UNews - Prague

Prague experience resonates

trevor.kenney — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:05:28 +0000

The Department of Theatre and Dramatic Arts had never previously sent their technical theatre and design majors on an international travel experience. So when the department finally got that opportunity, it made it worth their students' while as they attended the largest performance design event in the world – the Prague Quadrennial (PQ).

"PQ is truly the World's Fair for the technical theatre and design profession," says Roger Schultz, the instructor who instigated and spearheaded the project. "The PQ is an international exposition that highlights and exhibits the art of theatre designers from more than 76 countries spread across five continents."

Every four years since 1967, more than 5,000 registered theatre professionals and students, along with 30,000 visitors, descend on the Czech Republic's capital city. Featuring individual country pavilions, workshops, lectures, discussions and presentations on contemporary work in all theatre design disciplines; the PQ lasts 10 activity-packed days.

Technical theatre and design majors made the most of their Prague excursion.

"Both the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and our department recognize the value of students obtaining international experiences in their field of study," says Schultz (BFA '89). "This event provided an innovative opportunity for students to witness first-hand the national trends and the work of leading theatre design practitioners from around the world."

The PQ also has a strong student component highlighted by the student pavilions, which were almost as extensive as the main exhibition, and an event called Scenofest, which involved live design/performance and student workshops.

"Our students were excited to take part in one and two-day workshops where they explored sound, light, costume and scenic design under the guidance of a renowned international theatre design artist," says Schultz. "It was also a wonderful forum for meeting and working with their peers from around the world."

The opportunity to visit Prague, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and experience its long history and rich cultural life was an added bonus. As well as being known for such cultural heroes as Mucha, Kafka and Mozart, Prague is renowned for its architecture. With roots stretching back to 900 AD, much of the architecture in this city has survived intact. Pristine examples of Gothic, Romanesque and Renaissance, as well as famous examples of Art Nouveau and Art Deco architecture abound.

"Add to that a culture rich in music, contemporary art museums, the fascinating residue of Communism and a real live castle (with St Vitus Cathedral as the crowning jewel) overlooking the entire city, Prague is a must see destination," enthuses Schultz.

The trip to the PQ was a significant educational opportunity for the students.

"Forums of this sort, specifically focused on their area of specialization, are rare," he says. "The students who participated returned transformed and more aware of their place and connection to a larger global community. As one student put it, "It was wonderful to see that there is so much more out there . . . more than I thought I knew, more than I could have imagined."

This story first appeared in the November issue of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Prague experience resonates

trevor.kenney — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:47:50 +0000

Technical theatre and design majors made the most of their Prague excursion.

The trip to the PQ was a significant educational opportunity for the students.

This story first appeared in the November issue of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Langager sparks a Choral celebration

trevor.kenney — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:18:39 +0000

It's not often Lethbridge experiences a collaboration of our community's strongest choirs in one concert, but on Mar. 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Southminster United Church, Vox Musica, LCI Chamber Choir and the U of L Singers join together for Awake My Soul and Sing: A Choral Celebration.

The concert caps off an intensive week of workshops and rehearsals with guest conductor, Dr. Graeme Langager, director of choral activities at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia School of Music. The weeklong workshops, co-ordinated by the Vox Musica Choral Society, provide an opportunity for the choirs to share expertise.

"Our mandate is to promote choral music in southern Alberta and we believe providing opportunity for these activities outside our fixed rehearsal schedule benefits our choir, as well as the other choirs participating in the workshops," says Carolyn Speakman, Vox Musica Choral Society president.

Langager's visit includes spending 4-5 hours with each choir during their regular rehearsals.

"Dr. Langager was a student at LCI and sang with Frank Gnandt's choir in high school," says Speakman. "After spending several years in the United States, he's returned to Canada and is now part of the Canadian choral scene."

Langager received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from California State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Long Beach. He has taught throughout the United States, including stops in California, Ohio, North Carolina and Arkansas, and at the high school, college and university levels. A sought after clinician and guest conductor, he is also an active composer and arranger.

Langager's choirs have performed throughout Europe and the United States including such prestigious venues as St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Stefansdom in Vienna, Notre Dame in Paris, St. Nicholas in Prague and St. Stephen's in Budapest.

"The concert promises a varied program that showcases the strengths and talents of each choir," says Speakman.

Tickets to this rare evening of choral masterpieces are available at Long and McQuade (323 – 8th St. S.) for $15 regular and $10 for students and seniors. Tickets are also available at the door on the night of the concert.

For look at the February issue of the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Tidsbury helped create Olympic memories

trevor.kenney — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:33:34 +0000

It has already been one year since we came together as a nation to watch the world's elite athletes strive for glory at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. For many of us, the excitement of watching the world's top athletes compete for gold will forever be linked to the inspiring theme song, "I Believe".

For Josh Tidsbury (BSc '03), systems specialist, Creative Technology Systems with CTVglobemedia, the song represents one of the highlights of his career.

Working as a score producer and engineer as well as post-production technical lead for CTV during the games, Tidsbury played an integral part in bringing the sounds and music of the Olympics alive. Tidsbury, together with Mike Nunan, began creating the musical theme package in mid 2009, working with a composer and writer then executing the strings, brass, percussion and choir recordings before mixing and editing for the final musical score.

Alumnus Josh Tidsbury was back on campus recently, speaking to students in the New Media program about his career path.

"The entire Olympic experience was amazing, a once-in-a-lifetime experience to create the musical theme," says Tidsbury, who fondly refers to his more than 1,500 CTV colleagues as "our own little team Canada". "People have this connection between music and memory that brings them back the way nothing else does. The "I Believe" theme that the nation heard endlessly for 17 days will forever remind people of the extraordinary performances of the 2010 games. It was very humbling and inspiring to be a part of that."

Tidsbury has long been inspired by the world of music production and recording. After graduating from Calgary's Lord Beaverbrook High School, he and his former band teachers
received a provincial grant to build a recording studio and create the first high school recording program in Alberta. Despite his love of music and audio technology, however, Tidsbury came to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and entered the neuroscience program, intending to pursue a career in medicine.

"I was taken on a tour by one of the faculty members. When I got a sense of how student-centered the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ was and how many opportunities there were for undergraduates – things such as working in a lab – it was an easy sell."

Taking advantage of those opportunities, Tidsbury worked in a lab setting with
Dr. Glen Prusky for three years. Tidsbury says the experience kept him grounded in the sciences and gave him a creative outlet outside of the classroom.

"It allowed me to have a hands-on approach to the sciences. It helped shape how I approach my day-to-day work at CTV," he says. "I actually write a lot of software applications now to aid post-production flow, and I find myself taking a more scientific approach, studying what is right and wrong. I ask questions like, how do we make it better and how can we observe things and remove biases? Even though it isn't necessarily a straight line from neuroscience to what I do today, it's all interconnected."

Throughout his undergraduate studies, Tidsbury maintained a connection to music, playing in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's jazz band under the direction of Dr. Ed Wasiak, and recording and mixing music on the side to help make rent. When he graduated in 2003 with a bachelor of science in neuroscience, Tidsbury realized that, despite his love of science, his true passion was with music production and recording. He spent the following year studying and working at the Banff Centre where he earned an audio associate certificate, before being accepted into the exclusive master's of music in sound recording program at McGill ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ on a full scholarship. He graduated from McGill in 2007 and moved to Toronto to begin his career at CTV. Grateful for the opportunities and encouragement he has received over the years, Tidsbury believes in giving back.

"If it weren't for the fact that everyone from my high school band director to the folks at the U of L, the Banff Centre and McGill took the time to help me out and push me ahead, I wouldn't be doing what I am doing now," says Tidsbury, who recently returned to the U of L to talk with students about his experiences. "If there is any way I can give back and bring help, inspiration, or guidance to students who are at the point I was not that long ago, then I want to wherever I can."

GET THE FACTS

· Tidsbury engineered the orchestral soundtrack for the Canadian Film, Just Buried, at Dvorak Hall, Prague, Czech Republic.

· He mixed the musical score for Stake Land, an award winning film that debuted at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.

· Tidsbury is a member of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), and has been the lead designer of the AES online redevelopment since 2007.

· He is currently an adjunct faculty member at Toronto's Humber College, teaching courses in audio engineering and production.

UNews - Prague

Prague experience resonates

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