Saxophone players of the Emporia State Jazz Ensemble perform Thursday evening in Albert Taylor Hall. Their next performance will be on Nov. 17 in Albert Taylor Hall with special guests. Jenny Pendarvis/The Bulletin

Saxophones, trombones, trumpets, guitars, drums, a vibraphone, a piano, flugelhorns, bass guitars and other instruments played in unison for a jazz concert last Thursday in Albert Taylor Hall.

“The purpose of the concert was to play great music and hopefully play it well,” said Gary Ziek, director of bands and professor of trumpet. “This concert served as an educational tool for students. They were exposed to music all around the world. During tonight’s concert, we had music from Brazil, America, Cuba – you name it.”

The concert raised around $350 for the music department and more than 170 people attended the event, including about 40 music majors and four faculty members. Tickets sold at $5.

“The concert was awesome, fantastic and adventurous. I was shaking my head and feet in my seat the entire time,” said Jennifer Perna, sophomore elementary education major.

The first half of the concert featured ESU faculty and students, including Ziek, PJ Stephenson, Tracy Freeze, Riley Day, Colin Jones and John Gilmore, performing a jazz combo. Another ensemble played “Norwegian Woods,” “Eighth Avenue March” and other pieces directed by Ziek during the second half of the show.

Ziek said that jazz is “indefinable,” but that it is all about rhythm, harmony and energy.

“Jazz stands out from other genres of music because so much improvisation is involved,” Ziek said. “In a lot of other genres, what is performed is closely linked to what is on the page, but when playing jazz, there is a lot more freedom.”

The mission of ESU’s music program, Ziek said, is to teach students about America’s native music, including jazz.

“Music is sort of like life – very important as important as breathing,” Ziek said.

The music department also hosted the marching band festival on Wednesday at Welch Stadium.

“I want to let people know that future plans of the music department are available online and in the music department office,” Ziek said. “I encourage people to come to all different kinds of concerts because there are great things going on.”

The music department will host a Chamber Orchestra concert at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow night in Heath Recital Hall. Tickets will be $4 for students and seniors and $5 for general admission.

Simone Cosper

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Flutist Leone Buyse performs Saturday night in Albert Taylor Hall. Buyse was a graduate student at ESU in 1971 . Chirs Franklin/The Bulletin

Leone Buyse, internationally-know flutist and Emporia State alumna, headlined the music department’s annual Gala Benefit Concert last Saturday.

The concert raised around $10,000 to help fund scholarships for music students, according to Jeremy Star, assistant professor of violin and viola and director of orchestras.

“We want as many people to receive scholarships as possible,” Star said. “We can never have too much scholarship money to give out to our students.”

The ESU flute choir, the Emporia Symphony Orchestra and Denis Basset, assistant professor of voice, accompanied Buyse. A silent auction preceded the concert.

“I agreed to play at ESU because the year that I spent as a graduate student in 1971, was very formative in my development,” Buyse said.

Star said the benefit’s proceeds are the main source of funding for scholarships. Tickets were $25.

“All of it goes to scholarships – every last penny,” Star said.

Don Kyle, ESU alumnus and former music faculty member, said that the availability of funds ensures quality students.

“When you know a few names and faces and realize what it has done for them and you see them go into a successful career, it really grows on you,” Kyle said.

Samuel Schmidgall, freshman secondary English education major and cello player, said scholarships help lessen financial burdens on students.

“This event is important because it helps reduce the cost of college,” Schmidgall said. “I honestly save more money.”

Buyse said the arts are not as well supported as they used to be on either the state or national level.

“There is nothing more important at this particular juncture in time – our country very much needs the arts,” Buyse said. “I feel it’s a very important part of my giving back to participate in this event. Art is what makes us human.”

“By art, we can mean music, we can mean dance, drama, paintings on a wall. It is something that takes you outside of your everyday existence and helps you to ponder some of the more important and difficult to understand concepts of being alive,” Buyse said.

The music department will host the Susan Mayo Cello Recital at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16 in Heath Recital Hall located in Beech Music Hall. Star said tickets start at $5 for general admission and $4 for students. Admission is free for attendees 12 and under.

Simone Cosper

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Photo illustration Megan Gartner/The Bulletin

ESB Financial is now offering digital music downloads from iTunes and Amazon.com as rewards to Emporia students signing up for a Kasasa Tunes checking account.

“I really like it,” said Makenzie Harder, sophomore undecided major, who signed up for the account this summer. “When I got the first $25, I used it to buy songs, and then I get $5 a month. It’s just like I can pay for whatever songs I want.”

The bank rewards Kasasa Tunes account holders with $5 in digital downloads and up to $20 in national ATM fee refunds every month qua, with no monthly service fees and no minimum balance required. A principal $25 in digital downloads is rewarded for signing up.

“Account holders can use their downloads to get music, television shows, movies, iPhone or iPad applications and anything else available on iTunes or on Amazon.com,” said Jody Steinberger, director of Kasasa at BancVue. “These days consumers can purchase just about anything online through Amazon.com, like textbooks or new clothes for the new year. The options are practically limitless.”

But students should notice that a minimum 12 debit card transactions and receiving eStatements are still required to qualify each monthly cycle.

“Kasasa Tunes is a free checking account,” said Jennifer Brothers, a personal banker at ESB Financial. “So even if you didn’t get your 12 debit card transactions or didn’t sign up for your eStatement, it’s still a free account. There’s never any charges on it, or any maintenance fees or anything like that. If the account holders can’t meet the qualifications in a given month, they will be eligible the following month for the benefits.”

Kasasa Tunes, along with Kasasa Cash and Kasasa Saver, is part of the Kasasa brand. ESB Financial launched Kasasa Cash and Kasasa Saver in June 2010, and Kasasa Tunes two months later and new this semester are the Amazon.com downloads in addition to the iTunes downloads.

“Kasasa Tunes is designed for consumers with a passion for music and media,” Steinberger said. “We discovered a segment of banking consumers that are interested in discovery, excitement and experiences. So we developed Kasasa Tunes to engage these consumers with rewards they really care about.”

The bank offers account holders the ability to sign up for Kasasa tunes in person or on their website, Kasasa.com.

Tianhai Jiang

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Pedersen

I love Emporia’s music scene.

At my house alone there have been concerts of some of the most talented and unique musicians Emporia has to offer. We have had everything from hip-hop to punk to noise metal all under the same roof.

We even have a couple house bands and, let me tell you, getting a solid dose of live music almost every week does great things for the soul. I have also been to shows at bars and the Granada Theatre and I’m blown away at the music that comes into Emporia.

But one thing that has always disappointed me during the last few years of going to music shows is the level of attendance. It seems that no matter how many people are at a show, I always want there to be more. I see more people walking to one class than I do at an amazing local music show.

During these shows, I always wonder why there are so few people. Is it because of the quality of the music or the venues? Is it because we are a “commuter school?” Or is it because we simply don’t have enough motivated people?

Of course the weather has played a large part in low attendance as of late but I think the reason people don’t come is a combination of the above things. Strangely enough, those are all assumptions people make which may come from a false perception.

We all know the simple equation: no people = worse music in the future. If people don’t attend events of any sort, those venues make less money and can’t book as good shows and eventually Emporia sucks even more.

There is a schism in people who stay in Emporia and enjoy what is here and those who do not. Those who don’t are afraid to even try enjoying what Emporia has to offer because they are solidified in the mindset that Emporia is boring.

On the other side of the coin, you have the people who realize that Emporia is fairly boring and do all that they can to make it fun and interesting.

It feels like when I first came to Emporia, this side was much larger and people went to bars to see live music, not to Natasha’s or Desperado’s to shake it to a DJ playing canned music.

I am not asking that you change your way of life and go to every show possible, but I am asking for you to have an open mind and take a taste of some local flavor.

Don’t shut down, get down.

Alex Pedersen/ The Bulletin

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The Emporia State Music Department is hosting the Annual Gala Benefit concert from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at Heath Recital Hall in Beach Music Hall. The concert provides music scholarships to musically talented students and music lovers of all kinds.

“The money that is raised from this (concert) goes strictly into music scholarships, nothing else,” said Associate Professor of Music Martin Cuellar.

In addition to the event, a silent auction will take place from 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Money raised from the auction will also go toward student scholarships. Hors d’oeuvres and wine will be served before and after the concert. The event will feature 12 members of the music faculty, including two part-time professors and three students.

Dawn McConkie Courtney, Associate Professor of clarinet and saxophone, said that rehearsals have been happening since the beginning of school. Rehearsals go on for about 45 minutes total. McConkie Courtney will be playing the clarinet.

“Most fundraisers such as this, somebody brings an important artist and you have to pay him… In this case, the faculty is performing so there are no over-head expenses. We are donating our time and our services… so the money that is raised is 100 percent going into scholarship money,” said Cuellar, who will play piano at the benefit.

Many faculty members will be returning to participate in the event.

“This is my first time participating in this style,” said Jeremy Starr, Orchestral director, who is playing violin at the concert.

The concert is not just for music majors or music students, but is for any music lover and is open to the community.

“Alumni and friends of the music program all support it,” Cuellar said.

For almost 20 years, this benefit has been taking place to inspire and support students who are into music or have musical talent.

“They did this once before and it was a great success,” Starr said.

This year, they will be honoring the memory of ESU Low Brass Professor Jeffery Hodapp, who passed away in December 2009. The department is establishing the Doctor Jeffery Hodapp Memorial Scholarship with a portion of the money raised from the concert. Hodapp taught at ESU from 2001 to 2009.

Also, Rose Hirschorn, a former teacher at ESU, will be inducted into the Beach Hall Distinction. This will take place during intermission. A reception will be held immediately following the concert.

The ticket price for this event is $25 per person. For ticket information, call 620-341-5431.

Steven Stanek

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From the left: Shanshan Zuo, junior business major, Funa Wang, graduate in piano performance, Liyang Han, graduate in piano performance, Anthony Foust, junior music education major, Erin East, freshman music major, Sun Zhu, graduate in piano performance, Hua Jiang, piano performance major. All of these students will be performing Sunday afternoon in Heath Recital Hall. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

Seven students of Martin Cuellar, associate professor of music, will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday in Heath Recital Hall in Beach Music Hall.

“(The audience) will listen to some very talented young performers who are very passionate about what they do,” Cuellar said.

The performance will be comprised of classical pieces from artists including Franz Liszt, Joseph Haydn and Frederic Chopin.

“I chose two sonatas by (Domenico) Scarlatti,” said Liyang Han, piano performance graduate student. “Both of them are very charming pieces and I really like them.”

All of the students have an interest in piano performance, Cuellar said.

“I think the audience will really enjoy the concert,” Cuellar said. “The audience will come and hear a concert of classical music selections by young performers who play in a very polished, very convincing way.”

The piano program has different tracts that students can take to get their degree.

“Some of (the students) pursue a performance major and some of the them pursue a pedagogy,” Cuellar said. “But their instrument is piano and that’s what they’ve been studying from a very early age.”

Han has been playing piano for over 10 years.

“When I was in China, I did a lot of piano recitals,” Han said. “Dr. Cuellar just wants to give the students more chances to show our performance talents.”

Cuellar holds concerts by his students at least once a year.

“This is an opportunity for them to perform for their friends, their relatives and the community,” Cuellar said.

Erin East, freshman music major, chose her piece because she was drawn to the melodic elements in the song.

“It’s the sonata I’m most comfortable with and I really liked the melody,” East said. “(The ending) notes make it sound like someone is laughing and I really like that.”

East has been playing piano for almost 12 years.

Anthony Foust, music education major, will play “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 5 in E minor” by Franz Liszt. Funa Wang, piano performance major, will play “Sonata in C minor” by Joseph Haydn.

Sun Zhu, piano performance major, will play “Sonata in D major” by Mateo Albeniz. Hua Jiang, piano performance major, will play two etudes by Frederic Chopin.

Shanshan Zuo, business major, will play “Etude in F Minor” by Frederic Chopin. East will play “Sonata in A major” by Cimarrosa.

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Jeff Hodapp, associate professor of music

The death of Jeffrey Hodapp, associate professor of music, came as a complete shock to Emporia State’s music department and all of those that knew him. Hodapp taught low brass, string bass, theory and music appreciation at ESU for seven years.

“He loved what he did and he was an extremely good musician and he had a tremendous understanding of how instruments worked,” said Allan Comstock, music department chair. “That’s key if you’re going to be a good teacher. He was able to convey that to a student.”

Hodapp suffered from a pulmonary embolism, which Comstock said usually happens when someone has been flying long distances and doesn’t get a chance to get up and move around.  A clot then develops and moves to another area of the body. Comstock said Hodapp had been performing a lot and driving from one place to another when he developed a severe pain in his leg that went on for a couple of days before he went to see a doctor. He died in his hometown of Owatonna, Minn. on Dec. 30, 2009.

“Someone sent me a text message about it. It was a shock for me,” said Seth Thomas-Stiers, junior music education major. “At first I thought maybe someone was pulling my leg or something like that. I didn’t want to believe it when it happened.”

Hodapp was on sabbatical for this academic year. Comstock said they’re looking in to finding a replacement for next year.

Comstock said he’s hoping to schedule Hodapp’s memorial for the first or second weekend of February. Right now, he said he’s trying to get in touch with the family because the date of the memorial depends on when they can attend.

“(The memorial) will primarily be friends and colleagues of Dr. Hodapp performing works that are either appropriate for the occasion, works that he might have been particularly fond of or works that he may have composed or arranged himself,” Comstock said.

Thomas-Stiers had applied tuba and theory one and two with Hodapp. He said what he liked about Hodapp as a teacher is that he would give an assignment and see how students would approach it first and then give them feedback. He said that he could get several things accomplished while still being able to enjoy it and have fun.

“If it wasn’t for him, I know as far as tuba playing goes, that I wouldn’t be to the level I play at today,” Thomas- Stiers said.

Hodapp had a brass ensemble and a tuba euphonium ensemble at ESU. His Web site, www.jeffhodapp.com, says he was also a part of the Flint Hills Brass Quintet (ESU faculty ensemble) and bassist in the ESU Faculty Jazz Combo. He had a Doctor of Musical Arts and a Master of Music degree in tuba performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and two Baccalaureate Degrees in music (education and tuba performance) from Mankato State University.

Comstock said he was very versatile, so he could teach a lot of different things. He said Hodapp was a great tuba, electric bass and string bass player, as well as a wonderful classroom teacher.

“He was a tremendous applied music teacher,” Comstock said. “His students regularly won the university honor recital. He was able to just work wonders with students.”

Comstock said that Hodapp was always willing to help whether someone needed help covering a class or doing housework. He said Hodapp had a great sense of humor as well as a warm heart and that he will be impossible to replace.

“He was just a one in a million kind of person,” Comstock said.

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COURTESY PHOTO DAVID OAKLEAF

In its first post-summer show, The Granada Theatre will host David Oakleaf and Jared “Pete” Gile at 8 p.m. Saturday.

“They will play music as a combination of vintage country and modern rock,” said Jessica Buchholz, the new executive director of the Emporia Granada Theatre.

Buchholz, an Emporia State graduate, took over The Granada in May after being chosen from a group of 27 candidates, according to the Granada website.

“Both David Oakleaf and (Jared) ‘Pete’ Gile are originally from Kansas,” Buchholz said. “They are both performers that have traveled all around the United States.”

Oakleaf, who moved to Nashville, Tenn. three years ago, was born in Howard, Kan. As described in his Country Music Television profile, Oakleaf picked up playing guitar and singing as a hobby along with roping horses in Howard. At the age of 11, Oakleaf had his first performance in the local Opry House in his hometown.

Oakleaf and Jared Johnson won the fifth place in the first season of the show “Can you Duet” last year, which is produced by FremantleMedia, the same company that is in charge of the production of “American Idol.”

The performer plays an array of instruments including the guitar, harmonica, trumpet and drums and is influenced musically by the likes of George Strait, Keith Urban and Led Zeppelin, according to CMT.

After his Granada performance, Oakleaf will travel to several other cities in Kansas, including Caney, Axtell and Howard, later in September.

The featuring artist Jared “Pete” Gile and Oakleaf met each other when they spent their academic years in Manhattan at the same time. They both played music in a pub, which was full of musicians.

Jared “Pete” Gile, is from Scandia, a small town located in North Central Kansas.

“It is kind of funny,” Gile said in a telephone interview. “Pete is just a nickname. That’s why it is in quotes. I kinda go by Jared ‘Pete’ Gile, but everybody who knows me just calls me ‘Pete’.”

Gile received a degree in biology from Kansas State University. Recently, he started a new business with his father.

“Well, I never actually formally did music,” he said. “It is just always a hobby of mine. As soon as I graduated from college, I went ahead and was trying to make a living from my hobby. So I kinda have been doing that ever since.”

Gile has independently released two albums of his original music, “Modern Day Mountain Man” in 2003 and “More of Me” in 2007. Last week, Gile spent his time in Austin, Texas, recording his new single, which will be released in early October.

Gile will play music in a folk and country style. Oakleaf’s band will play more modern rock. Gile also plans to reveal the stories behind the music to the audience.

“I heard (The Granada Theatre) is very nice,” Gile said. “I’m looking forward to performing there”.

Tickets are available at the Granada Coffee Company, Sweet Granada, or by calling the box office for $15. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the concert begins at 8 p.m.

The Granada will also host movies and other concerts throughout September.

Xinyi Chen/The Bulletin

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