WMU

WMUK’s Gordon Bolar has this review of the Western Michigan University Theatre’s production of Amadeus.

Velvet Brown, a top concert tubist and educator in the US., could easily make her recitals "by-the-book" affairs for tuba and piano. But for years, Brown has crafted her concerts to open up in several ways. On Wednesday, Oct 9, she will bring her project MOJATUBA to the Dalton Center Recital Hall for a concert at 7:30 pm. 

Professional dancer Briana Bunkley will dance to Brown's playing on several pieces, from the mournful spiritual "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," to the ecstatic "Mambo-Cha" by Alice Gomez. Percussionist Jimmy Finnie will add color to the program, as will pianist Anthony Leach and audio-visual artist Daniel Burdick. Brown will also celebrate Black American music in her program. These pieces include her transcription of William Grant Still's Suite for Violin and Piano, Roger Kellaway's Dr. Martin Luther King, In Memoriam, and "Take My Mother Home," a song written for soprano Kathleen Battle by jazz/classical composer/conductor Andre Previn.

Two weeks before school starts in the fall, Western Michigan University music students start marching band practice for the football season. When classes begin, it's also time to work on concert repertoire for the University Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, and Concert Bands. The three directors - Dr. Scott Boerma, (Wind Symphony); Dr. Mary Land (Concert Band) and Dr. Trey Harris (Symphonic Band & Bronco Marching Band) - joined Cara Lieurance to let listeners know about two upcoming concerts and their repertoire. 

First up is the Wind Symphony on Sunday, Oct 13 at 3 pm, then the Concert and University bands will hold a joint concert on Monday, Oct 14 at 7:30 pm. Both concerts are free, and will be held in Miller Auditorium. 

Salt helps to keep Michigan’s roads clear in the winter. But it also eats away at the pavement and pollutes the lakes and streams it washes into. A bill that passed the state Senate calls for an experiment - swapping or at least supplementing road salt with sugar beet byproducts.

A new internal policy in the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety now requires officers to fill out paperwork every time they search a motorist's vehicle. Additionally, they must have "reasonable suspicion" to even ask drivers if they can search their cars. Chief Karianne Thomas says this is a higher standard than the current law.