Tuesday evening, April 2, the Paris Junior College cheer squad will perform interpretive movements as part of a free recital showcasing the work of John Milton Cage, Jr. Dr. Michael Holderer, music faculty, will perform the selections and give a lecture about Cage.
The evening will cover Cage’s philosophy in presenting music. An American composer and music theorist, Cage was a pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments. He was one of the leading figures of the post-war Avant-garde and critics have lauded him as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century.
Cage’s first experiments involved altering standard instruments, such as putting plates and screws between a piano’s strings before playing it. One of PJC’s pianos has been temporarily altered this way.
“His works of indeterminacy are considered musical excerpts, but they’re really readings from John Cage’s diaries,” Holderer explained, “and because a number of the cheerleaders are dancers, they’ll perform interpretive dance. We’ll do three pieces with a prepared piano, which is a piano that’s been acoustically manipulated to play percussive sounds. Even at a four-year school, you really wouldn’t get this opportunity. I’ll also be letting my students play with it and perform on it.”
Cage’s music is a distillation of years of working with found sound, noise, and alternative instruments. In one short piece, he broke from the history of classical composition and proposed that the primary act of musical performance was not making music, but listening.
“It’s a new adventure that the audience won’t expect,” said cheerleader Kaidynse Steed.
“What got me thinking about involving the cheerleaders,” Holderer said, “was the old debate that you can’t do two sports, or two things at once. With indeterminacy, Cage developed the idea that two separate events can exist within the same space.”
Other cheerleaders gave their views of what they’ll do Tuesday evening.
“We’re giving them a picture; a story,” said Avalyn Leenie Rose.
“It’s more acting with dance,” said Brooke Shurbet. “It’s like improv.”
The free recital will take place at 7 p.m. in the Shaw Recital Hall in the Music Building, located near the northeast corner of the PJC campus. For information, email mholderer@parisjc.edu.
Photo cutline: Dr. Michael Holderer, PJC music faculty, looks on as PJC cheerleaders interpret posing as a piano for Tuesday’s recital. In front, from left, are Macee James, Khana May, Brooke Shurbet (seated), and Avalyn Leenie Rose, with Kaidynse Steed and Eric Resendiz standing behind them.
Photo cutlines of piano: Temporary alterations to the piano include screws, bolts, plastic and rubber inserted in the strings to specific depths (that won’t break or stretch the strings) to produce different percussive sounds.
