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MONDAY, DEC. 5, 2016 | VOLUME 132 ISSUE 31
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
Campus pays respect to Nick Herren with vigil
▶ HAILEY DIXON
@_hailey_dixon
Nicholas "Nick" Herren will be remembered for hisbeaming cracked
"He was really great," Prins said, "Words can only say so much about the character of Nick."
Prins said Herren adored those around
DAY IN THE LIFE
kansan.com
B3
Miranda Anaya/KANSAN
Forrest Pierce sits at his desk in his office to work on a piece of music. Pierce is an associate professor of music and composition at the University.
Composing is my creative activity. I'm in constant contact with [the performers], sending them music and getting feedback, getting revisions and putting together the sheet music that they'll use for the performances."
FORREST PIERCE Seeks perfection through composing
By Omar Sanchez @OhMySanchez
Beginning at around 5:30 a.m. on a typical weekday, Forrest Pierce gets himself ready to try to achieve something he has been long pursuing: that perfect piece of music that reflects the beauty of our world.
- Forrest Pierce
"That's the thing that challenges me and that's what I'm after," said Pierce, an associate professor of music composition. "The pursuit of it is really beautiful and satisfying, but everything that I craft and create is by its nature imperfect."
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His contemporaries may say otherwise.
"He has an ability to write music that is incredibly difficult, that
still comes across with a real sense of beauty," said Michael Kirkendoll, an assistant professor of piano. "His music always seems to promote ideas of love and peace, which are really exciting aspects of his work."
Before Pierce sets out on his daily mission, first comes fulfilling the typical family duties. This includes making breakfast for his wife and 15-yearold son Aidan, then taking him to school before heading to campus.
Pierce's array of work
The New Orleans native also makes sure to warm up his vocals. In the morning he practices North Indian classical vocal style, just one of many cultural sounds he has learned in his 20plus year career.
stretches across genres, countries and interests. After finishing school at the University of Puget Sound for his bachelor's degree, the University of Minnesota for his master's, and the University of Indiana for his doctorate, he has written work for ensembles and concert series that involve elements of contemporary, traditional, operatic, and choral music, among many others.
His contributions haven't gone unnoticed. Pierce received the Dean's Prize in orchestral composition during his time at Indiana, the 2012 Barlow Prize in composition and the top honor at the 2012 Ortus International competition, to name a few.
"Composing is my
creative activity," Pierce said. "I'm in constant contact with [the performers], sending them music and getting feedback, getting revisions and putting together the sheet music that they'll use for the performances."
By around 9 a.m. Pierce is in his office, the flexible and comfortable work space where he can start grading classwork, work on his upcoming composition or just prepare presentations and lessons for his classes.
In order to be in prime position to get the best out of his work, Pierce also travels with his music. He said he often begins working on a piece in the office with his piano and drafting table. But, depending on the stage in the creation process, he will look to areas such as the mezzanine level of the DeBruce Center, the basement of the Anschutz Library or even a silent area of the Kansas Union to push it further.
This relationship between space and music not only comes up when
he is writing. It's also in his mind when he is still thinking of what to write next.
Architecture, for instance, interests Pierce. He said he loves the idea of how people occupy and interact with the space around them -how they shape the areas they inhabit.In these buildings,people go through their academic,professional and private lives,and creating a representation of this journey recently came to the forefront of his work for the reopening of the Spencer Museum of Art on Oct.15.
The piece of work was a traveling concert entitled "Resonant Vessels." The University Chamber Singers and Concert Choir traveled through architectural sites and natural scenery, with the museum as their final destination.
The end-goal: fuse the art of architecture with the art of sound.
"We knew that the spaces were going to be a part of the aesthetic goal of the composition," said Mariana Farah, associate
director of choral activities, who worked with Pierce throughout the process. "It was truly a piece that celebrated our campus and our ensemble."
The text Pierce based the piece off of was from ancient Roman architect Vitruvius. Pierce said Vitruvius told of designing buildings to be one with art, such as music. When there was graded seating or a form of stair steps, that could be used to balance the theoretical and practical. Pierce used this when planting the ensemble across sites such as the Capitol Federal building, the Campanile and the museum itself.
"We had a perfect day for the particular event. I think what was magical about it was a lot of the unexpected," Farah said.
“Perfect” may be a stretch for Pierce, but it won't stop him from trying the next time around.
"That's the kind of challenge of composing that is at the core of what keeps me inspired and keeps me going," Pierce said.
year's DEI report, which suggested "that the University place the Student Senate under immediate review and restructure the organization of student governance at KU."
According to the proposal, the committee shall "consider, draft, and/or propose amendments to the relevant governance documents." Essentially, this means that the members will
The rationale for the new ad hoc committee, according to the proposal, was that while a Multicultural Student Government could benefit students, leaders should take a look at how the Student Senate system functions as a whole.
One of the biggest issues that was empha-
rently held by Student Senate. The proposal was tabled.
Pam Fine, a Faculty Senate representative and journalism professor, said looking into another election method could benefit minority students.
"The implication of the diversity committee's report is that the coalition system is discriminatory," she said. "It is incumbent upon us to say 'OK, let's have someone go deep in on it and see what
and Science senator. "Most important of these is that I worry about how it is going to affect the autonomy of our governance structure ... It will say to Student Senate that 'We are going to violate your autonomy and tell you what you have to do with your rules,' and I think that is totally unacceptable."
SEE SENATE PAGE 2
According to a University press release from 2002, the cost of in-state tuition per semester was $1,741.75, while out-of-state was $5,343.25. Current-
look up the 2002 tuition cost, and compared it to this year," he said "I saw how large of an increase there was. I was pretty upset, so I started talking about it with people."
her. We're fighting for lower tuitions prices at all of these schools, not just KU."
Co-founder Lev Comolli, a Lawrence native, approached the University's Amnesty International chapter at the beginning of this semester to pitch KUART.
SEE KUART PAGE 2
INDEX
INDEX
NEWS...2
OPINION...4
ARTS & CULTURE...9
SPORTS...12
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