Newspapers / North Carolina Wesleyan University … / Feb. 26, 1968, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of North Carolina Wesleyan University Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE Rocky Mount, N. C. V(ML IX — NO. 10 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1968 DR. JOHN S. DA Vis One Act Plays Coining Dr. John S, Davis, assist ant professor of music, has written a one-act play which will be performed next month by the Wesleyan College The ater. The play, entitled "Thurs day Friday Afternoon,” has as its motif the problem of interpersonal communication in modern society. The orig inal piece, in the tradition of the theater of the absurd, centers on four characters. Each is unable to make him- s elf understood by the others. It will be performed by a student cast at Wesleyan March 7-9 as a part of a program of three one - act p lays. Dr. Davis is one of three guest composers recently in vited to participate in the First Annual Festival of Con temporary Arts to be held at Atlantic Christian College in March. He will perform at concerts and conduct a semi nar entitled “Compositional Techniques.” The other two guest composers will be Ben Johnson of the University of Illinois and Alfred Blatter of Marshall University. Dr. Davis, who was cast in a leading role in the WCT fall production of “Once Upon a Mattress,” also composed the background and interlude music for the upcoming one act plays. A native of Evanston, IlL, Dr. Davis attended- the Uni versity of Arizona where he received his B. M., M. M., and D. Mus. A. degrees. He is a member of the Alpha Upsilon chapter of Phi Mu Alpha and has wide perform ing experience as a singer, director and composer in op era, musical comedy and ora torio. Since coming to Wesleyan at the beginning of the present academic year, he has com posed a number of original pieces for student music groups, including a folk mass with guitars which the Cham ber Singers will present April 18. At present he is working on “How a Fish Swam in the Air and a Hare in the Water,” a comic opera based on a popular folk tale. Before coming to Wesleyan, Dr. Davis composed an origi nal opera based on Chaucer’s “Pardoner’s Tale.” From 1959 until 1962 he sang pro fessionally with a west coast night club and performed in 13 operas. ‘The principals of human nature, you’ll say, are contradictory; but what is man but a heap of con tradictions!” —David Hume Recital Held By Faculty The Department of Music of N. C. Wesleyan College presented a recital by mem bers of its faculty on Tues day evening, February 20, at 8:15 P. M. in Garber Chapel on the college campus. The public was cordially invited to attend without charge. The recital opened with a performance of Dietrich Bux tehude’s short cantata, “Open Unto Me the Gates of Justice,” The work was performed by John Davis and Lawrence Gup- ton, tenors, Vernon Ball, bari tone, and W, Ted Gossett, or ganist. Mr. Ball is a junior voice major from Kinston in the Department of Music. La ter in the program Mr. Gos sett performed Mozart’s •‘Fantasy in F. Minor, K. 594” for organ. Edgar Stryker, member of the piano faculty, performed a group of selections which included Chopin’s “Polanaise in C-sharp Minor, Op. 26, No. 1” and “Nocturne in F, .Major, Op, 15, No. 1” and the “Capriccio in B Minor, Op. 2, No. 4” by Dohnanyi. Richard Dill, band director and former trumpeter with the Cincinnati Symphony Or chestra, performed Maurice Whitney’s “Concertino for Trumpet,” He was accom panied by Mrs, DilL Mr. Gupton and Dr. Davis returned to perform a group of vocal duets by RobertSchu- mann. They were accompani ed by Dr, Wilham Sasser, chairman of the college’s De partment of Music. The re cital concluded with a per- What Will The Minimester Bring? Unless there is some hindrance from the Board of Trustees, Wesleyan will inaugurate a new system of three divisions within the regular academic year. These divisions will consist of two semesters of the same length, which will last until April 28th, and one minimester lasting until May 23rd. The Decree asked several professors to allow us to present their tentative plans. Further developments will follow. Dr. Johnson; There have been no formal proposals as yet from the history department for the minimester program. Some projects which have been discussed are local research and recon struction in conjunction with the Historic Halifax restoration and a study-tour of England as a pilot project. A proposal has been made that the freshman class undertake a twelve- hour course in Western Man centering on the British experi ence in religion, literature, politics, and law, and that this be followed in the minimester by a study-tour of Britain. No such extensive project would be possible in 1969, but perhaps a pilot group of 30-40 could undertake it to explore the situation and make advance preparations for a larger group. Dr. James: “The Cybernetic Challenge” Basically the problem is this; how can religion molded in the thought patterns of pre-cybernic thinking adapt to the values of the computer era? How can it instruct modern man in the value crisis of today? Four research teams might be formed with one instructor acting as consultant and occasional guide to each group. Students should themselves organize their approach to the problem and should feel free to call upon or not call upon the instructor’s help. To avoid much overlapping each team might tackle a different dimension of the problem which can be broken down as follows; (1) Religion and Work; (2) The Challenge of Cybernetics in Historical Perspective; (3) Bib lical categories in the Machine Age; (4) The Question of God. Each team should consider whatever on - and off - campus research resources might be usefuL A coordinated report by each team should be submitted to the instructor at the end of the third week. The findings of each report should be distributed and studied by alL A general forum might then discuss the findings and consider whether any further actions are indicated. All of this can be done without regular class room meetings and the instructor should aim at being more a research consultant for independent research than a teacher in the traditional sense. Dr, Wagner: Next year N. C. Wesleyan will initiate an educational experiment designed to increase the educational opportun ities available. On the new calendar, as now proposed, the May program has two aspects: a program for Freshmen and Sophonjpres who are not- committe.d to a maita:* and re- .search programs for departmental majors. This phase will attempt to exploit the unique research backgrounds of the various staff members not involved with the lower level courses. Many factors will determine how much can be formance of Paul Bowles’ “Music for a Farce” by Mr, Dill, Dr. Sasser and three students in the department, Carolyn Robards, Clarinetist, from Rocky Mount, Bryan Stearns, percussionist, from Waterford, Conn,, and John Wilson, percussionist from Butner, Freshmen Hold Dance Maurice Williams The freshman class pre sented a dance featuring Maurice Williams and the “Zodiacs” last Friday night at 8:00 P. M. in the Student Union. The dance which lasted un til 12:00 was widely publi cized over a radius of sev enty-five miles. The indus- enty-five miles. The indus trious freshmen were able to convince the local stations in such communities as Wil- s on, Enfield, Roanoke Rapids, Nashville, and in the larger areas such as Durham and Greenville to spot their com ing event. With the door apparently wide open, the frosh expected, at the time of this writing, to have a capacity crowd. Lex Roach assured this re porter that the decorations would be really something, lisychedelic in nature, the decorations were to have been the responsibility of the girls, (SEE MINIMESTER PAGE) (SEE DANCE PAGE)
North Carolina Wesleyan University Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 26, 1968, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75