Rising participation forces Ethos to expand concert dates

Justine Januszkiewicz
Communication Manager

ETHOS New Music Society has never faced a problem this incredible.

When President Adam Shanley, a music composition and music performance graduate student, recently asked group members to submit pieces for their November concert he decided to add another concert because they received 15 pieces; too many to fit into one.

Now in addition to the concert on Nov. 14, the group will have a concert on Nov. 13. Named "Solos and Duets," both concerts begin at 6 p.m. in Juliet J. Rosch Recital Hall and are free to the public.

Students have composed all of the songs during the past two months. "They are as new as you can get," Shanley said.

For the first time in the group's 31 years on campus, ETHOS heavily recruited people outside of Mason Hall and was present at Activities Night. Members were surprised to have so many people express interest.

"We are branching out to other majors now," Shanley said. "The point of our organization is to bring contemporary music to the campus so anyone can be a member whether they write music, perform music or enjoy listening to concert music."

The group now has approximately 35 active members, almost twice last year's size. "Most of the new members aren't composition majors and I wasn't expecting them to write music but this shows that there is a lot of interest outside of the major in writing," said Rob Deemer, head of music composition and faculty adviser to ETHOS. "You don't have to be a poet to write poetry and you don't have to be a 'composer' to write music."

Deemer became head of the composition area this fall. The previous head and founder of ETHOS, Donald Bohlen retired last semester after teaching at Fredonia for over 30 years. Before coming to Fredonia, Deemer was a visiting professor at the University at Oklahoma.

Not only is ETHOS making significant changes under his advisement, the composition department will undergo changes as well. Deemer plans to revamp the composition curriculum and add requirements to the major. He envisions new required classes for composition majors to give students more experience and more rounded knowledge, such as a copyright class.

"A copyright class is one that composers at other schools don't have a chance to take," Deemer said. "It looks at the real-life aspects of being a composer and teaches students how to make a living doing what they are doing."

Students are now writing more than they have in the past. "I tend to go for the 'more is more' approach in terms of projects," Deemer said. "The more that they can write and the faster they learn how to write, the easier it will be for them later down the road, whether they go to graduate school or out into the public sector."

While some of the music may start simple, new writers in ETHOS will have the opportunity to improve their composition skills through group involvement and collaboration.

After a person composes a song they have to find people to perform it and then run the rehearsals. "It's a learning process that they will have to do when they graduate," Shanley said.

Chris Sobolewski, a junior composition major, wrote a piece specifically for Bonnie Deeds, a senior music performance major on violin.

"When you listen to it and how it evolves the whole time, you will think of a phoenix and how it lives, burns and then is reborn," Sobolewski said.

Phoenix will be Sobolewski's eighth piece performed through ETHOS. He keeps the recordings from every concert to add to his portfolio. However, the experience he gains is more than just a portfolio builder.

"Preparing for the concert also helps us learn how to work with the performers," he said. "It can be difficult because you hear how you want it to sound in your head and you have to explain to them what you're thinking."

Ever since Deeds was asked to perform in an ETHOS concert her sophomore year, she has participated in each subsequent concert. "It blew me away that I could be the one to play a song for the very first time," she said.

Performing Phoenix will be the first time that Deeds plays violin and sings simultaneously. "I have the violin against my throat, so it is such a new experience to sing and project over the violin. I also have to separate what my fingers do from my vocals," Deeds said.

Scott Byrne, a sophomore music composition major, has a piano solo and a flute duet in the concert. Until this semester freshmen were not encouraged to submit pieces, so he is making up for lost time. Byrne's flute duet drew origin from his study in woodwind instruments this semester. He specifically has been concentrating on the flute.

The flute duet, Flutey Pebbles is a light-hearted piece compared to his piano solo, Cult Dances for Piano.

"I don't force my songs to sound a certain way," Byrne said. "They come to me naturally."

Jon Crocca, a junior music performance major, will perform both of his own pieces. Crocca became involved in ETHOS this semester after Shanley asked him to play a piece he heard him perform in recital seminar. Both pieces are for the guitar and show Crocca's ability to use contrasting styles. "The first one is short and it's happy and pretty, and the second one is much more dissonant and darker and longer and it is more technically challenging," he said.

For many students ETHOS is a medium to build performance skills, composition confidence and explore new musical avenues.

"A lot of students normally don't get the chance to perform contemporary works because not a lot of time is spent focusing on modern pieces," Deeds said.

Byrne had a piece he composed and performed for the first time at an ETHOS concert in October. "Hearing your piece being performed is very gratifying," he said. "It justifies all of the crazy work put into it."

In the future, instead of every piece submitted being performed at an ETHOS concert, it is likely that there will be a selection process.

"New music has always been strong here at Fredonia," Deemer said. "Now it's just a matter of taking it even further."

ETHOS meets at 5 p.m. every Friday in 3140 Mason Hall. For more information about ETHOS or its concerts, call 673-3782 or go to www.fredonia.edu/sa/ethos.