The collaboration between dance and music has helped visually represent music for centuries, along with the help of opera performances, costumes and theatrical presentations.
The University of Oregon was founded in 1876, and since then, several new buildings such as the Erb Memorial Union in 1950 to Lillis Business Complex in 2003, have been added to expand the campus. The MarAbel B. Frohnmayer Music Building, initially built in 1924, located on the west side of the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery, claims the university’s southwest end.
Since its first concert in April 1925, Beall Concert Hall stands as the vision of Robert Vinton “Vintie” Beall Jr., an 1897 UO alumnus. A musician from Central Point, Oregon, Beall lost his hearing to spinal meningitis at a young age. Before his death, he made a substantial bequest that funded the hall’s Jürgen Ahrend organ. The venue was named in his honor in 1973.
To celebrate the anniversary, the Oregon Bach Festival and the University of Oregon School of Dance and Music held a concert that paid homage to the first-ever concert held in the building, which was an organ concert.
On the evening of April 4, Paul Jacobs, a Grammy-winning organist, played to start the weekend of celebration.
On April 5, Beall Concert Hall held an open-house style concert in the afternoon, spotlighting various musical talents in the school. “Many performances honored the 1920s,” Sharon J. Paul, conductor of the UO Chamber Choir, said.
The performances were of variety: a jazz band, piano duos, a flute choir, a viola choir, opera to vocal choir and harp to organ –– a little bit of everything.
As the concert went on, several dancers from the Student Dance Collective appeared on stage, carrying long red silk fabric. After spreading the silk across the stage, they danced to a piece called “Within” by the UO Duck Flute Choir.
“When you listen to the song, it sounds like there is movement and it feels like there should be dancers there,” Elaine Martir, a doctorate in music performance at UO, said. Martir is also a soloist and choir director of the flute choir on campus.
Martir described the piece “Within,” saying, “There’s almost turbulence, something to figure out.”
She said the choreography done by Professor Shannon Mockli showed the feelings of the music. Martir stood right next to the pipe organ, which was leveled higher so she could look at the dancers and flute players to watch the collaboration and check in with the queue.
“Beall Hall holds all good memories,” Martir said. To get ready for a concert, she would get to the hall at night and sit and meditate. “So many emotions have been there, and so many memories and life-changing, altering performances have been done there.” Thinking of the history of the hall makes her feel less nervous.
The UO Chamber Choir wrapped up the day with an energetic and interactive performance. Singers walked from the back of the audience proudly and performed “Kalinda” from Haiti, “The Parting Glass” from Scotland and “Ta na Solbici” from Slovenia. They used body movements on top of their four-part harmony.
“It is a lovely space and a space to move,” conductor Paul said. Another thing that makes the hall special, according to her, is its intimacy.
“You can see the audience,” Paul said. She also said Eugene is a community that supports the arts, and there were multiple arts presented and shared at the event, from symphony and ballet to theater.
Sam Decker joined the UO Chamber choir after hearing from his older brother how much he enjoyed it. The UO Chamber Choir competes and performs internationally, and they are going to Costa Rica this year to collaborate with local university students there.
Decker’s first memory at Beall Concert Hall recalls his senior year in high school. He was part of the Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy, which is part of the Oregon Bach Festival.
“It cemented that choir is my favorite thing in the world,” Decker said.
