Arts & Humanities
By Hannah Castro |
The Impact Commons in the Chase Fine Arts Center.
LOGAN, Utah — Utah State University’s Music Composition Seminar and Department of English are hosting an event where original poetry will be performed alongside newly composed musical pieces, blending words and music into a powerful artistic experience. This event will begin at 7 p.m. April 21 in the Impact Commons within the Chase Fine Arts Center.
This project is part of a broader interdisciplinary initiative at USU, with past collaborations including the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art and the University of Utah. Over the course of the semester, poets from the Department of English spent the first two months crafting original works, which were then shared with student composers in February. Since early April, the composers have been rehearsing their musical interpretations of the poetry.
“It’s a collaborative effort, with the class offering suggestions, and then the composers go back and do a little bit more work and then bring it back,” Piano Professor Kevin Olson said. “We just have a great culture with the student composers who will offer feedback and ideas. It’s an open and considerate process. I think they do a really great job in offering feedback that’s constructive and encouraging without judgment.”
The event will take place in a gallery-style setting for a more intimate experience than a traditional concert. Poets will read their poetry, then the composer will give a short intro about what the poem meant to them.
Another unique aspect of this event is the faculty collaboration.
“My colleague, Thomas Glenn, he’s on the voice faculty, has set a few poems. I’ve taken a poem by Ben Gunsberg, who’s on the English faculty and set it to music,” Olson said. “So, it’ll be both a faculty and a student collaboration.”
Future plans include potential collaborations with science departments. Olson also mentioned a student’s project with NASA and the Space Dynamics Lab and tying it to music.
“As a land grant institution Utah State, we’re always about interfacing with the community, and opportunities for collaboration and Interdisciplinary Studies,” Olson said. “Every time I’ve reached out to either the museum or other departments there’s always been an enthusiastic response. It shows me that it’s something that people want, and then we always get a great turnout from the community. It also shows that people are interested in new music and some of the creative, innovative things that are going on around here.”
This event is free and open to the public. For more information visit the USU events calendar online.
Hannah Castro
Media & Public Relations Assistant
Caine College of the Arts
hannah.castro@usu.edu
Kevin Olson
Piano Area Coordinator and Professor
Caine College of the Arts
435-797-3033
kevin.olson@usu.edu
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