Purdue News
Purdue News
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April 7, 2004 Basketballs, shopping bags become instruments in 'Hey Ya!'WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – There's nothing abstract about Purdue professor Pam Nave's approach to musical color in the Purdue Percussion Ensemble and Winter Drumline's "Hey Ya!" concert on Sunday, April 18. "Lime green is the color," Nave says. That trendy hue colors everything from apparel to fog for the title number as Purdue's percussionists emulate a rock video setting with their version of Outkast's current hit "Hey Ya!" It's just the first number in a musical color parade that begins at 2:30 p.m. in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse. Admission to the concert is free, and no tickets are needed. Lots of different colors enter the afternoon's musical picture, ranging from the orange-brown of basketballs in "Double Dribble" to the gold and black of plastic shopping bags used in a number called "Sacks Appeal." Ever since Nave took over the spring percussion concerts in 2000, the annual event has been devoted to a mix of funky, contemporary percussion works – the kind of pieces given national exposure by Stomp – and serious percussion compositions. "I'm just trying to educate," she says. "I want people to be exposed to different types of percussion from total American stuff to the complex rhythms of Indian music." The adventurous nature of the concert makes it an excellent fit with the university's Spring Fest, which encourages the community to explore the campus on April 17-18 through such events as Bug Bowl and the Purdue Horticulture Show. With these activities in mind, Nave gears the show to have a broad family appeal. Special guests this year include Sandip Burman, a professional percussionist specializing in North Indian tabla drums, the West Lafayette High School Percussion Ensemble under the direction of Matt Conaway and Ritchie Brickler, a xylophone player from McCutcheon High School. Throughout the year, Nave keeps her ears open for new percussion works, especially those using items not usually considered percussion instruments. Examples of that in the April 18 concert are "Clap Happy," "Double Dribble" and "Sacks Appeal." Hand and body percussion takes center stage in "Clap Happy." "It's intricate, rhythmic stuff, and all four women performing it have solos," Nave says. Bouncing basketballs form the rhythmic lines in "Double Dribble." "It's like the kids are practicing, or warming up for a game," she says. "There's even a coach out there yelling at them and blowing a whistle." And although it all sounds like fun, "it's one of our hardest pieces. You have to put the ball down at the right time and smack it at the right time. There's some very intricate toss work going on." The percussion instructor had to audition bags to find just the right amount of crinkle for the playful piece titled "Sacks Appeal," in which musicians make music by crinkling shopping bags. "It took me a while to find the right sack," Nave says. "It had to be thick and loud and durable to do all the stuff we wanted to do with it. The crunchy sacks from University Spirit worked the best." Other tunes adding their own color to the event are David Bruebeck's "La Fiesta de la Posada," an updated tune with a Mexican flavor, and Edward Freytag's "Death of Ooga Booga." "It's a hard piece, but very cool, very powerful and loud," Nave says. "There's chanting going on, so it sounds like something tribal." The concert's serious side is highlighted by David Gillingham's "Gate to Heaven," which also requires the musicians to sing while they perform. It features Diana Day, a sophomore nursing major from Indianapolis on a marimba solo backed up by the Purdue Percussion Ensemble. CONTACT: Kathy Matter, Purdue Bands public relations director, (765) 496-6785, kcmatter@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu Related Web site:
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