Amanda Summers – copy editor. While many Linfield students may not remember the evening of Oct. 24, approximately 25 can, as some face-melting music, men in black and a bit of blood were imprinted on their minds.
The men in black were the Kaiser Academy Music and Art Ensemble, composed of Noah Seitz, Shane Borth, Josh Kendle and Brad Zeithamel. The group performed in the Delkin Recital Hall. The program featured works by Herbert Howells, Alexander Glazunov, W.A. Mozart and Jean Cras.
“It’s some interesting music,” Zeithamel said. “It’s nice to hear something different than Beethoven and Bach.”
The group had a week together to rehearse its repertoire before the concert.
“We got to hang out all week and rehearse, which is awesome,” Seitz said.
The performance began without any introduction; the musicians simply walked in, sat down and — with a combined, sharp intake of air — began to play “Fantasy String Quartet, Op. 25” by Howells. The piece, featuring the violin, had a lilting melody and was full of deep, rich sounds. The musicians let the final note hang in the air and remained perfectly still for a moment at the end of the piece. Once they moved to put their instruments down, the audience collectively inhaled and began to applaud.
The second piece, “5 Novelettes, Op. 15” by Glazunov, comprised five movements, each of which was bright and cheerful.
Between the first and second movements, a few students made the mistake of clapping. Concert etiquette dictates that one must never clap between movements. The aforementioned students received several glares and looks of general disgust.
The third piece was “Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K. 546” by Mozart.
The fourth piece was Cras’ “Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello.” Cras was stationed on a naval ship during an era when pianos were on the ships, and his pieces were always composed at sea, Seitz said.
Overall, the group’s performance was impressive.
“They kicked ass,” junior Tracy Beaver said.
Blood was involved when a cut on Kendle’s hand reopened during the concert and splattered on the bridge of his violin.
“I’m just that hardcore,” Kendle said.
After the performance, the musicians spent time conversing with those who attended the concert. Topics included hunting down the students who rudely left at intermission and forcing them to listen to the pieces they missed, or else simply giving them a play-by-play, describing how the musicians moved their bows. Nobody in attendance could come up with a decent excuse for the students who made this early exit.
“There’s nothing cooler in McMinnville on a Saturday night,” Seitz said.
The four musicians met and began performing together while attending the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music.
Borth, violist in the ensemble, is a substitute violist for the Kansas City Symphony, as well as a freelance musician. He also plays the electric fiddle with Flannigan’s Right Hook, an Irish rock band.
Kendle, one of two violinists in the group, is the Concertmaster of the Kansas City Puccini Festival Orchestra. Zeithamel, the other violinist, lives in Iowa City, Iowa, and works as a nurse in an intensive care unit.
Seitz, a cellist, teaches at Pacific University and is the owner and director of the Keizer Academy of Music and Arts.