Arts/Entertainment
University Daily Kansan
NON
Wednesday, June 18, 1986
Serious musicians are happy campers
By DeAnn Thomas
Staff writer
Charlie Brackett, 13, Kansas City, Kan., sings in the Blue Choir, which will give a concert Saturday morning.
The commotion began when several junior high school boys raced into the lobby of Oliver Hall toward their music camp counselor.
"A kid sprayed his deodorant in the air and lit it with his bic and now he caught the curtains on fire!" yelled one of the boys.
Sean Abel grinned at the boys in disbelief as they anxiously waited to see whether he would run up to the seventh floor and check out their story. Abel has attended the University of Kansas Midwestern Music program for five years, but the first year as a resident assistant at the camp
"Monday morning, one of the boys came down to the cafeteria and told me the air conditioner in his room was on fire," Abel said. "The boys sprayed the room with powder towel wanted to intermur my breakfast."
But kidding aside, Abel said, the boys are serious about music.
Abel pointed at Jeff Purcell, who announced the curtain fire. His name had been an easy one to learn, Abel said.
"Purcell is a good percussionist.
He's serious about being good, but he does like to be soofy." Abel said.
Three hundred sixth- to ninth-
grade musicians arrived Monday for
the Midwestern Music Camp, which
was founded at KU in 1936.
Although fun is a big part of the camp, the students are expected to attend a total of six hours of rehearsal each day. Band students attend a three-hour band rehearsal and a four-hour choir rehearsal. Band choral students attend two three-hour choir sessions. Rehearsals for each instrument section and private
music lessons are also in the curriculum.
Melinda LaRue, resident assistant for the junior high girls, said she respected any student who decided to attend the camp. She has attended the full four weeks of music camp for the last three years.
"The average kid won't subject himself to over an hour of playing his instrument," LaRue said. "When a student decides to attend camp, he knows he is going to play his instructor every day and he's going to improve."
LaRue said the camp conductors, who are guest conductors and KU faculty, were more demanding than regular school conductors. The campers expect to be subjected to criticism during the camp courses.
"It takes discipline on the student's part when he enters the camp," LaRue said.
The students who participate in the program are serious about music and willing to take on the discipline, she said.
"They are just one step up the ladder. They are more serious than the kids who don't come to camp," LaRue said.
David Bushouse, professor of music and director of the music camp for the past decade, said students were more difficult to teach than older students.
" they're in a state of cha-
 their voices are changing, their feelings are changing, they take it as a chance of person to teach the junior hurln age," he said.
Bushouse said the camp staff members were good with the students.
Thomas Stidham, assistant director of bands, and John Grashel.
associate professor of music education, are teaching the bands this week. Pam Bushouse and Connie Haverkamp, both choral conductors at junior high schools, are teaching choir.
The students have been divided into two groups, red and blue. One conductor takes red and the other blue
for the week. Both groups will present a band and choral concert at 10 a.m. Saturday in Hoch Auditorium.
There is no orchestra to teach in the first week of the music program. But Bushouse said that next year, orchestra would be included in the first week to accommodate more students.
Heidi Schram, 14, Topeka; Lori Denton, 14, Nebraska City, Neb; and Jeanne McCready, 14, Prairie Village, rehearse the flute part for a
Amy Rhoads/KANSAN
midwestern Music Camp concert. The concert will be 10 a.m. Saturday at Hoch Auditorium.
Local company films PBS children's show
"Reading Rainbow," a Public Broadcasting Service's children's show, is gearing up for its fourth season on the air with the help of a local film-production company and a former KU student.
By DeAnn Thomas
Centron Corporation Inc., 1621 W. Ninth St,创建 the animation used in PBS's "Reading Rainbow", thanks to a computer program designed by Roger Holden, the former student.
Star writer
"People always talk about 'The Day After' and 'Nice Girls Don't Explode' being filmed in Lawrence," Holden said Monday. "But parts of 'Reading Rainbow' have been made in Lawrence for three years now."
This season's episodes of the program, which tries to interest children in reading books, will begin Monday.
Holden's computer program speeds up the traditional animation process, making the work less time-consuming and less costly. In 1982, Holden's team made a low bid for "Reading Rainbow" and sold it MPEG 5's deadlines.
Holden was a computer student at the University of Kansas in 1981 when he began work on the 1year project for Centron.
Chuck Warner, vice president of operation at Centron, said the company created the animated movement and edited the animation together with the narration sent from PBS in New York. Usually the broadcast contained no more than 11 minutes of animation from the story.
Instead of purchasing expensive animation equipment, Centron was able to spend $4,000 on a homecomputer system and use Holden's program. Holden invented the program for Centron in his free time in exchange for the technical rights to the computer system there.
Holden said he was happy that the television program chose books on the forefront of social issues.
Celebrities such as Bill Cosby, Lily Tomlin and Gilda Radner have their voices for narration of the books on "Reading Rainbow." The program is hosted by actor LeVar Burton.
Dolezal said, "Centron is grateful for Holden's program. It has enabled us to get to do the work for 'Reading' by the required deadlines."
"The kids were familiar with the video and the book, so they were interested in how the work was done." Dolezal said.
Holden, now president of the Kansas Film Institute and his own company, Holden Gentry Systems Inc., holds the world's largest saved Centron more than $50,000.
Doleza showed the dozen or more children how he had to cut the pictures out of the book being animated and set them on clear, cells or frames. He told them that a background had to be painted.
Now, when Loren Dolezal, Centron's animation photographer, needs to make a frame in the tedium process of animation filming, he just types a command into the computer and a camera automatically moves the illustrated page, creating the illusion of movement in the characters.
When the program began, Dolezal said, he set up a demonstration at the bookstore to show how the animation was done. He took samples of the art work done by Centron artists Oscar Rojas and Rick Notesheet.
Warner said the computer program had put the company in a visible position to compete with other animated-film producers for bids.
Today
Though he wasn't sure how much money Holden's program had saved or made for Centron, Warner said, the program could cut the cost of animation production by 35 percent to 60 percent.
"I feel proud that 'Reading Rainbow' produced an animated feature for children on the starving conditions in Africa before 'We are the world' came out. "Holden said.
Mary Williams, of Adventure A Bookstore, 836 Massachusetts St., said the sales of children's books were on track. The books were read on PPS that day.
Albert Gerken, University carillonneur, will give a free carillon recital at p.m. today at Campanile II Memorial Carillon.
*Student Union Activities will show the film 'Fail Safe' at 7 p.m. in Woodruff Auditorium of the Kansas Union. Tickets are $1.50.
Some local bookstores order the books that PBS selects for the program. The books are kept on a special display so adults and children can pick out the books they hear about on "Reading Rainbow."
Friday
Sights and sounds
*Student Union Activities will show the film "Kentucky Fried Movie" at 7 p.m. in woodruff Hall, Kansas University. Tickets are $1.50.
"A free film, "A Chorus Line," will be shown at 7:30 p.m. at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, an accomodated homemade ice cream will be served.
The Midwestern Music Camp jazz recital will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the lobby of Oliver Hall
Mark Holmberg, assistant University carillonneur, will give a free carillon recital at 3 p.m. at Campanile's Memorial Carillon.
Sunday
The Midwestern Music Camp concert will be at 10 a.m. in Hoch Auditorium. It is free and open to the public.
The Midwestern Music Camp piano recital will be at 9:30 a.m. in Swarthout Recital Hall of Murphy Hall.
Saturday