Recognized
by Capital
Times
By Jan Travers
Three Penn State Harrisburg
students were chosen as the first
recipients of the Excellence in
Student Journalism Award for the
1987 fall semester.
The award, created by the
Capital Times in an effort to recognize
those student journalists who strive for
perfection, will be presented at the
conclusion of each semester.
Recognized for the fall semester
awards were: First place - Michele Hart,
"Would I Be Tolerant of Another with
AIDS?" (October 28); Second Place -
Charlie Heiser, "Hanoi Hilton" Movie
Review," (October 7); Third Place - Joe
Kupec, "Penn State Has a Conductor in
the House," (October 7). Each winner
received a certificate of recognition and a
check in the amount of $5O, 25, 10
respectively.
The winners were chosen by a
panel consisting of Mike Breslin
director of community relations, Janet
Widoff-student activities coordinator, and
Peg O'Hara-dean of student affairs. At
the conclusion of the semester, each
panelist forwarded his or her top picks to
the editor of the Capital Times. The
editor, ineligible for the competition,
then made the final decision based on the
panelist's choices.
Details about the competition,
which is open to any student at Penn
State Harrisburg, are available on
campus bulletin boards or from the
Capital Times office in room W-129.
Mike King to
By Randy Zmoleck
One hundred, twenty days after
he pushed his wheelchair out of
Fairbanks, Alaska, Mike King arrived in
Washington, D. C. . This was the end
of an incredible 5,600 mile journey
across the United States and Canada, one
which no one had ever accomplished
before.
King will be on this campus at
the invitation of the Capital Christian
Fellowship. He will share his story
about his accident, rehabilatation, the
Alaskan trip, and about being
handicapped. He will be in the Gallery
Lounge on Thurs., Feb. 4 at 12:00 pm,
and all are invited to hear his remarkable
testimony.
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TYPISTS 1
Hundreds weekly at home! 10
Write P.O. Box 17
Clark, NJ 07066
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Penn State Has a Conductor in the House
By Joe Kupec
If you have been hearing music
down near the Lion's Den on Wednesday
evenings and it sounds like Vivaldi,
Teleman, Bach, or Mozart, it is probably
originating from Room Wl2.
Since the semester began, many
curious students have looked in on Dr.
Ronald Schafer's CMOS 212 class, The
Development of The Concerto. Each
Wednesday during the fall semester, Dr.
Schafer guides a diverse class ranging
from Music majors to Engineering
Technology majors through the devel
opment of the concerto form.
Diversity is something this
Lancaster native deals with daily. His
schedule takes him from class in the
basement of the Olmstead Building to
the director's podium at Hershey Theatre.
In between, Schafer acts as the music
director for the Harrisburg Youth
Symphony Orchestra and serves as the
string specialist for the Deify Township
school district.
His strong emphasis in music
education is reflected in Schafer's aca
demic background. He received a B.S. in
Music Education from Westchester State
College and both his masters and
doctorate degrees from The Pennsylvania
State University. During his residence at
the university, he studied under Ray
mond Page of The Alard String Quartet
and served as assistant conductor of The
Pennsylvania State University Sym
phony Orchestra.
Musical interests and devel
opment for Schafer came together when
speak at Capital
Paralyzed from the waist down
from a motorcycle accident seven years
earlier, this trip was yet another
challenge for the determined King. The
journey, however, was not just for
himself. In his book, King said " I was
going to make it the whole way to
Washington, D.C. and I hoped that
along the way I would somehow give
ISIMSI
Mike King will be on campus Feb. 4, in the Gallery
Lounge, to speak about his trek across the country in a
he was in seventh grade. His music
teacher, who stimulated his developing
interest in music and the arts, was the
catalyst that directed his musical devel
opment.
Later, in high school, Schafer
had the opportunity to play string bass
in a jazz quintet. Again, this group was
influenced by a music instructor who
enjoyed the style of Dave Brubeck,
which was popular at the time. But it
was his involvement in the high school
orchestra, both as an instrumentalist and
student conductor, that made the greatest
impression on Schafer the student.
His experience conducting at
several high school concerts led to the
choice of a Music Education major, with
a Conducting minor; which he later
expanded on and today employs both in
his activities as instructor-director-con
ductor.
When asked about the challenge
of getting young people, who are
familiar with MTV and 3-4 minute
music, to listen to the classics, Schafer
is optimistic.
"If young people are regularly
exposed to good music literature, they
soon learn to appreciate and enjoy it," he
said.
He points out that, "My daugh
ter, who is in ninth grade and a violinist,
enjoys U-2, but she also enjoys playing
Bach and Handel."
At the youth symphony level,
Dr. Schafer finds the students bring a
high level of interest and energy to
practice sessions.
"They tend to be a hands-on
courage to handicapped people to find
determination within to get out and do
something with their lives."
On August 28, 1985, King
rolled up to the Capitol building steps in
Washington, D.C. completing his
challenging journey. His personal story
is one that you won't soon forget.
type of student who want to try new
works. These young people are looking
for a challenge and the opportunity to
play a composition without transcription
(altering the composer's original). The
challenge of playing original com
positions successfully ptoduces enthusi
asm in the students," he said.
"Music programs at American
schools are quite different from those in
Europe," according to Schafer. Here we
tend to have "music for the masses."
Everyone has a general exposure and
opportunity to participate or play in an
orchestra or band. In Europe, the
emphasis is to specialize early on. By
the time a young person has reached
early adolescence, parents and instructors
know where the pupil's musical talents
lie. Early recognition of talent, com
bined with state-sponsored schools for
the arts, result in virtuoso playing and
quality technique.
However, Schafer noted during
a trip to Europe that major orchestras in
the United States are on par with their
European counterparts. "The appreciation
for the arts at a local level is fantastic.
People in the communities play well
there because the music is so much a
part of the culture," he said.
The relationship between the
development of a culture and parallel
changes in its music is just one element
Schafer uses in exploring the develop
ment of the concerto. Starting in the
Middle Ages and on through the Baroque
he explains how the shift from voice to
instrument, liturgical music to secular
music, and the evolution of the
instruments and playing styles shaped
the various works from different periods.
After realizing that some stu
dents in class did not know what a viola
was, he arranged to have one of the
Music majors who played the viola to
bring her instrument to class and
demonstrate the tonal difference between
it and a violin. After playing a few
notes, Schafer took the instrument and
demonstrated trills and stops for students
unfamiliar with music terminology.
Is there much difference be
tween the lecturers' and conductors'
podiums? According to Schafer, the big
difference is in controlling the material.
"In a concert the musical score
controls the music. While I have an
interpretation. In the classroom I must
exercise judgment over all of the
material in the text. Suddenly I have to
be selective of what to emphasize as
being important and there is so much
good material to choose from," Schafer
said.
Above all else, in class he
"tries to make music enjoyable."
Joe Kupec's feature article was awarded
third place in the Fall 1987 Capital
Times Excellence in Student Journalism
competition. He is also the graphic
artist for the Cap Times.