Dead Week can be a killer with its tests, papers and projects, but it also comes alive with music and dance performances from all the major University ensembles.
The School of Music and Dance hosts concerts and recitals at the end of every term for its musicians, singers and dancers to show off what they have worked on during the quarter and entertain their fellow students and community members.
Among the Dead Week performers are the University chamber, brass, dance, jazz, chorus, percussion and gospel ensembles. All are composed of University undergraduate and graduate students.
The week begins Monday with the free UO Chamber Ensembles’ performance, “Chamber Music on Campus,”at 6:30 p.m. in Beall Hall. Steve Vacchi, associate professor of bassoon, coordinates the University Chamber Ensembles.
Chamber music is classical music performed in a small group, often a string quartet, in which every player has a distinct part but none has a solo. The term “chamber” comes from the music being originally performed in a small room, although that is not the case for this concert. Eighteenth-century writer Johann Goethe once called chamber music “four rational people conversing.”
Tuesday also sees only one concert: All That Brass! at 7:30 p.m. in Beall Hall. The event, which costs between $5 and $7, will feature performances from the UO Trombone, Oregon Wagner Tuba, Tuba and Euphonium, and Brass Ensembles. They are directed by Jeffrey Williams, Mike Grose and David Vickerman. The trombones will perform five pieces, among them “Trumpet Voluntary” by Jeremiah Clarke, and “Ave Verum” by Mozart. The Wagner tuba ensemble plays three, concluding with “Yellow Submarine” by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The tuba-euphonium group performs five, one of which is a suite of three songs, “Renaissance Suite,” by Tielman Susato. The program concludes with the brass ensemble performing its second song, “Symphony for Brass and Percussion,” by Alfred Reed.

Wednesday hosts two performances that show off different musical mediums – dance and jazz. The Dance Quarterly, 7 p.m. at the Dougherty Theatre, is the culmination of the term for the Contact Improv, Ballet Lab and Modern Lab classes in the Department of Dance. Senior Monica Sellers describes the free event as informal with no special lighting, just a chance for dancers to show off what they’ve learned.
The Oregon Jazz Ensemble is the premier jazz group at the University and performs at 8 p.m. in Beall Hall. Admission costs between $5 and $7. Sophomore trombone player Josh Sears said the group is playing six songs, one of which in an untitled piece by OJE trumpet player Andrew Rowan.
“This concert is more big band swing than we usually play,” Sears observed.
Thursday hosts a concert combining three groups: the Concert Choir, Repertoire Singers and Women’s Chorus at 8 p.m. in Beall Hall, directed by Sharon Paul and Christopher Olin, who directs the women’s group.
According to the music school’s Web site, “The members of the Women’s Choir represent a diverse population of students from various majors and disciplines across campus.”
On Friday the UO Percussion Ensemble performs at 2 p.m. in room 163 of the main music school building. It is one of two percussion ensembles at the University and specializes in more classical pieces.
The UO Gospel Ensembles perform at 5 p.m. in Beall Hall. The group is an audition-only choir of singers with a background and talent for traditional Black gospel music.
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