Monday, November 22, 2004

by Jonathan Ference
News Editor

The Swarthmore community was saddened to learn Sunday morning of the death of Robert “Bobby” Berman ’05. Berman passed away in his room in Wharton Central sometime Friday night or Saturday morning and was found by friends, according to a reserved-students e-mail sent to students early Sunday by Dean Bob Gross.

As of Sunday evening, no cause of death has been released by the College or authorities. The Deans immediately scheduled a gathering in Bobby’s memory held in Bond Memorial Hall Sunday afternoon. News of Berman’s death spread quickly throughout campus on Sunday, hitting the senior class especially hard. A hallmate of Berman’s expressed the sentiment that he will be missed even by those who were familiar with him only through living on the same floor.

According to Gross’ email, Berman was a Physics major from Illinois and is survived by both parents and a sister.

The Daily Gazette will provide more details, including information on any memorial services, as they become available.

*****

by Jonathan Ference
News Editor

The only superlative the capacity crowd could find to describe Saturday night’s performance of Mozart’s Requiem by the College Chorus and Orchestra was “powerful.” Yet, in that single descriptor were wrapped up profound respect and awe at vocal and instrumental efforts involved in a showing of one of Mozart’s most famous works. The 82 member chorus and a selection of the orchestra, both directed by John Alston, put forth a moving and stunning rendition of the piece penned primarily by Mozart on his death bed.

The concert began with a performance of Orlando di Lassus’s Missa pro Defunctis by the College Chamber Choir. This group, singing without accompaniment, prepared the audience for the musical experience to come with a moving rendition of a different requiem by Lassus. Though Lassus’ interpretation of the requiem mass was slightly different, the Chamber Choir performance afforded the audience a chance to adjust to listening to sung Latin and to admire the vocal power of some of the group’s most dedicated singers.
After a short break to bring the orchestra onstage, director John Alston–a master of the crowd and emotionally invested to the pieces he conducted last night to an incredible degree–took a few moments to address the audience to explain the story behind the commissioning of the piece. Obviously aware that all a large portion of the audience knew about Mozart was gleaned from the movie “Amadeus,” Alston used the orchestra as an audio aide to give the audience a deeper appreciation and understanding of the composer’s talent and the story behind the piece’s completion by Süssmayr.

Following an announcement encouraging the audience to follow the words of the requiem in Latin and English in the provided program, Alston set the chorus and orchestra off on a musical tour de force. The piece was divided into 14 sections, some of which featured section soloists Tamara Ryan (soprano), Chelain Goodman (alto), Ben Mitchell (tenor), and Scott Long (bass). While the entire orchestra and chorus performed beautifully, Ryan and Long’s exposed parts were particularly well-sung and moving. The trombone section did yeoman’s work throughout the night, with a particular highlight coming in the form of a solo from the trombone of engineering professor Carr Everbach.

All told, the two performing groups mixed wonderfully to perform Mozart’s Requiem as it deserves to be performed–in a manner that left a capacity crowd describing the concert as nothing less than an absolutely powerful experience.

*****

by Micaela Baranello
Gazette Reporter

Swarthmore classical music fans stayed on campus this weekend for two outstanding concerts. Though both Orchestra 2001 and the Bang on a Can All-Stars played concert music written within the last 40 years, they gave a perfect example of the diversity of modern music.

The Bang on Can All-Stars, who performed in LPAC on Friday night, are a New York-based sextet of musicians founded out of the Bang on a Can Festival. As a group, they describe themselves as searching for a new, more accessible type of music influenced by many recent trends in music, including rock and other popular music genres. The music they presented on Friday night seemed to be primarily influenced by minimalism, albeit a very loud kind of minimalism. The ensemble consisted of bass, percussion, piano, electric guitar, cello and clarinet, all of which were amplified. The music ranged from Piano Studies, an arrangement by clarinetist Evan Ziporyn from a player piano piece by Conlon Nancarrow (originally written for player piano because it contains “irrational” rhythms that are extremely difficult to play) to the more conventional, austere Music in Fifths, an early work of minimalist Philip Glass. Worker’s Union, a rhythmically propulsive piece with no specific pitch notation by Louis Andriessen, closed the concert.

Orchestra 2001’s Sunday concert in Lang, well attended by many community members, represented the more traditional and “uptown” music scene. Entitled “Piano Summit!!!” three pianists presented three area premieres (perhaps the reason for the three exclamation points) with the orchestra, directed by James Freeman. Charles Abramovic played his own Piano Concerto, a stylistically eclectic work referencing Baroque styles and other modern works. Soloist (and popular Swarthmore piano teacher) Marcantonio Barone played the concerto of David Finko, a formerly Soviet composer, which showed influences of other Russian composers and drew excellent playing from the brass section. Finally, jazz pianist Uri Caine preformed his Arrangements and Improvisations After Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, a long sometimes updating, sometimes parody of Beethoven’s monumental work. Occasionally joking, occasionally serious and always exciting, it suggested that maybe these disparate styles really can get along.

*****

The Swarthmore debaters competed in the Fordham University Debate Tournament this weekend. Aviva Aron-Dine placed 2nd overall out of 202 speakers, and Julie Baker beat 71 other novices to win the Novice Speaker category. Aron-Dine and Baker teamed up to place 7th out of 101 teams overall.

*****

*Voters in Ukraine waited anxiously on Sunday night to hear the results of their presidential election. The election was a runoff, and between two candidates who envisioned very different futures for the country. With voter turnout of over 76 percent, preliminary results seemed to suggest a slight lead by current Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich. But supporters of the opposition candidate, Viktor Yuschenko, refused to give up hope and so crowded Independence Square late into the night, waving banners proclaiming “we’re for freedom!” Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has strongly supported Yanukovich, an important factor in a country that used to be part of the Soviet Union. In contrast to Putin and Yanukovich, Yuschenko has supported the EU and NATO.

*Secretary of State Colin Powell traveled to Israel on Sunday, where he called for an American aid package that would go to the Palestinians. This package would help to facilitate Palestinian elections and help to improve their security forces. Administration officials said the package is reported to be about $20 million. Secretary Powell has also suggested that he will encourage Israel to take other steps in aiding the Palestinian elections.

*On Sunday, Iraqi officials announced the date for that country’s first national free elections-January 30th. Campaigning will begin on December 15th and must wrap up two days before the vote. The Paris Club also announced on Sunday that it would write off 80% of Iraqi debt in order to help rebuild the war-torn country.

*****

Professor Xiacong Li lectures: “Beijing’s Urban Planning in Historical Perspective”
Kohlberg 115, 4:15 p.m.

Film Studies evening screenings: “Black Girl” and “The Apple”
LPAC Cinema, 7:00p.m.

Swarthmore College Bowl
Kohlberg 202, 7:00 p.m.

Dr. Douglas Hotlz-Eakin lectures: “Fiscal Agenda for a New Congress”
Science Center 101, 7:30 p.m.

SATO meeting
Kohlberg 228, 8:00 p.m.

Earthlust meeting
Kohlberg 116, 9:00 p.m.

Swing Dance Club Class
Upper Tarble, 9:00 p.m.

Feminist Majority meeting
Kohlberg 226, 10:00 p.m.

Swil movie: “Neverwhere”
Science Center 101, 10:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

by Alex Glick
Sports Editor

The women’s basketball team earned a split this weekend at the seventh annual Tip-Off Tournament. The Garnet easily defeated Immaculata 76-39 but lost a hard-fought battle to Mary Washington 61-52.

The Garnet opened up their season strong on Friday night in their match against Immaculata. Swarthmore scored the first nine points of the game; Radiance Walters ’06 struck first with a two point bucket 35 seconds into the game. Swarthmore was dominant throughout, especially in the first half. Debbie Farrelly ’06 played a great defensive half as she showed tremendous hustle and made it difficult for her opponents to get shots off and make passes. The entire Garnet defense played very well; the Mighty Macs were often forced into taking sub par shots in order to avoid having the shot clock run out.

Swarthmore seemed to be doing everything right as they continued to pick up offensive and defensive rebounds, were playing tight defense, and made accurate passes that continued to lead to points. The Garnet’s starters were given a chance to rest, and everyone continued to play well. Swarthmore led by a score of 38-9 by the end of the half.

Swarthmore’s offense matched the first half’s 38 points in the second half. Immaculata did pick up the pace during the second twenty minutes of play. Walters and Kristen Lee ’05 had 11 and 10 points respectively, but it was first year Laura Popovics who stole the show with a team high 13 points, nine of which came from three-pointers that fans were still talking about on Saturday. Walters had 12 rebounds while Cara Tigue ’06 picked up eight. Walters and Lee combined for seven steals in the 76-39 win.

Saturday’s game against Mary Washington was much more evenly matched. Ali Wolff ’05 started out the game with a three-pointer. This, however, was only one of the three that the Garnet would make during the game out of 18 attempts; Popovics scored the other two. Both teams played a very strong defensive first half. Swarthmore led for most of the half, though the Eagles kept it close and did lead briefly. The half was highlighted by a couple of great passes by Wolff as well as a Walters two point bucket with less than two seconds left to give the Garnet a 24-20 lead.

The Garnet lost their lead about a minute into the half, and the Eagles never looked back. They outscored Swarthmore 41-28 in the half. The Garnet’s offense took a hit when Wolff fouled out with a little more than three minutes left in regulation.

Walters led the scoring with 21 points; Wolff and Popovics also reached double digits in scoring. Karen Berk ’08 had the only two blocks for the Garnet. Walters was named to the All Tournament Team for the second year in a row. Swarthmore returns to action on Tuesday as the team begins Centennial Conference play with a 7:00 p.m. game at McDaniel.

*****

by Andrew Quinton
Gazette Reporter

The men’s basketball team came up with a nice comeback victory on Friday night, beating Connecticut College 65-61 at Haverford in the first round of the Equinox Classic. On Saturday, the team hung tough with Williams for a half, but the Ephs pulled away in the second half for an 81-61 victory.

In Friday’s action, the Garnet men dug themselves a hole by shooting only 26.3% from the floor in the first half and faced a 30-24 deficit when they came out of the locker room after halftime. But the Garnet were able to nearly double their shooting percentage in the second half to 48.3%, and behind 25 points from Matt Gustafson ’05 and 14 each from Jeff Maxim ’07 and Matt Kurman ’08, Swarthmore overtook the Camels and won by a final score of 65-61. Maxim added 9 rebounds and Gustafson had 8 to go with 3 assists and 3 steals.

The action moved to Tarble Gymnasium on Saturday, and helped by the enthusiasm by a home crowd of 322, the Garnet stayed right with a Williams squad that finished last year with a 30-2 record. Maxim was active early, grabbing 3 quick rebounds before being forced to head to the bench with 2 fouls only 3 minutes into the game. 5 minutes later, Ian McCormick ’08 hit Dillon McGrew ’07 over the top, allowing McGrew to lay the ball in and draw a foul. McGrew’s free throw gave the Garnet a 10-7 edge. Play continued back and forth, with Gustafson providing most of the Garnet offense. He finished with 16 first-half points. Williams built a 29-26 lead with 2:20 to play behind Jaris Cole’s penetration and the inside play of Matt Weisbrot. But Chris Casey ’07 inbounded the ball to Gustafson, who laid it in while drawing a foul. The ensuing free throw gave Swarthmore a 31-29 lead, and the halftime score was 31-31.

Swarthmore actually led 38-36 with 16 minutes to play behind a Gustafson 3-pointer, but Williams went on a 13-0 run and never looked back. Whenever the Garnet made a play that could have been the start of a comeback, the Ephs came back and scored. Michael Graham was hitting outside shots, and the Ephs were getting inside on the Garnet with ease. Gustafson brought the Garnet back within 8 at 53-45 with a pair of free throws with about 10 minutes to play, and McGrew hit a 3-pointer to make it 57-51 soon after, but Williams went on another extended run, putting up 18 of the next 20 points for a 75-53 advantage. Both benches were cleared, and the Garnet reserves fought gamely, but the game was already well in hand for the Ephs. The final margin was 81-61.

Gustafson again led the offense with 27 points and also led the team with 8 rebounds. Maxim fought foul trouble but finished with 8 points and 7 rebounds. Casey led the team with 4 assists. The Garnet return to action this Tuesday at Drew University. Game time is 8:00 p.m.

*****

Junior Sarah Hobbs earned a 31st place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships this weekend. Her 22:21.9 time in the 6,000 meter race gained her a spot on the All-American Team.

*****

The men’s swim team fell to 2-2 this weekend as they were beaten by NYU 127-70. Andrew Koczo ’07 led Swarthmore in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:25.01. The Garnet earned first place points in the 400 freestyle relay. They race again at Ursinus on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.

*****

NYU earned a 153-52 victory on Saturday again the Garnet women’s swim team. NYU took first place in each of the 11 events. Jennie Lewis ’08 and Michele Hom ’07 each earned two second place finishes, including team and individual events.

*****

Today:
There are no contests scheduled for today.

Tomorrow:
Men’s and Women’s Swimming at Ursinus, 6:00 p.m.
Women’s Basketball at McDaniel, 7:00 p.m.
Men’s Basketball at Drew, 8:00 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Passion makes the world go round. Love just makes it a safer place.”
–Ice-T

*****

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