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arts & culture
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KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, JAN. 21, 2016
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Household issues require attention. Stick close to home today and tomorrow. Group bears bear fruit. Others tell you what to change. Pay bills and get organized. Prioritize tasks. Clear space for new endeavors. Clean and beautify.
fabulous impression.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Get out of the house today and tomorrow. Spread your wings. Study and practice, then you are on. There's not a moment to lose. Move quickly, complete the task and make more money. You're making
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
More income is possible today and tomorrow. Here's where you start making profits. Stick to budget. Gather as
to your budget. Gather as much you can. You're very persuasive. Clear confusion before proceeding. Don't overdo a good thing.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
You're reaching your stride today and tomorrow. Personal matters need attention. You
know you can do what's needed. You're getting more sensitive. Keep negativity from your conversations. Be patient with complainers. Conditions are changing in your favor.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
It's easier to finish old projects today and tomorrow. Consider the underlying philosophy.
Reminisce with old photos and items from the past. Allow time for private self-exam-
time for private self-examination. Slow down and contemplate. Don't make any
mplate. Don't make any investments yet.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Friends are a big help over the next few days. Circle up and share ideas and delicious flavors. Make community wishes and goals. Don't get stopped by past failures. Choose your
direction and go for it.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
You're attracting the attention of an important person. Save sham.
sharp comments for later. Abandon old fears. Plan for two days in the spotlight. This could be a test. Take on new responsibilities. Smile and
wave.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
The next two days are good for expanding your territory.
Begin an adventurous phase,
and see what you can discover.
Build on what you knew. Dig into the background materials
for illumination.
21)
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec.
Handle financial errands and management over the next couple of days. A lack of funds could threaten your plans. Take care not to provoke jealousies. Pay bills before spending on frills. Balance accounts.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan.
(9)
The next two days are good for negotiations and compromise in a partnership. Refine the plan. Adjust to the needs and demands of others. Resist temptation. You don't need all justices and halls.
those whistles and bells.
Music in Focus: professor's world travels aid his direction of African Drum Ensemble
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Business is booming today and tomorrow. Be polite, even in the bustling chaos. Take care not to double-book Work out details. Emotions center on money, but cash may not be the core issue.
Provide great service.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Play the most fun game you know over the next two days.
Expand into a new direction.
Flirt with someone attractive.
Talk about your favorite obsessions.
Take time for love.
The best things in life are free.
> COURTNEY BIERMAN
@courtbierman
Professor Dylan Bassett has been all over the world to study percussion. When he thinks of his travels, there's one trip to Western Africa he said he remembers fondly, even though it may not sound like a dream vacation.
"Once I spent six hours traveling to a festival in a remote area of Senegal with a group of drummers. Eight of us were crammed into a Toyota Corolla," Bassett said. "Several times we realized that we had taken a wrong turn when the road disappeared. It was totally worth the trip. The festival was a blast to play for."
Bassett is the director and founder of the University's African Drum Ensemble (ADEKU). ADEKU is a student organization that works "to provide a venue for KU and the greater Lawrence community to create a drumming community and learn to play traditional West African rhythms," according to its page on Rock Chalk Central.
Founded in 2007 through the African Studies Center, ADEKU plays shows at various events around campus, such as last month's annual Dance Marathon fundraiser for the Children's Miracle Network, which Bassett admitted is his favorite event of the year.
Somewhere between 20-30 members rehearse Thursday evenings for 21/2 hours. No prior experience is necessary to join.
The ensemble's repertoire includes music from the ancient Mali Empire, today encompassing parts of Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone, Cote D'Ivoire and Burkina Faso. The group uses instruments
such as the djembe, dunun and dijabara.
The syncopated, layered music of Western Africa is responsible for the creation of much of the popular music in the Western Hemisphere, particularly blues, jazz and rock.
"Music is used to bring people together. Music is used to celebrate and rejoice," Bassett said. "This is very similar to how we use music in the U.S. One thing that is different is the bands that are made up solely of drummers. People will drum and dance for hours at festivals, and many songs will be sung, all without any pitched instruments. That certainly is not a familiar scene in the U.S."
Sophomore jazz studies major Donovan Miller joined ADEKU last semester at Bassett's suggestion. Unfamiliar with West African percussion, Miller said he's enjoyed learning about the music of other cultures and the skills it has brought to his own playing.
"We're playing all kinds of different instruments that I've never really played before so it's just a lot of fun to learn a different type of style," Miller said. "Plus, it really has transferred to playing on the drum set, which is really fun for me because I can do so many other things on the kit that I wasn't able to do before."
An older brother, who is also a percussionist, taught Bassett basic drumming skills when he was a child in Boulder, Colo. Bassett began to pursue drumming more persistently after he attended a music festival during a trip to New Orleans, continuing to play in various groups throughout junior high and high school.
But his interests until college were mostly focused on Western drumming
styles, particularly rock and jazz. His tastes expanded when a professor played him a track by musician Mustapha Tettey Addy and he "loved the sound."
"World percussion styles along with my drum set, became my primary interest," Rossett said.
Bassett was first hired by the University in 2007 to direct ADEKU and has been a lecturer since 2011 after receiving a Master of Arts in Global and International Studies with emphasis in West African percussion from the University.
He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Missouri State. Bassett has also attended numerous workshops and seminars in Western Africa under respected percussionists such as Mamady Keita and Mustapha Tettey Addy.
"One thing that has really stood out is the kindness of the master percussionists that I have been lucky enough to study with," Bassett said. "They have shared their music openly, very happy that I was going to share it with others as well. One of my favorite teachers said that 'music knows no borders.' That, for me, is one of the most beautiful things about music."
In addition to his work with ADEKU, Bassett offers private lessons on a variety of percussion instruments, and he drums in various bands in Lawrence. His group SUNU just released an album titled "Food, Inc.," available for download.
SUNU will also perform at Lawrence's Jazzhaus Feb. 6. Anyone interested in joining the African Drum Ensemble may do so during the first two weeks of the semester and contact Bassett for more information at dbassett@ku.edu.
Dylan Bassett with a diembe drum
Kelcie Matousek/Kansan
KU professor's "Strawberry Fields" opens this weekend
SAMANTHA SEXTON
@SamBiscuit
The University opera "Strawberry Fields" will open in Murphy Hall this weekend based on a memorial for the fallen Beatles member John Lennon.
It is inspired by a certain place in Central Park, situated directly across from the Dakota Apartments,
where John Lennon lived and was murdered. Lennon's partner Yoko Ono bought that space and named it Strawberry Fields.
In the University opera, the curtains open with an elderly lady entering the scene, who envisions the people around her as players in an opera.
Suddenly, the woman is swept up in the drama as
The University Opera's "Strawberry Fields" opens Jan. 21 Contributed
Contributed
While the drama plays out, the old woman, happy to have been a part of the performance, dies contented. This is the story of Strawberry Fields. It's the very story that Joyce Castle, opera singer and University professor, has decided to tell at her Distinguished Professor's Inaugural Lecture on Jan. 21. Castle is also directing and starring in both of the School of Music's productions of "Strawberry Fields" on Jan. 22 and Jan. 24.
"I was asked to give a lecture, so what's an opera singer going to do? Sing," Castle said. "I had this opera that I had done before and was around 35 minutes so I thought it would work perfectly."
Castle has a first-hand knowledge of the opera having performed the piece when it was first produced in 1999 with the Glimmerglass Opera Company in upstate New York.
her son and daughter come with a nurse to take her to a nursing home. Their efforts come to a halt when a student intervenes, pleading that the woman be left to enjoy her day.
"I love the role, the music, the story," Castle said. "It's such a real story and very relatable as well."
Graduate students Jessica Wagner and Clark Weyrauch agree that the opera, which deals with dementia and the taboo subject of
"I think it's really interesting because it takes place in a location that anyone can go to and a lot of people have been, so it's easy to believe that this story could happen unlike other operas where you're sitting there going, 'this is ridiculous,'" Wagner, a student in Castle's studio, said.
Weyrauch's character, the student who comes to the aid of the elderly woman, said this could happen to anyone.
perform at the same time again."
what to do with one's relatives in their advancing years, can be very relatable.
"On a more practical note: The opera is in English," Weyrauch said. "There's a John Lennon song, and we have a guitarist, so it is very easy to get into."
It may be easy to get into, but given the timeframe of about 35 minutes, there is no time for any lulls to the flow.
"Because it is so short there is a lot going on. There's a lot of action and movement and no room to stop," Wagner said. "That does make it a little more difficult because there are so many people wandering around."
With 20 students in the production, animated scenes and a director playing the lead, one might be worried, but Castle seems eager to play the role again though she did say she would, "never direct and
Castle has welcomed the original composer, Michael Torke, to work with the composition himself. Torke is expected to be in attendance for the first two performances.
"It's really neat that the composer will be here with us," Weyrauch said. "Most composers we work on are dead so it's a nice change of pace."
Overall the production has reportedly gone smoothly without a hitch with the students expressing joy while working with Castle.
"One thing that's very exciting would be getting to do something with Joyce (Castle) on stage," Weyrauch said. "Not a lot of people probably know that Joyce (Castle) has been singing for 46 years and it's the same as a chemistry major would love to work with someone who's known in their field for doing amazing things."
Castle's inaugural lecture will be at 6 p.m. at the Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall on Jan. 21. Admission is free and open to the public. "Strawberry Fields" has performances on Jan. 22 and 24, also at the Crafton-Preyer Theatre. Both performances begin at 7:30 p.m.Tickets are $5 for students. For more info, visit music.ku.edu.
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