody was gone, the whi
thing would not work.”
. More information on I
show, including ticket prill
can be found by browsing CM
website at www2.clackail
edu/crt/index.asp.
Local MC Village Elliot disappoints
Jimi McDonnell
The Clackamas Print
Portland’s underground rap
scene has expanded over the
past few years, going from
almost non-existent to a . quite
extensive list of MCs doing
what they call “their thang.”
To á lot of people, “doing
your thing,” or “thang,” means
creating original music and
busting ass to promote it. But
to some jt means taking every
MCs style admirable, putting
them all, together and mak
ing some grade-A biter music.
That’s what local MC Village
Elliot’s promo disc sounds like.
As a rapper, I am the first to
cringe at the idea of shooting
down a local artist and giving
him a bad review - or in the
hip-hop world “no love” - but
this time I feel I have no other
choice but serve the community
and let them know there is a
fake MC among us. '
A friend of mine compared
Elliot to “Bubba Sparx and
Necro.”
Necro is a grimy New York
MC and producer who is hard
as hell and doesn’t worry about
anything he says. Elliot’s deliv
ery and voice sounds influenced
by Necro.
Bubba Sparks, on the other
hand, is just a fat southern sell
out rapping about bling, rings
and other irrelevant things.
Mix ‘em together and you have
Village Elliot.
Sitting with the crew bud
ing to this product of Portia!
underground, Village Ell]
promo, we all simply laughed
Song after song, from
intro to the bonus track,
sucked. But hats off to Elliott
wasn’t the worst.
He starts his promotion I
with an intro downing his oj
name and sort of punking w
self, a typical tactic found
many weak MC’s today. “I I
myself, blah, blah, blah, I
me, blah, blah, buy my recol
blah.”
So if anyone has a thirst!
underground Portland rap, bj
ing a copy of Village Elll
music will not satisfy, unll
you’re an idiot.