I say “accordion,” you say what? “Polka!” “That girl in the Decemberists!” “Lederhosen!” Associations abound, but one would be hard pressed to find anyone who, upon mention of this quirky instrument, would automatically blurt out “Classical music!” Teodoro Anzellotti is aiming to change that, however, and by the look of things, he just might get his way. Read the rest of this entry »

By about 12:30 last Friday afternoon, University of Chicago mathematics graduate students Strom Borman and Daniele Rosso were sitting under the King Lear statue at the foot of the Magnificent Mile, basking in their speedy victory under the late fall sun. They proudly held a trophy bearing a boldly-striding golden figure clad in a red-and-white striped shirt, along with its source: a set of Martin Handford’s “Where’s Waldo” books. Read the rest of this entry »

Listening to the University of Chicago’s Middle East Music Ensemble, it’s hard to believe not all of the members have a lifetime of experience in Middle Eastern music. In fact, many have only recently begun playing it. Students at the UofC make up most of the group. No experience with Middle Eastern instruments—as long as they can play an instrument—is necessary to join the ensemble, which auditions new members in September of each school year. Guitar, piano, and clarinet players, among many others, can use their skills to learn the ‘ud (similar to a lute), qanun (a box zither), or baglama (also similar to a lute). The ensemble also uses Western string instruments and even accordion on certain songs. Although the singers are native Arabic speakers for authenticity’s sake, the rest of the ensemble is as diverse as any student orchestra. The Middle East Music Ensemble is led by renowned Palestinian-born composer and ‘ud player Issa Boulos. He believes that the group’s diversity improves their performance, and even makes it competitive with similar ensembles in the Middle East. Read the rest of this entry »

No matter how cold it gets outside, the lecture room on Rosenwald’s fourth floor exudes warmth. Sofas lean against wood-paneled walls, and the light is always soft and welcoming. Outside, the hallway is lit by halogen, and the bright white walls always seem strange and austere. Before his reading last Thursday, poet August Kleinzahler paced the bright hallway, while his audience—mostly students and faculty in the University of Chicago English Department, who chattered about their current work, or lack thereof—waited for him to begin. Read the rest of this entry »

The game of squash generally evokes images of the cucumber-sandwich-eating East Coast elite. But on any given weekday afternoon, a group of fifty inner-city public school children gather to swing their racquets on the courts of the University of Chicago’s Henry Crown Field House. Read the rest of this entry »

“We’re having a sit-in, yo!”

The statement wasn’t exactly necessary. Judging by the excess of signs with slogans like “Worker Power” and “We Demand a Fair Contract,” it was immediately obvious that some sort of protest was taking place. But in lieu of angry fist-raising, the fifteen or so students gathered on the floor of the University of Chicago’s Bartlett Hall lobby lounged around, singing songs of solidarity to the tune of “Glory, Glory Hallelujah” and playing board games. In their defense, it wasn’t any old board game: it was “Power Grid,” a German game with the objective of powering the most U.S. power plants. Even in recreation, these students aim to help society. Read the rest of this entry »

In Frances-Marie Uitti’s hands, the cello is anything but staid. For starters, she plays with two bows. The Chicago-born, Amsterdam-residing cellist developed her radical extended technique while living in Rome in the ’70s. Frequently improvising alone, she grew obsessed with chordal playing. After experimenting unsuccessfully with a specially-commissioned curved bow that only allowed adjacent strings to be played simultaneously, she began developing her distinctive underbow-overbow technique. It’s no surprise, then, that Uitti has become known as an experimenter, as well as a masterful interpreter of 20th century art music. That combination has long been appreciated by the Univerity of Chicago-based Renaissance Society, which is now hosting her for a fourth performance, this time on November 16th in Bond Chapel in conjunction with Mexican conceptual artist Francis Alys’ exhibit “Bolero.” Read the rest of this entry »

Trendy theories and their attendant language can make academia a harsh environment for anybody, but for those who slouch intellectually, depending on the old slang can be disastrous. The insistent use of the passive voice will only take you so far, and at some point, your dullness may become apparent. On the other hand, political sociologist John C. Cross’s November 9th lecture at the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago on Mexico City street vendors was an exciting window into the travails of the floundering academic. And on all the toesies of a naked foot, it allowed me to play ’90s buzzword bingo. Read the rest of this entry »