Arts Scholars

[brycebathras]

Today, November 24th, I saw Aladdin at the Hippodrome in Baltimore. I have never seen the broadway production and I was very surprised by the number of difference between the movies and this show. The biggest difference was the fact that Abu the monkey was not in the Broadway production. Apart from that I was very pleased with the visuals. They had fire, sparklers, and of course flying carpets. I spent most of the second act attempting to figure out how they got the flying carpet to actually fly and I’m still stuck on it.

[brycebathras]

Today, November 12th, I went the the stamp gallery. The theme of the gallery show was art representing and addressing HIV/AIDS. There were a variety of different art forms including quilts, metal sculptures, words, etc. Persianlly I did not enjoy this gallery show as much as I have other gallery shows in the past. I thought the topic they were trying to raise awareness to is important but I would have wanted to see more variety of the art mediums including photos or paintings.

[brycebathras]

Last night, October 17th at 8pm, was my first orchestra concert of the semester. We performed in the Dekelboum hall. It was a lot of fun because this was the first performance with our new conductor Jessie. It was also the first time I had ever played an opera so that was a really great experience.

[brycebathras]

Yesterday (September 28th) I went to see Rocky Horror Picture Show at Hoff Theater. I have been so excited for this movie since I saw it on the calendar. I have listened to the music numerous times but I have never seen it. It was so much fun, especially because it was interactive. During certain songs people would get up and dance. During scenes other audience members would scream stuff at the screen. All and all, it was a lot of fun and I hope they do an interactive movie at Hoff Theater again soon.

[brycebathras]

Today (September 19th) I attended the Stamp Art Gallery. The exhibition was called “New Arrivals 2019” and featured 10 different pieces by numerous emerging artists. There were many different art forms including photos, sculptures, light structures, and even short videos. I really enjoyed the photographs. I am learning more and more about photography everyday and I think the photos featured did a phenomenal job of connecting the the over arching theme of displacement.

[brycebathras]

Today I went to the Stamp Art Gallery where they had the Visualizing Narratives: Shaping Resistance gallery. I haven’t actually been back to this gallery since last semester for the scavenger hunt. I have never really liked art galleries and museums but what I really like about this one is how small and intimate it is. Not a lot of people go so you don’t have a ton of distractions and the pieces are different sizes so you can see different things. Plus not all of the pieces are visual, some are audio and I know in the past they have had pieces you can touch. I recommend for people who like art, but can’t also get off campus, to come here when they can.

[brycebathras]

Last night I went to backwards broadway with my friend. This event was held in the Cafritz Foundation theater in the clarice on a Wednesday March 13th at 7:30 pm. I absolutely loved this event. So backwards broadway is basically a performance where anyone can perform any song regardless of genre or race or anything. It’s super inclusive and the performances are amazing. It also allows people to sing songs they really like and enjoy. Maybe next time I’ll get over my stage fright and perform

[brycebathras]

Last night I performed in my first UMRO performance of the semester. We performed in the Dekelboum Concert Hall on Wednesday March 6th at 8:00 pm. I really loved the pieces we chose for this concert. We focused a lot on the struggles in life and how we could portray that feeling with in the music and it went really well. I am very excited to see what we will do next concert and what feeling we will try and bring to the audience. Even though I was moved farther back in the section I still really enjoyed this concert. We got a lot of new members and that only makes our orchestra better. I’m gonna continuing trying to make time for orchestra each semester.

[brycebathras]

Last night my family and I went to see How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. I have always been a big fan of the trilogy and I really liked the last movie. I thought it had a great ending that really tied up the story of all three movies. Plus the animation was phenomenal. In moments of the movie the scenery looked real. I highly suggest seeing this movie and the previous two if you haven’t yet.

[brycebathras]

Tonight I saw the Thesis concert here at the Clarice. The show consisted of two different dances featuring different choreographers. I personally did not really like the first one. It was very confusing and many of the motions and plot of the dance did not flow and did not make sense. The second performance was amazing. It was about family and remember those you have lost. This was the last performance but it was amazing.

[brycebathras]

Today I performed in my final orchestra performance. It was so much fun. My brother and I were stand partners were stand partners for the first and last time. It was my brothers last concert so having him be my stand parter was a lot of fun. I really loved the pieces we played. They were probably my favorite I have ever played. I’m really exited to continue with orchestra next semester.

[brycebathras]

I went to the National Art Gallery on November 3rd with my friend Alyssa. It was a lot of fun. I got to seem some of my favorite impressionists paintings and I helped my friend find pieces that were related to mythology for her assignment. We managed to only get lost twice while inside which I’m pretty proud of since the gallery is huge. I haven’t been in years so it was really nice going back with my friend.

[brycebathras]

I played in my first Univerisfy of Maryland Repetoire Orchestra performance on Wednesday October 17th. It was so much fun. All of our hard work and many hours of rehearsal came together into a wonderful performance. I’m really happy I decdided to continue playing the violin because playing music with my brother and my best friend again was so amazing. Come join us for our next concert in early December.

[brycebathras]

On Saturday the 23rd I attending HCC’s (Howard Community College) performance of Sweeney Todd with my best friend. It was absolutely amazing. The singers were astonishing and the portrayal of the characters was on point. Seeeney Todd is a very dark show but the cast and director could still keep our spirits up by adding in some funny blocking and how certain lines were said. One of my favorite things about this performance was the use of the stage. Not only did the actors (I should mention there was only 8 of them) used the whole stage but came into the audience and incorporated us into the show too. I would recommend this performance but sadly that was there last showing of Sweeney Todd.

[brycebathras]

On September 8th I watched Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in the Hoff Theater in Stamp. I have actually been wanting to see this movie for a while so I was very happy I could see it for free at Maryland. I thought the movie was pretty good. I thought it was better than the first Jurassic World but still not better than the original Jurassic Park though :). It was had a good plot full of twists and turns you really wouldn’t suspect. I would recommend seeing it, if anyone can get the chance.

[brycebathras]

The NextNow Fest was so much fun. Tonight I went to many different events including the hip-hop orchestra, Maryland filmmaker screening, stand up comedy, and Ari Lennox. Everything was amazing. Something new that I saw was actually at the hip-hop orchestra. The instrumentation was different than anything I have seen. In jazz and hip hop bands I have never seen a cello and a violin incorporated into the pieces until today. It was a very interesting combination but I really enjoyed it. My favorite part of the night was also during the hip-hop orchestra, specifically during their Devon piece. It started with just the guitar and bass and had a good groove and beat to it but also not too repetitive. It had the same beat and rhythm each time but which each repeat a new instrument was added, including piano and tambourine, which added new styles and textures. Finally one performance can be related to the migration theme of this year was the filmmaker screening. One film started two people, one Asian student and one African American student. Both were talking about their struggles of being accepted as immigrants or outsiders. This is related to the theme of migration because these different people migrated here and showed their struggles of being integrated into this whole society.