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Music

Fall 2006

A home for music

You don’t always need an address to find the Friel House. Just follow the music.

A short walk from campus, a group of music-minded students have found a home on C Street. The house looks small from the curb, but its three stories shelter seven students, and still have room for a formal dining room, a large kitchen with a breakfast nook, a living room, and a library.

The house is named for the Friel family, and for 54 years was home to Washington State University basketball coach Jack Friel and his wife, Catherine.

Catherine Friel died in 2003. Last year, her family agreed to … » More …

Fall 2004

Keating Johnson: A passion for music

L. Keating Johnson’s passion for music was sparked in the fifth grade, after he saw the Disney movie, Sleeping Beauty. That year he started tuba lessons. A few years later, at Denver’s George Washington High School, he talked Antonia Brico into giving him conducting lessons.

He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from University of the Pacific, Stockton, California, 1973, and University of Wisconsin, 1975, respectively. He earned a doctorate in musical arts at University of Southern California.

In fall 1983, Johnson was named director of bands at Washington State University, where he taught both conducting and tuba, and conducted the Wind Symphony and … » More …

Spring 2008

FensePost (fensepost.com)

When we were growing up, my best friend, Byron, and I would regularly head down to our local record store and browse through the new releases. Typically I’d pick out the ones that had the most interesting covers, and then read about the band. Byron would invariably find his band du jour, and explain why they were so great. Most of the time he was right (although his love of the band Flipper still confuses me). At some point we’d get to discussing what bands we liked and didn’t, and, eventually, why they were inferior to Judas Priest in some way. Point being, music for … » More …

Summer 2002

An instrument most rare

As soon as he touched the keys of the Fazioli, Gerald Berthiaume knew he was playing a magnificent piano. He found its construction and luxurious sound far superior to the better known Steinway.

Berthiaume discovered the instrument while shopping for Washington State University at Baldassin Performance Pianos in Salt Lake City, the only licensed dealer in the West where a Fazioli can be purchased.

“This was an incredible piano,” said the program coordinator for WSU’s School of Music and Theatre Arts.

Paolo Fazioli, the piano’s craftsman and an accomplished pianist in his own right, was among the guests when the 10-foot, 2-inch Concert Grand Fazioli … » More …

Spring 2002

“You’ll miss it”

“I liked science classes because they were applicable, and I’ve always been logical. But music adds some structure.”

Nothing navigates the left brain-right brain divide more effectively than guilt and loyalty.

For proof, just pick the brains of Washington State University plant pathologist/cellist Jane Jung-Hae Choi. She switches with ease between running through experiment protocols and symphony movements, thanks to the bicameral prick of expectation.

It worked that way in her science. Offered the choice in summer 1996 between two fellowships through the State University of New York, one at Syracuse Medical Center and one at Geneseo in plant research, Choi chose the plant research … » More …