Alarm Will Sound

09.17.2006

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Last night we went to see members of Alarm Will Sound perform on campus. It was really just a small brass recital program in front of a (too) small crowd. But it was really fantastic.

Notice I wrote "see" rather than hear. Don't get me wrong, the music was great. But it was a performance that's best appreciated visually. Especially when the energetic trumpet soloist played H. K. Gruber's "Exposed Throat" — which involved a) singing while playing the instrument, b) deconstructing the instrument while playing, and c) body percussion. So we heard an interesting mix of trumpet blasts with parallel vocal harmony. Or taking apart pieces of the trumpet, while playing, to alter the tones of the instrument. And, of course, stomping w/ the feet. There were other pieces, too. Including minimalist works by Scelsi & a popular Mozart tune rearranged into a whimsical conversation between a sassy french horn & a plucky piano.

If you like things like Rachel's or The Belle Orchestre, you'd have liked the show. I can't wait to see the whole 20 piece band play their own tunes.

Also, and on a completely different note, we've decided to host a cocktail party. But this will be a "theme" cocktail party in honor of the much-celebrated "diversity" among the new faculty. I've found it interesting (and I must admit a slight uncomfortable, as have other new hires) when a few (and a very few, mind you) of the older faculty become excited that there are so many new "diverse" (i.e. non-white) faculty. I've never understood why being reminded of my "differentness" is supposed to make me feel "included" — anyhow.

So we're throwing a cocktail party — er, "fiesta" — where we'll serve ethnic foods. But w/ the whimsical irony of our indie-hipster sensibilities. So it's going to be multiculturalism ā la 1950s. We'll have caipirinhas (Brazilian cocktail), guacamole & salsa (for that south of the border flair), some kind of pineapple something (because anything becomes "Hawaiian" w/ pineapple), and such other drinks & appetizers. The music, must of course be a mix of Esquivel, samba, Andean panflutes (excuse me, zampoņas), and other such "world" tunes. I may even don a tweed blazer & black turtleneck combo.

Posted by Miguel at 06:35 PM

Comments

Stop bitching

Maybe it's you're "differentness" that landed you the job in the first place!!!

Posted by: Yuki Terayama at September 20, 2006 11:46 AM

I am grateful for this job. Certainly. And I'm loving working here; it's a great environment.

But your comment that maybe it's my "differentness" that "landed [me my] job in the first place" is exactly what worries me. Would I have been hired if I was white? I can't help but wonder about that sometimes. Sorry, but I'm just being honest.

Posted by: mcentellas [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 20, 2006 12:15 PM

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