Jazz took me to Taiwan and back

by Amy Calhoun


Jazz was not always part of my life.
I didn’t grow up with parents who listened to jazz.
I didn’t know there were radio stations dedicated to the genre.
I was a trumpet player, but the jazz band at my school had been cut before I even entered high school. Then I went away to college.

I attended Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, IA. I participated in the marching band and concert band for the first two years, but really had no interest in being part of the jazz band. I didn’t know how to improvise and I really wasn’t familiar with the music. However, a group of my closest friends were in the band and in my junior year they really encouraged me to be a part of the jazz band.

I did not want to add another rehearsal to my academic schedule. With theatre rehearsals, two choirs and band, I was booked. However, my friends knew something I didn’t – during J-term, the jazz band was going on tour to Taiwan and they wanted me to go too!

That trip sold me. I had never been overseas and the idea of visiting Asia sounded fantastic.

After Christmas break, we rehearsed everyday for two-weeks. I had never in my life practiced my trumpet so much! During that time, I was introduced to jazz artists like Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie. We worked hard during those rehearsals and became a fairly tight college jazz band.

We trekked to the other side of the world in mid-January and became quasi-celebrities for 10 days. Playing at schools, city plazas, on television and for the opening ceremonies of a major sporting event, we came face-to-face with a new culture and language, and we communicated through music.

We played tunes like “String of Pearls,” “Take the A Train,” “Birdland,” and “Hay Burner.” Our vocalists added their talents to favorites like “Fever” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” We nearly always concluded our performances with the theme from the Flintstones, and the audience would go wild.

Kids would swarm us after concerts asking for our autographs, others were like groupies and would hang-out at our hotels. Some of the youngest students had never seen westerners before and they would rub our pale skin or want to touch our hair. We were American musicians and in their eyes that equated to being famous.

As 19 and 20 year olds kids we enjoyed our Taiwanese fame. It probably went to our heads. We had two security guards, a tour guide and a translator. We were treated to gifts, fancy dinners, and nice hotels. Some of the notoriety freaked us out a bit, but ultimately we soaked it all in.

At the end of that crazy, tiring tour we boarded a plan and made the 18-hour trip back across the Pacific. Greeted by the snow and winds of the Midwest, our systems were shocked back to reality. We were just regular students again who had just had a musical experience of a lifetime.

It has been fourteen years since that trip, but every time I hear a great jazz tune I am transported back to amazing memories of being in a jazz band.

FROZEN with grief

by Jessica Lippman, PhD

Byron Lavery's most well-known play, Frozen, is set in present-day England and features three main characters: Ralph, a serial killer who kidnaps and murders a young girl; Nancy, the girl's mother; and Agnetha, a New York psychiatrist who is visiting London to do research for her thesis about whether serial killing may be considered a forgivable act. One of the main themes of the play is the mother’s 5-year search for her missing daughter and follows her journey from grief to forgiveness.

The emotions of all of the characters of the play are, in effect, frozen. The play is an examination of how they begin to melt.

The death of a child is a perversion of nature. Our children are supposed to outlive us. Grief combined with unimaginable tragedy is an added distortion of life. It raises questions such as; can forgiveness ease the pain of grief? Losing a child makes us feel disoriented. Losing a child can make us feel like Nancy, the character in the play, frozen, cold and unable to feel. Losing a child suggests the loss of hope and of a future. In the play these feelings of loss are intensified because of the pain and suffering Nancy’s child undoubtedly experienced. As parents we feel our first responsibility is to protect and shield our children. The viciousness directed towards the young girl in the play is the kind of senseless violence that is all too common in contemporary society.

In the play we watch Nancy’s ability to move forward from her brutal loss and begin to embrace life rather than death. She does not turn tragedy into triumph but is able to make a transition towards a future without her daughter.

There are no right or wrong ways to experience grief. It is very personal and people deal with their emotions as it reflects their personalities. No one is ever prepared for the death of a child. Death and the accompanying grief is something that people are uncomfortable with and is a subject we often avoid speaking about.

The following points are the observations that I would like to make in dealing with grief and the loss of a child.

Point 1
When a child dies suddenly, the parent is normally in a state of unexpected shock. Sudden deaths lead to a feeling of greater vulnerability to grief that is prolonged and more difficult to integrate and resolve.

Point 2
It is even more difficult when there is no preparation for a death of a child. Do not participate in a conspiracy of silence. Tell your children and people close to you in a simple, concise way what they are able to handle and comprehend developmentally. Euphemisms are not a good idea. They muddle, and do not clarify and children will inevitably find out what really happened and then feel betrayed and angry.

Point 3
The manner in which the parent and other adults, friends and siblings handle the death and respond to the bereaved makes an enormous difference in a person’s ability to cope after the event and later in life.

Point 4
Death of a child leaves person with a sense of powerlessness, and betrayal. After a death we must confront the sense of our own mortality - Up until now we have felt in control of our lives.

Point 5
As a first priority the adults, need to re-establish a sense of stability, predictability and successful functioning for the sake of themselves and those around them.

The circumstances of a death address how we see the safety and stability of our world. As adults we have to help our children and ourselves sort out the reasons and circumstances of a death: the implication and meaning.

Point 6
The profound loss of a child makes you different and sets you apart from peers. You have a sense that none of your friends understands what you are going through.

Point 7
We never contemplate having to confront the possibility of the death of a child.

Counseling can help a parent or child work their way through the miasmas of premature bereavement. The death of a child is a yawning loss And, if the loss is unexpected the loss will initially be even more difficult to bear. Sometimes, the untimely death of a child can be the motivation for greatness. Often we translate our guilt into a living memorial, foundations, scholarships and legislation.

Point 8
Encourages people who've lost a child to write about their memories, and to find the courage to go through old family photos and videos, even if it's painful at first.



“With all children murdered in the United States in 2005, three-quarters of
those murders were related to something other than gang violence, and over a fifth of the killers being a member of the victim’s family or an intimate partner. Yet, these are children killed senselessly at the hands of another out of anger, panic, revenge or in a desperate attempt to end perceived suffering. The bottom line is that factual accounts show that thousands of children are dying on our own soil every year for reasons such as abuse, neglect, murder, alcohol and drugs.”
In 2009, 8.1 million children under five died.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/259096

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble's production of FROZEN runs from Jan. 21 to Feb. 6.





Jessica Lippman, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Chicago, Illinois for more than 30 years. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, IL and is the co-author of two books, “Helping Children Cope with the Death of a Parent: A Guide for the First Year” and ““Divorcing With Children: Expert Answers to Tough Questions from Parents and Children.” She regularly treats children, youths and adults who have lost a parent or a child.

Dr. Lippman regularly appears in media and has been interviewed and featured in The Wall Street Journal, London Times, Chicago Tribune, Sirius Satellite Radio’s Judith Regan and Out Q.

One story – many different tales

By Amy Calhoun

Romeo and Juliet is deemed one of the greatest love stories of all time. Shakespeare’s play has inspired all forms of art. The story has been told

In film



In music



In opera




And, in ballet




Shakespeare crafted a story full of action, intrigue and romance which lends itself to the grace and beauty of ballet. From a pas de deux between Romeo and Juliet to the sword play between Tybalt and Mercutio, the re-telling in ballet form is just as emotionally intense as the spoken words of the play. Tchaikovsky’s magnificent score combined with Marius Petipa’s stunning choreography creates a breathtaking backdrop for the Russian National Ballet Theatre to tell the tale of the star-crossed lovers.

Experience this incredible love story with us at the MAC on Sunday, Jan. 9 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Nuts about Nutcracker

by Amy Calhoun

It’s that time of year again…my husband has hung the lights, the kids and I decorated the tree and the excitement of December 25th permeates our home. As an added bonus we are looking forward to attending the MAC’s holiday offering of von Heidecke’s Chicago Festval Ballet The Nutcracker.

Tchaikovsky’s recognizable score (which I’m sure you’re already humming) is a staple of many holiday ads and jingles, but to hear it in its entirety performed by a live orchestra is a treat in itself. The MAC’s own New Philharmonic under the direction of Kirk Muspratt will add the rich accompaniment to the beauty of the sets and costumes.

And then there are the dancers. From the sweetness of the youngest dancers performing as mice to the practiced Clara to the grace and beauty of the Sugar Plum Fairy, every dancer displays an affection and appreciation for the holiday tradition that is The Nutcracker.

Over the years, I have seen many performances of The Nutcracker and each year I still look forward with anticipation to the performance. I wonder if Russian choreographer Marius Petipa or Tchaikovsky every considered that The Nutcracker would have this kind of longevity? Here we are 118 years later delighting in a holiday tradition that has been celebrated around the world by generation upon generation.

Holidays at the MAC

It's the most wonderful time of the year... so the song goes by Andy Williams.

I believe that music and dance are the best ways to feel and fill the spirit of the season.

Celebrating the season at the MAC in December:
Dec 3 - Suzy Bogguss
Dec 5 - DuPage Chorale
Dec 10 - Gavin Colyle benefiting the People's Resource Center
Dec 11 - Windham Hill Night Sky Essays: A Winter Solstice Concert
Dec 12 - New Classic Singers In the Sweet Mid-Winter
Dec 17-19 Von Heidecke Chicago Festival Ballet The Nutcracker
Dec 17-18 Hot Club of San Francisco Cool Yule
Dec 31 New Philharmonic Viennese Pops with an American in Paris Twist

Enjoy, share and cherish the holidays.

be well
Stephen

People's Resource Center Collection

College Theatre’s A Christmas Carol Nov 26 to 28 at the MAC
In the spirit of the holidays College Theatre and the MAC will collect non-perishable food items for the People’s Resource Center.
Please bring items to the MAC lobby before any performance.
The MAC will continue to collect food until the PRC’s December 10 Holiday Concert with Gavin Coyle.
At the concert Ebenezer Scrooge himself will present an offering of food to the PRC.

Happy Thanksgiving
Stephen

A Lesson of Charity

by Connie Canaday Howard

I’ve told this story before, but feel its presence very personally, in regards to the themes of A Christmas Carol.

My mother taught in my elementary school, though, at the time of the story I’m about to relate, she was not my teacher. I was quite small, first or second grade, and my mother was teaching fifth and sixth Science, Math and History.

Several times a week, we would have to go in very early, well before the first bus arrived at the building, and I was told to read or finish my homework quietly at the back of my mother’s room. My mother would leave, and be gone for several minutes, and then return and work quietly at her desk until the time that I could go to my own classroom, when she’d give me a hug and kiss and wish me a good day. I found these early mornings quite unnecessary, and one day complained loudly about them. That’s when my mother told me the story of another student, an older boy who she did not identify.

This young man came from a large family of very little means, and many of the teachers suspected that he might not be treated well. So, together they’d decided to purchase him a few changes of clothes, some soap and a towel. As this young man came on an early bus and was the first student to arrive at school, every morning one teacher would escort him to the boys’ gym, where he could shower in private and change into clean clothes, get a sack lunch packed by the teacher, and be in the classroom before another student arrived. At the end of the day, he changed back into his clothes from home, for his bus ride back. This was their small way of trying to make his life’s journey a little smoother; he came to school very dirty, and they suspected the sack lunch might, at some times, be his only daily meal. Though I never knew who this student was, I also never felt the need to complain about our early mornings again.

Working on A Christmas Carol, in this lovely adaptation, this story again came back to me. I’ve always loved Dickens, and I can’t help but wonder what would happen if we all tried to be “as good a friend…” as Scrooge exemplifies, after his enlightenment. A truly optimistic, some would say naïve hope… but it’s mine, nonetheless.


Join us for A Christmas Carol:
Friday, Nov. 26, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 27, 2 and 7 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 28, 2 and 7 p.m.