Musical lunches strike a chord

By JAIMEE ABBOTT
Collegian Staff Writer

Box lunches never sounded so good.

Each week this semester, vocalists and musicians will perform 20-minute concerts at Eisenhower Chapel as part of the "Bach's Lunch" series, sponsored by the College of Arts and Architecture and the University Lutheran Parish.

Five voice students will kick off the series at 12:10 p.m. today, performing solo selections of their final exam pieces from last semester.

The voice majors - Andrea Bidelspach, Jamie Anna, Korey Jackson, Lachele Jack and Samantha Woods were required to arrange and memorize different songs in several different languages, and now they are offering the results for public consumption.

Next Thursday will bring jazzier, brassier fare when Saxophobia, a group of saxophone performance majors and a professor of music, will play classical pieces the musicians adapted to their instruments.

"We listen to the original and study the violin and try to take some of that in our interpretation," said Bill Ferguson (senior-music), who plays the tenor sax.

"It's a really neat sound, especially doing Bach. It almost sounds like an organ," he said.

Matt Donovan (junior-music), who plays the baritone sax, said because the sax has a similar tambour and range as many string instruments, Saxophobia's classical numbers sound "almost like a string quartet with wind instruments."

The group also performs jazz music, including material by piano great Thelonious Monk.

"We try to do half classical and half jazz," Ferguson said, "because (the mix) appeals to a broader audience, and it's more satisfying to us."

The group has performed at the Bach's Lunch series in the past and expects a crowd of 75 to 100 people.

After each concert, audience members are invited to bring their box lunches to the Roy and Agnes Wilkinson Lounge in Eisenhower Chapel.