After three years cheering and encouraging the men’s and women’s basketball teams on to victory at home, the UR Pep Band may find itself going on the road once again. This particular group of peppy individuals, under the capable direction of Greg Savich, is made up of freshman through seniors, flute players down to tuba players, and everyone in between. The band can normally be seen rocking the crowds during home basketball games in the Palestra and during home football games in Fauver Stadium. However, once in a while, the Pep Band has the unique privilege of playing for the ‘Jackets at a Division III final four game. And, with the top ranked Yellowjackets dominating their opponents this season, they have high hopes of joining in on the fun of March Madness.

The band has been founded three times in its history. The present director, Greg Savich, founded the current band when he was a sophomore, in the fall 2003. The late, great Frederick Fennell directed the original band, founded in the 1930s. Eastman students will be familiar with Fennell because of his instrumental role in founding the Eastman Wind Ensemble. There was also another, second band, which lasted into the mid-nineties. Today, the Yellowjacket Pep Band wears their distinctive blue and yellow striped Rugby shirts, and favors upbeat music and outlandish antics at games to pep up the fans and team alike.

When the team is winning, and spirits are running high in the Palestra, director Savich tends to go with Pep Band standards, including “The Impression That I Get,” and “Take on Me.” Towards the end of such games, when the team is beginning to settle into its groove, the director often opts for the old favorite “Let’s Groove.” When the team seems to be getting off track, a simple “Let’s Go Band” or even “Long Train Runnin’” can help them to refocus their energies. Finally, whenever John DiBartolomeo scores, and there is a timeout shortly after, the band makes every effort to play “Johnny B. Goode.”

According Hilary Dietz ’13, past pep band co-president, the last time the band traveled for basketball was the spring of her freshman year, in March 2010. That year, the band had the honor of going—all-expenses-paid—to Illinois-Weslyan University in Bloomington, Ill. Dietz says that whenever the band is away for the final four, “Everyone gives 200 percent.” The last trip to Illinois was particularly special for Dietz, because as a native of the state, her parents were able to attend the game. This year, she has high hopes that the men and women’s teams can advance far enough through March Madness to secure a road trip for the band.

When asked how the band and games are different at the final four when compared to the Palestra, Savich replied, “The band plays very loudly, is very energetic and focused, and cheers a lot.” With regards to the fans, he described it as a weird experience, because the school who is located closest to the tournament play can easily bring the most fans to cheer.

Savich said that he tends to choose pieces that compliment the feel of the game. For example, if the game is close and nearing the end, he will choose music that is fast-paced, or a piece like “Final Countdown.” To motivate band members, Savich looks to the words of Duke Ellington: “You play with the intent to commit something.” Hopefully, that something will lead the men and women to victory as the regular season draws to a close, and the teams head for the playoffs.

Catch the Pep Band in action for the last regular season home basketball games on Sunday, Feb. 17 at noon (men) and 2 p.m. (women).

Pep band members for 2012-2013 include: Clarinets: Christine Ziegler ’16, Kathryn Strelevitz ’16, Joe Bailey ’15, Flutes: Hilary Dietz ’13, Keira Crist ’15, Ryan Challener ’14, Aurora Dopp’13, Aubrie Sauer’16, Saxophones: Taryn Mockus ’13, Ethan Senator ’15, Patrick Callanan ’14, Danika Teverovsky16, Kelsey Tuttle ’16, Amanda Baker ’13, Shyah Miller’16, Kaitlin Pellicano ’13, Trombones: Bennet Niedenburg ’16, Alexander Venuti ’14, Mellophones: Emily Danchik ’13, Nicholas Van Swol ’15, Trumpets: JamesWojakowski’15, Jonathan Strumpf ’15, Brandon Daehn ’13, Jeff Vankerhove ’13, Michael Myers ’16, Crystal Hans ’15, NathanBook’14, Zeke Starling ’16, Tubas: Daniel Macguigan ’14, JuliaMorris’15, Percussion: Marz Saffore ’15, Chelsea Hans ’14, Mike Tamburrino ’16, Director: Gregory Savich ’06.

With the addition of the new class “Religion and Hip Hop Culture” this fall semester, the University of Rochester has begun to put academic investment into an important piece of Americana – hip hop – a phenomenon that is slowly but surely catching on at institutions of higher learning across the country.  However, the pairing of these two cultural topics, religion and hip hop, is an unconventional one.  Students posed an important question on the first day of class: how can a whole semester be spent studying the relationship between the two?

“It is the intersection of religion and hip hop that drew many of the students,” explains Associate Professor of Religion, Margarita Guillory, who instructs the class and is a recent addition to the Department of Religion and Classics at the University. “My hope with the class is to show that hip hop culture can serve as an interpretive framework to illustrate the religious views of the artist, including the different ways in which they view religion.”

Guillory’s active teaching style permits open and honest discussion and what she calls “reciprocity between the student and the professor.”  She wants the class to be a “safe space” for people to express their thoughts about religion.

“There is such a broad approach to religion in this course that all types of students can see how religion is illustrated. When you listen to the students, you can actually hear the personal connection with different functions of religion,” Guillory explains.

Students need not be religious or fluent in hip hop culture to take the class, which is designed for students of different backgrounds. Those who grew up without exposure to the music are “blank slates with no preconceived notions” who will “be a bit more open than the student with prior knowledge,” explains Guillory.

Guillory recently completed a doctoral degree in religious studies at Rice University in spring 2011.  Her specialties include American religious history, African American religion, and the intersection of African American religion and American culture, the latter of which is the foundation for “Religion and Hip Hop.”

Notably, there has been a recent increase in the study of hip hop culture in higher education, and Guillory hopes that the University of Rochester will follow suit.  Hip Hop archives were established at Harvard and Cornell universities in 2002 and 2007 respectively, and Cornell has amassed the largest hip hop archive pertaining to the early years of hip hop, called “Born in the Bronx,” in addition to enlisting “grandfather of hip hop” Afrika Bambaataa as a visiting professor for three years.

While completing her degree, Guillory helped teach a class at Rice called “Religion and Hip Hop Culture in America.”  The course, co-taught by visiting professor and rapper Bun B, grew from a roster of about 50 students in 2004 to over 200 students in 2011, becoming the largest humanities class offered at Rice.  This immense popularity is likely attributed to a roster of famed guest speakers, including Mike Epps and Russell Simmons, and a celebrity panel that included artists like Talib Kweli and Lupe Fiasco.

Guillory knew that the “context was right” in her decision to create a similar class at Rochester after her arrival last year.  The religion department was very supportive of her pursuit and aware that she had taught a similar class at Rice.  Furthermore, given the strong music education opportunities associated with the Eastman School of Music and the College’s strong music department, she knew there was a sizeable student population that would be interested in the topic.

Rochester’s academic environment, specifically the open curriculum and the students’ ability to create their own major, also inspired Guillory.  She explains that the academic freedom and the interdisciplinary nature associated with student-crafted majors “creates a space for a class like ‘Religion and Hip Hop Culture’ to exist on this campus.”

Guillory is focused on making the class at Rochester “more robust” by broadening the conception of what religion really is in the context of the “diverse terrain of hip hop culture.”  She hopes the class will show how hip-hop culture can offer an “interpretive lens” for students to analyze artists interpretations of religion and their own environment, including the “humanistically-centered ways” in which people view religion.

Guillory emphasizes that she would like the class to impact the Rochester community, and intends to “bridge the community and the U of R campus” by bringing in a local artist.

According to Guillory, “the class will not analyze ‘every dimension’ of hip hop because there are some parts of the culture that lack religious sensibility.” She acknowledges that there is “definitely a hierarchy of what is publicly displayed” in hip hop; often, popular songs capitalize on the commercialization of “braggadocious” (those who brag about the fame and wealth) artists like Jay-Z or Rick Ross.  Guillory explains, “I’m not arguing that hip hop is religious, but rather that there are certain dimensions of hip hop culture that we can tap into in a very broad way,” such as existential or socially-conscious hip hop.

Guillory was interested in religion at a young age and says she is a “product of the hip hop movement.”  In addition to teaching, she is part a collaborative writing group, “CERCL,” that is currently writing a book called “Breaking Bread, Breaking Beats,” which combines conversation with hip hop artists and the Church about common topics like sexuality and globalization.  She currently serves as co-editor of the Religious Studies Review, and has published several articles and book chapters on various aspects of religion, women studies, and hip-hop. Before pursuing her doctoral degree in 2011 and a master’s degree in theological studies in 2005, Guillory was a high school science teacher for 10 years.

Article and photo provided by Caitlin Mack, an intern in University Communications.

A native of Arkansas, Futterer graduated from Northwestern University in 2007, majoring in horn performance, and went abroad for her masters, studying at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, Norway. While there, she impressively combined her master’s studies with a Fulbright fellowship studying under world-renowned horn musician and teacher Frøydis Ree Wekre.

In addition to earning her degree at Eastman, Futterer works as a teaching assistant at the River Campus and stays involved in multiple arts and musical associations, including the Arts Leadership Program, Pegasus Early Music, and the Sound Exchange Group of Musicians. This summer, she embarked on her latest endeavor, helping to plan the Fringe Festival through an internship with the Catherine Filene Shouse Arts Leadership Program.

According to Futterer, the festival is an avenue for “promoting artistic culture” and helps to “connect different artistic mediums.” The event will feature local Rochester musicians, artists, dancers, and performers, complemented by headliners Patton Oswald, the Harlem Gospel Choir, and aerial dance group Project Bandaloop.

The concept of the “fringe” tradition started in Edinburgh in 1947 when eight theater groups turned up at the Edinburgh International Festival uninvited and decided to perform at venues they organized themselves.  Today, Fringe Festivals are held in nearly 200 cities around the world, including 20 cities in the U.S.

Fringe Festival Director Erica Fee ’99, whom Futterer describes as an “incredible mentor,” gave her the chance to contribute to the festival in any way that she wanted. Futterer says she picked the “fun job” of party planner, helping to organize a launch party aimed at getting the performers to know and support each other.

Futterer explains that a major aim of the festival is to “bring people of different specialties together” so artists of different mediums can get to know each other as “comrades rather than competitors.” She notes that one of the best things about the festival is that it is “100% nonprofit” and provides little-known artists and performers with greater recognition and support.

More than 20 venues have lent their support for the effort, with shows at Geva Theater, Eastman Theater, Millennium Park, and Little Theater, among others. Gibbs St. in downtown Rochester will shutdown to host the weekend-long festival. The effort has the support of many local businesses in the Rochester community, including the Boylan Code Law Firm in the Culver Road Armory, in which festival board meetings are held, several Rochester schools, including the University of Rochester and Eastman, as well as its biggest sponsor, First Niagara Bank.

Futterer has been thrilled about the process of organizing the Fringe, getting to know some amazing people in Rochester, and being a part of the effort to bring the city’s “hidden arts culture” and “little gems” up to the surface for more people to experience. She also appreciates that the festival “doesn’t speak to a certain age level or a certain genre … it is something for everybody.” The Fringe features 120 different shows, and covers a wide range of art forms:  theatre, dance, comedy, music, film, visual arts, multidisciplinary, children’s, and variety.

Tickets for the Fringe Festival are available at the Eastman Theatre Box Office on 433 East Main Street, Wegmans “That’s the Ticket!” locations, at the door of all venue locations, and on the festival’s website, http://rochesterfringe.com. A festival guide, which is featured on the website, provides listings of all shows and venues.

Article written by Caitlin Mack, an intern in University Communications.

Why did you choose to attend the University of Rochester?

I chose UR because of the availability of the combined BA/MA in Music Education with the Eastman School of Music. It was a great way to combine a liberal arts degree, which I wanted, with the quality training of a conservatory.

When and how did you choose your major?

I went to UR for a specific program, so I decided before I even arrived on campus. Of course, I could have changed my mind, but the program was exactly what I was hoping it would be.

Who were your mentors while you were on campus? Have you continued those relationships?

My biggest influence as an undergrad was Kim Kowalke, who was my advisor in addition to inviting me to TA his Musical Theater Workshop. It’s been great keeping in touch with him through email, while continuing many of the conversations (and debates!) we had when I was a student.

How do you balance your work and personal life?

It’s important (even if you love what you do) to leave work at work. You can be the most driven, motivated, career-oriented person, but what’s the point if you don’t make time for your friends? I don’t find this balance tricky, but since living in NYC, I do know you have to carve out the time to make people’s schedules work. So, maybe the best advice is to have a good calendar.

How are you still connected with the University?

I’m still friends with a lot of the people I went to UR with, and in fact, I am going to a UR alum’s wedding next weekend. Another alum once told me she felt like whenever she meets another UR graduate, she always feels like she has something in common with them…enough to feel comfortable striking up a conversation. I think that’s about right. I also talk it up big time at the school where I teach, encouraging students I think would be a good fit to make sure they visit.

Polec has been busy this year. In October, he starred in URITP’s production of An Absolute Turkey just as his Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year was getting underway.  His project: starting a student-run record label at the University of Rochester, signing a band, recording an album, and releasing the record.  Polec and his colleagues were successful in all of these aims.  The label is called “yoUR Record Label,” and they signed Polec’s own band, Khat House.  They released their EP, “Welcome to Khat House,” at a sold-out concert on April 14. They also performed on April 27 as part of Dandelion Day’s performance line-up. They have sold a lot of albums, Polec said, and they hope to sell many more. “The life lessons that I’ve learned while being with that band have been nothing short of tremendous,” Polec said, reflecting on his time with Khat House.

The future of the band is currently up in the air as this coming fall Polec will pursue an MFA in acting at Brown University. Unsure of the extent to which the program will prepare him for dealing with the business of being an actor, Polec expressed his gratitude for all he has learned at UR about the arts industry. “Learning the process of how to get gigs, how to fund recording and album and all the nit-picky stuff in between has showed me that business managers are really important.  And agents.  No matter who you are as an artist, you better know the business, or you better have a friend who knows that business cold.”

Having had a good deal of experience learning the nitty-gritty about show business as a Key Scholar, Polec is eager to start learning the artist trade this fall. The undisputed star of URITP, he’ll be entering into a group of peers that will undoubtedly be made up of 15 other college theatre program stars. “It’s good to be with a bunch of talented people, because then you can see how you are able to improve and grow,” he said.

“Andrew is a born performer and he’s also a wonderful singer.  I’ve watched him grow over the years as his range has expanded,” said Nigel Maister, artistic director of URITP, who has been working with Polec since his freshman year. “I think that an MFA program will be able to hone—on a technical level—his skills as a general performer and deepen his understanding of the process and needs of acting and character development.”

Polec’s undergraduate acting career has come full circle in the past few months.  He performed in URITP’s first musical production, Hello Again, his freshman year and he ends his tenure here starring in its second. He leads a focused ensemble of remarkably mature and talented performers in what is a visually alarming, intellectually challenging, and genuinely entertaining production.  Maister said of Polec’s performance as Mr. Zero in Adding Machine, “[He] shows a more controlled and dramatically focused side of his abilities.”

Polec said that the role has “been a great final note to go out on” as he looks forward to working towards his dream of performing on Broadway.  The future of this soon-to-be-UR-graduate, it would seem, promises to “add up” to quite a lot.

Article written by Leah Barish ’12, a public relations intern with the International Theatre Program and a member of theater troupe, The Opposite of People.

In The Photos: Jacob Goritski ’14 (back) and Andrew Polec appear in Adding Machine: The Musical. Photos courtesy of J. Adam Fenster, University Photographer.

Pilarz’s photo of students riding camels in the Sahara Desert during a field trip with the IES Abroad Rabat program in Morocco received the most votes, with 487 likes. A native of Buffalo, NY, Pilarz spent the fall 2011 semester on the IES program in Rabat. She is double majoring in music and biology.

One Facebook user commented that “just seeing this on the cover of IES brochures would make me study abroad!” Another student who participated in the Rabat program shared a fun fact about Pilarz’s attempt to take the winning photo, noting that a sandstorm damaged her camera as she snapped the picture.

Another University of Rochester student, Nicole Socash, also was one of the five finalists in the competition for a photo she took while studying with IES Abroad in Christchurch, New Zealand.

IES Abroad is one of the nation’s oldest and largest study abroad providers and enrolls more than 5,500 students from 185 U.S. colleges and universities annually. With nearly 100 high-quality academic study abroad programs and internship opportunities in 34 cities, the organization is dedicated to fostering cultural immersion and intercultural development. Since its founding in 1950, nearly 80,000 students have participated in IES Abroad programs around the world in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, Australia, and New Zealand.

Article courtesy of Jacqueline Levine, director of the Center for Study Abroad & Interdepartmental Programs. Photo courtesy of Mary Pilarz.

“The First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival is about inspiring even more creativity throughout Rochester’s large and talented artistic community, as well as attracting a large, diverse audience for their work,” said University President Joel Seligman. “The University has always been a passionate advocate for strengthening this city, and we believe that this festival will do just that.”

Erica Fee, who is the festival’s producer, a native of Victor, and a University alumna, described the independent shows that sprang up around the official 1947 Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland as the start of the fringe festival movement. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is now the world’s largest arts festival and runs for a month.

“Rochester’s four-day Fringe will also have that fun ‘expect-the-unexpected feel’ while showcasing everything from theater and dance, to visual arts and music, to comedy and family entertainment,” explained Fee. “There will truly be something for everyone!”

Individual artists, groups, and producers of all types can apply online at www.rochesterfringe.com for a place at the festival’s official venues, which include such locations as Kilbourn Hall and Hatch Recital Hall at the Eastman School, Java’s, and the Rochester Museum and Science Center’s Strasenburgh Planetarium. More East End locations will be added. Applicants also have the option to “Bring Your Own Venue” by discovering a location and gaining permission to use a site within the festival’s footprint.

Fringe festivals number about 200 worldwide with 20 in the United States, festival organizers say. Those closest to Rochester are in Toronto and Philadelphia. The First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival will be the second location for New York State after New York City’s.

The festival’s board of directors includes representatives from the Rochester Downtown Development Corp., the University of Rochester, the Eastman School of Music, Rochester Institute of Technology, Boylan Code LLC, and Mengel Metzger Barr. Many local cultural institutions support the effort, including Geva Theatre Center, the George Eastman House, and Garth Fagan Dance, as well as newer groups such as PUSH Physical Theatre and Method Machine.

To submit your show or for more information, visit the festival website at www.rochesterfringe.com, follow them on Twitter at @rochesterfringe, and like them on Facebook.

Article written by Valerie Alhart, humanities press officer in University Communications.

Rochester Fringe Festival logo courtesy of www.rochesterfringe.com

VIDEO: No Jackets Required Presents Beatlemania

This was a show that saw No Jackets Required return to its roots. When the student organization launched in 2007, the inaugural show also was a tribute to the British rock band, where musicians performed the legendary Magical Mystery Tour album in its entirety. In recent years, the group has collaborated with several campus performance groups, including UR Hip Hop, Off Broadway On Campus, and UR Swing Dance Club, to present an array of musical styles in an effort to strengthen the University’s music community.

“Our goal is to spread the performance and appreciation of popular music,” said Andrew Brink ’14, business manager for No Jackets Required. “By presenting popular music as performance art, we’ve been able to find really creative ways of bringing together musicians from around campus.”

This year’s concert featured three sets, the first of which took audience members through the Beatles’ earlier sound, including such Beatlemania classics as Please Please Me, A Hard Day’s Night, and We Can Work it Out.  The second set was devoted to the band’s groundbreaking psychedelic era, sampling heavily from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour, and the eponymous White Album. For the final set, musicians aimed to “Come Together” and reproduced the entire Abbey Road medley, as well as other choice cuts from that iconic album.

Because of the complicated harmonies that occur in several of the numbers, two back-up singers accompanied each lead singer, in addition to traditional rock instruments, including guitars, bass, and drums. Orchestral instruments including trombones and trumpets replicated the horn arrangements heard on several of the albums and select songs featured the unique sound of melodicas and kazoos. In addition to the three larger sets, acoustic interludes such as Blackbird and Yesterday maintained the show’s momentum.

Brink was optimistic that the concert would provide both the University and Greater Rochester community with a venue for music appreciation. “This show was a strong candidate to blend those worlds together,” he explained. “We’re excited that it brought people together to celebrate one of the greatest and most influential bands to ever have existed.”

For additional information about No Jackets Required, visit them on Facebook or email nojacketsrequired@gmail.com.

Article written by Melissa Greco Lopes, editor of The Buzz and student life publicist in University Communications.

Photo courtesy of No Jackets Required.

On Tuesday, Dec. 6, students enrolled in the class put their hard work on display as they serenaded an audience in Goergen Hall with both classical instruments and hand-made instruments created for the course.

See the Video

For the first time this year the course is included in the University curriculum and it is enjoying an enthusiastic reception.  Hanson, who has previously taught a version of the class during the summer Rochester Scholars program for area high school students, was happy to create a collegiate version of the course.

Why study Metal you may ask?  There are three principle reasons besides the novelty factor, he explained.  First, Metal is the most enduring form of rock music to date.  Musical styles such as that of the Beatles’ or other popular genres have waxed and waned over the decades.  But since the release of Black Sabbath’s first album in 1970, Metal has existed in one form or another without significant changes to its core elements.

Second, Hanson and his students confirm, the genre is rich in music theory and technical virtuosity. “These people are really talented musicians,” said sophomore Paige Iovine, a Music and Brain & Cognitive Sciences double major.  “You just see how much dedication it takes to learning that instrument.  I love Baroque music and we even discussed it in the class, how there’s a huge influence of Bach and Vivaldi.  People think of it as a very gritty, dirty kind of music, but there’s also this higher level to it…It’s a type of music that really doesn’t get as much appreciation as it should for how good it actually is,” she concluded.

Finally, the issues of censorship and public political debates over the limits to creative expression are intimately connected to the history of Metal music.  “Nowhere has there been a witch hunt in terms of ‘music’s creating problems in society, music’s creating teenage pregnancies, music’s forcing people to commit suicide,’” to the extent that is has existed in the reception of this genre, Hanson explained.  “It’s the kind of music that a lot of people put a huge taboo on for no reason that’s particularly good,” added Iovine.

Almost forty students are in the class and Hanson did not have a single one drop since the beginning of the semester.  He has tried to include more open-ended assignments, critical writing tasks, and opportunities for students to pursue their own research.  Some have contacted Metal musicians and historians for interviews and one student is making a documentary about the Metal music scene in Rochester.

What has attracted students to the class is often a personal history with the music.  Junior T.J. Davison, a double major in Political Science and Brain & Cognitive Sciences, has loved and played Metal for years.  “I’ve listened to Metal for a while, since probably like high school, and my little brother he plays the drums, I play guitar, and so it’s really fun to jam out to like Metalica or something.”

“It’s actually probably my favorite class that I’ve taken so far,” said Iovine, “My dad played in a lot of local bands and my brother plays guitar really well and he does a lot of Death Metal, like Thrash Metal kind of stuff, so that was kind of the music I grew up on.”

When asked why studying the subject is a worthwhile endeavor, Davison retorted, “There’s just as much structure and depth in Metal as there is in really any other genre of music.  Yeah, it doesn’t appeal to everyone but you know, neither does classical music, and for that matter, neither does rap music.  But I think that every form of music, especially that gets as big as all of these genres have been, should be studied for the musical elements that make us enjoy it.”

Article written by Maya Dukmasova, a Take 5 Scholar at the University of Rochester and an intern at University Communications. She majored in philosophy and religion and focused her Take 5 year on researching the way American media covers current events in the Muslim world. An aspiring journalist, Dukmasova has freelanced for Rochester Magazine, the Phoenix New Times, and the Daily News Egypt in Cairo. She also maintains two blogs, one devoted to culture and society in Russia (www.out-of-russia.com) and the other to photography (www.myorientalism.com).