NEWS
5A
THE UNIVERSITY DARYA KANSAN
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 31, 2020
ENTERTAINMENT
Travels to the world's ends
Stories of famous explorers part of Lied Center program
Letters and memoirs from explorers Matthew Henson, Charles Darwin and George Mallory (clockwise from top right) will be featured in Saturday's program at the Lied.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
BY BRANDY ENTSMINGER bentsminger@kansan.com
The spirit of adventure will come alive through music, photographs and the writings of explorers on Saturday at the Lied Center.
"It's a strange, and I do think wonderful, combination of text and music and images." Conan said.
"First Person; Stories From the Edge of the World" will include narration by NPR's Neal Conan and actress Lily Knight, who has appeared on shows such as "Weeds" and "Big Love." Ensemble Galilei will provide celtic-style music for the program. The music and narration will be set to photographs from National Geographic.
The narration will feature memoirs, journals and letters from explorers such as Charles Darwin, Matthew Henson, Jacques Cousteau, Robert Ballard and George Mallory. The majority of the National Geographic photographs in the show were taken during the explorers' expeditions.
Conan said one example was a photograph of Henson's 1909 expedition to the North Pole. Henson wrote about the problems, he
wrote about encountered hitting open ice, and the image illustrates the treacherous ice.
The program was a collaboration of Conan, Ensemble Galilei and National Geographic. Carolyn
with hundreds of pages of explorers' writing.
Six musicians from Ensemble Galllei worked with Conan to narrow the pieces of writing down
"They're bringing these things to life for us so we have a better understanding of the joys and sorrows these people dealt with"
Anderson Surrick, founder of Ensemble Galilei and viola da gamba player, said the ensemble and Conan wanted to do a project that would illustrate some of the characteristics of humanity.
TIM VAN LEER Executive director of Lied Center
"Our goal when we step on stage is to move people." Surrick said.
National Geographic assigned a researcher to the project and provided Conan and Ensemble Galilei
and Surrick said they only chose pieces for the show that everyone felt passionate about using.
"It was really the goose bump test," Conan said.
Conan said working on the production was
challenging because he had to read to musical and visual cues rather than working on his own time.
"it's sort of a three-part dance," Conan said. "Everybody's got to keep up with everybody else."
Surrick said the responsibility of the musicians was to support the text with the right feel and tempo. Ensemble Galilei will play instruments such as fiddles, violins, Celtic harps, whistles, recorders and various percussion instruments on stage during the show.
"We have to choose the instrument that most clearly speaks to the heart of the text." Surrick said.
Tim Van Leer, executive director of the Lied Center, said the audience would have the opportunity to learn from the explorers' experiences.
"They're bringing these things to life for us so we have a better understanding of the joys and sorrows these people dealt with," Van Leer said.
Neal Conan and Ensemble Galilee have collaborated on one other project, "A Universe of Dreams," which featured photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Conan said they were planning to work together again in the future.
"First Person: Stories From the Edge of the World" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for students range from $13 to $18.
Edited by Jennifer Torline
INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
OPEC President and Algeria's Minister of Energy and Mines, Chakib Khelli, spoke at a news conference following a meeting of the ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries at their headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Wednesday.
OPEC meeting eases Saudi-Iran rivalry
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Benchmark oil prices were on a downward course Wednesday, shedding 68 cents to fetch $102.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude briefly touched $98.10.
But OPEC's announcement that it would cut output by more than 500,000 barrels by sticking closer to quotas did little to change what most consumers care most about — the cost of filling up a car with gas or heating a home over the winter.
OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia gave a nod, at least symbolically, to fellow member states that have grown increasingly uneasy about the rapid decline in crude prices. The Saudis attempted to placate rival Iran, and laid the groundwork for a potential new alliance with Russia, the world's second largest oil producer.
VIENNA, Austria — The just ended OPEC meeting was about more than what a barrel of oil can fetch on the open market as the global economic picture grows dim.
Behind the scenes, the 13-nation energy cartel jugged the conflicting interests of Saudi Arabia and Iran — and brought oil and gas
OPEC's continued ability to present a common front, while extending a hand to Russia, is potentially bad news for major crude consumers including the U.S. and Europe. There may be even less wiggle room in trying to find the lowest bidder to meet their energy needs at a time when the summer's record oil prices close to $150 are a still vivid memory.
giant Russia closer into the fold by agreeing to sign a cooperation agreement with the Kremlin.
But it may also have been a signal that record oil prices may, at least for the near future, spoiled the global appetite for crude.
"The ministers appear genuinely concerned that the bottom is falling out of global demand and that once depleted stocks are rebounding with a vengeance," said Antoine Halff, an energy analyst with Newedge USA. "Their panic is testament to how soft the market has become. It is likely to grow even softer."
Saudi Arabia's clout is key for Washington. President Bush visited Riyadh twice this year to push an oil production increase. The Saudis answered by ramping up production by about 500,000 barrels a day.
OPEC's decision Wednesday
to cut output by 520,000 barrels effectively canceled even that relatively modest nod to U.S. requests, leaving some talking about a Saudi defeat and a victory for Iran, which has sought higher oil prices through production cuts.
Not so, says analyst and trader Stephen Schork, who was monitoring the meeting in Vienna.
"I wouldn't say the Saudis backed down," he said. "I'd say it was a respectful nod to the other members of the group."
In reality, the Saudis are the tail that wags the dog at OPEC, accounting for nearly a third of the group's production of around 30 million barrels a day. They have often gotten their way at OPEC ministerial meeting and a strong push by them in Vienna to keep the status quo on output would probably have succeeded.
But strong U.S.-Saudi ties take second place when it comes to setting common OPEC policy. The Saudis compromised and so did Iran, which came to the meeting demanding stronger action to stem falling oil prices only to accept paring back only a bit in a bid to eliminate output above the group's agreed production limit.