Service Learning Post #3 - Zac Byrd

For my 3rd volunteering experience with the Lexington Philharmonic I volunteered at the Philharmonic's concert with the guest artist time for three. Time for three is a orchestral trio that plays  a variety of genres and is a very versatile group. For the last concert I volunteered at, Amanda Tallant had me helping with will call and with the set clean up after the concert. This time Amanda told me I would be helping people through the handicap entrance, guarding instruments, and being a bouncer.

Singultary has two entrances, one for everybody and one in the back for handicap/elderly individuals. I had to open the doors for the patrons coming through because the buttons that open the doors can be hard to find.  I also had to make sure I helped them over the bump where the entrance was to prevent any major injuries.

After the concert started and the amount of concertgoers coming into the venue ceased I went in to guard the instruments.  During the last concert a wallet or purse was stolen from a performer's case.  For the performers to feel safe leaving their instruments in the rehearsal room me and Olivia had to watch over the instruments, which was a lot less
strenuous than it sounds.

When the concert came to a conclusion I went out to the lobby to be a bouncer.  Time for three was going to be outside signing CD's and taking pictures with people, and to make sure no crazy super-fans attack the artists. I was behind the desk unwrapping CD's and making sure nothing bad happened to the performers. I got to talk to them and they told me how much fun the concert was and we took a picture, but my phone broke so I don't have the picture. This was my last time volunteering with the Philharmonic as part of this CIS class but I hope to continue this in the future.

Pictures retrieved from www.ecanh.com and www.bouldertheater.com.

My experience with the Lexington philharmonic

Mahler 2 Community Service Video Reflection #2 - Zac Byrd

Video Blog Reflection

The link to my video: https://youtu.be/OZyIgFiiW2o





Here is a taste of what I listened to at the oboe auditions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-pIudhSCSg

Vexillology and You: A TED Talk Review

     The thing about TED Talks is that it’s impossible to watch one without coming away caring deeply about something you’ve literally never thought about before. Today, I watched “The Worst Designed Thing You’ve Never Noticed” given by Roman Mars – whose presentation was equally as awesome as his name. Mars’ began by joking about his setup, as he was seated at a large desk with a microphone and soundboard. He explains he’s going to recreate an episode of his radio show. This interesting format definitely made me interested in what was going on, and the topic only hooked me even more.

     Mars’ speech was about flags. Specifically, flag designs, especially city flags in America. He brought up the five elements of good flag design: keep it simple, use meaningful symbolism, use 2-3 basic colors, no lettering or seals, and be distinctive. An excellent note made was that a design should be simple enough that a child could draw it from memory. For comparison, here’s what I just found out the city flag of Lexington looks like:

     Eeeeeeyeah. But compare that to the city flag of Amsterdam:

     To quote Roman Mars, it’s “…the most badass city flag in the world”! So clearly high standards of flag design exist! Even comparing the state flag of Kentucky to my home state of Tennessee feels pretty lacking:

     I distinctly remember having to draw the state flag in third grade, along with our seal. The flag is definitely a whole lot easier! I love our flag. Kentucky…. not so much. The flags of Kentucky and Lexington are both just their seals on a solid color background, which violates at least three of the five basic rules of flag design: simplicity, no lettering (or seals at all!), and distinctiveness. Every city or state that has a seal in its flag looks more or less the same, unless you get close enough to read the lettering. And that’s counterintuitive to the whole idea of a flag! Mars’ passion on this topic really shone through as he showed examples of amazing and terrible flags, and it’s hard to stop it from rubbing off on you. If I had lived in Kentucky long enough to know anything about it, I’d probably try to design a flag myself!
     Mars’ use of his radio-style setup while giving the speech was immediately fascinating. It made me think about the level of comfort he has with that type of speechmaking as opposed to pacing around an empty stage in front of everyone, and how he used familiarity to ground himself. His use of sound clips from interviewees (I presume from the original broadcast of his radio show) was effective, but in some cases heavily overdone and sometimes pushed too close together. The Powerpoint slides accompanying his speech were relevant and not overdone, and were very well used to give examples of flag design.
     It seems he may have made use of notecards, as he glanced down a lot, but this also could be due to the sound clips he frequently played. His actual speaking was, as near as I can tell, flawless. I don’t think I heard a single stammer or “like-um-uh”s, and his steady radio voice carried the entire performance excellently. The “radio voice” did at times come across as a little too steady, and was almost monotonous, but as he got further into the speech his passion and interest kept me absolutely interested. The audience was included very well, as Mars’ gave frequent examples as he was speaking, and addressed them specifically many times, such as asking if they knew what their city flag looked like. He also used humor to great effect, by being outwardly passionate about his subject and by giving well-timed punchlines (like Milwaukee’s city flag!) (Yes, Milwaukee, you’re a punchline. Sorry.)
     Overall, Roman Mars was an excellent speaker and gave a very interesting speech on an unusual topic. I’ve already spent a lot of time looking up state and city flags, and daydreaming up better designs for most of them (Kentucky, I’m still looking at you). I really recommend giving this a watch, and I can almost guarantee you’ll come away with a brand new special interest.

TED Talk - Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver is a 34 year old male from England giving a TED talk about the food that we eat and what we can do about it, in Long Beach California on February 2010. Jamie asked the audience how many children they have, and how many aunts and uncles they have.  Just about everybody’s hands went up. This displayed that the food America eats does not have to only affect their bodies but it can affect others around them.

My parents, and grandparents, according to Jamie have “blessed” me with a shorter life span than my parents and grandparents because of the food I eat. And the positive fact behind the leading cause of death in the US, heart disease, is that it is preventable. Not only is heart disease preventable, the next two highest causes of death in the US are also preventable. This can be attributed to American’s diet.  

A few people who make executive decisions about what to put in our food and how to serve it are causing this issue. Jamie brought up a triangle of how the food in our society flows to our mouths. Main stream food has turned into the fast food, the big brands, and the supermarkets all around us. 30 years ago these foods were largely grown and eaten as local foods, but now these are largely processed with a bunch of additives in them. Other problems such as massive portion sizes and misconceptions about food due to labeling are also issues.

Home. Throughout the generations Americans have started to rely more heavily on dishes prepared from restaurant. Children are learning few of the recipes because parents have decided its easier to go out and buy food than cook it themselves. Schools are one of the biggest issues.  Children get meals, like breakfast and lunch, from schools around 170-190 days a year. The food these kids get are loaded with sugars so that they will enjoy them. 1 bottle of milk, a drink kids consume twice a day, contains as much sugar as one bottle of soda. The solution Jamie discussed dealt with targeting this issue with the education system and in supermarkets.  Give kids the knowledge of what foods are and how to fix quick, easy, healthy meals. Put people in supermarkets to share knowledge with others about how to fix healthier meals rather than going out or buying frozen pizzas.

Throughout his speech Jamie seemed like he was ranting about the obesity epidemic in America.  It was a TED talk that at the end made me feel very passionate about his issue and like there was a call to action for me to do something about this situation.  HIs eye contact and presentation with the use of visual aids were very effective.  He used a couple videos to show his points of how kids don't know which foods are which and to display the average weekly diet of some American families.  The reason I found this talk was bearable to listen to and not like an angry man yelling about a topic was that his facts were very effective, he included some humor, and most importantly he acknowledged that we weren't the only country suffering from this problem.  This is a worldly concern. He could have yelled a little less and included more humor but his visual aids and props that he used were extremely effective.  I felt like he approached this piece with more of a scare tactic with an eventual call to action.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOPl8P2S-Lw

TED Talk Analysis

The TED talk I chose to watch was one by Daniel Levitin, a neuroscientist and author. He was speaking at a TED conference in London in September of 2015. The title of his talk is “How to stay calm when you know you’ll be stressed out.” His purpose was to inform others of the science behind stress and how to avoid situations that lead you to make poor decisions because of stress. I personally am fascinated by the science behind stress because stress isn’t a disease or infection yet it makes us sick more than we realize. In psychology, I studied the negative effects of stress and it actually stressed me out thinking about all the horrible things happening to my body when I am stressed. Obviously, I think this is a relevant topic that is worth covering and a great way to inform others how to prevent stressful situations.

 Levitin began his talk with a personal story that was extremely effective. He told a relatable story about how he was locked outside of his house, so he broke a window to get inside because it was -40 degrees and in the middle of the night. He added some humorous aspects to the story so it was funny, yet a good way to show the audience he makes poor decisions when stressed as well. He then moved into the main body of the talk which was about how stress causes clouded thinking and poor decision making. Levitin talked about ways to prevent stressful situations, like having a designated place for commonly lost items, and gave scientific support for it. He discussed how the hippocampus helps us remember where we put things and that it only works if we put things in the same place. He then concluded his talk by bringing the story full circle and telling the audience how he installed a lockbox with a house key inside to prevent having to break windows in the future. Levitin appeared to be passionate about this topic and was a fairly animated speaker. This lead to a good delivery and an audience that also cared about what he had to say. He used some shocking statistics such as only 1 in 300 people are actually helped by a certain medicine and that 15 of those 300 are actually hurt by it. Jaw dropping moments like this kept the audience interested and passionate about the topic as well.

One thing he could have improved was he stayed in the same place the whole time instead of walking around. He also didn’t use any visual aids or props which could have been very useful in his talk. His talk was very organized though; I could tell exactly what his intro, body, and conclusion were and his thesis was clearly stated. Overall I think it was a very interesting TED talk and he did a great job of telling a story and delivering a talk on a relatable topic.

https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_levitin_how_to_stay_calm_when_you_know_you_ll_be_stressed?language=en

LexPhil 2 - Acoustic Boogaloo

            About two Saturdays ago (October 24th, for those of you playing at home), I once again trekked across town to the First Presbyterian Church of Lexington to volunteer at auditions for the Philharmonic. Unlike last time, however, I showed up about 30 minutes early. As it was a Saturday and there were actually people in the building (as opposed to the emptiness of Sunday at the ArtsPlace) I walked inside and up three flights of stairs, where I sat on a step outside the Philharmonic office door and finished my lunch. One level down was a ballet class with a group of girls of various ages all running around, with their stuff tucked into corners all over the staircase. I did ballet in a old studio until I was 6, and the worn wooden stairs and slightly peely paint were a nice backdrop to my mostly-cold Chik-Fil-A sandwich.
            When 12:30 rolled around I called Amanda (the volunteer coordinator), she told me they were already set up at the church, and I crossed the street to start working. That day, they were auditioning bassists. For reference, here's what a bass looks like:

A string family rests in its natural habitat, headed by its matriarch: the mighty bass.
[An assortment of string instruments sitting in the grass]

(The bass is the largest.) My first job was to sit and greet the last few basses as they checked in and to check their IDs. The bassists actually came from all over the country, and at least a few showed me their passports as ID! Being a percussionist, all I had to carry to concerts was a few pairs of sticks and mallets, so watching them maneuver these giant bulky shapes was fascinating (and admittedly pretty funny, in a schadenfreude kind of way)!

            I also got to just sit and chat with Joel for a while (shoutout to Joel!), which was nice because now I know another person's name in the class! Joel and I talked for a bit about video games after I said the faint echo-y strains of the bassists warming up sounded like the Skyrim soundtrack. The bass is such a peaceful and powerful instrument, and it echoed through the church like something out of a dream. Certainly, the rich warm bass tones were easier to listen to for extended periods of time than the oboes! We also talked some about his engineering classes and the VR headset project they were starting.

            After all the basses were checked in and set up in their warmup spaces, Joel was given the task of shepherding basses to and from the audition room. I got the job of alerting basses about five minutes before their audition came up, which mostly involved sitting around playing solitaire on my phone. We were both given different tasks than we had our first time volunteering, so I didn't feel too bad about Joel running around while I walked up and down the hall every once in a while. After auditions, we helped with cleanup by carrying chairs and the HEAVIEST music stands I've ever encountered back down into the entryway, and then went home. I actually managed to avoid the rain despite the 45 minute walk there and back!

A sheepdog herding sheep while a shepherd watches in the background.
This time, I'm not the metaphorical dog, I'm the dude with the sweet hat (sweet hat not included).

            I only have about 3 more hours of volunteer work left to fill, and I'm looking forward to it! I'm thinking of volunteering at a concert at the Singletary, partially because it's been so long since I've heard a full orchestra and partially because it's on campus and waaay less of a walk. Also, working backstage is a pretty familiar situation. There's not a lot of other situations where sprinting across a stage while looking for your equipment in near-blackness and total silence is a needed skill, but it's one I've meticulously honed over the years and I think my spidey skills could use a stretch. I really, really love working with music and musicians again. I'm halfway tempted to find a music class to take, or possibly join the non-major concert band that apparently exists (although being an art major is already a more-than-full-time commitment). Either way, I'm really glad I had the opportunity to help a wonderful organization and participate in something so familiar and fun!
[Images from stringproject.music.utexas.edu and agesor.com.uy]

Reflection on the Auditions

          So far I have held volunteer at the Lexington Philharmonic by attending their musician auditions for the viola and the bass. Both Saturdays I rode my bike downtown to a nice little church where they hold the auditions and I met up with Amanda to begin the day. The first Saturday that I worked, the viola auditions, she set me up in a texting chain so that I could work behind the scenes at the auditions. My job was to run around, from room to room, warning the musicians when they had five minute to go before their performance. The task was not hard, but at times it was very repetitive and I didn’t appreciate it as much as I would have liked.

          The bass auditions however, were altogether different. As Amanda told me at the begging of my second day of working, the musicians’ personalities can be generalized based on the instrument they play, and she said that bass players were generally more upbeat, happy, and willing to talk. This time instead of having me work behind the scenes to tell them when their audition was starting, she had me escort the musicians back upstairs, with all of the heavy equipment that bass players carry with them. I really enjoyed this task because as Amanda warned, bass players could be really talkative. I had a few amazing conversations with these extraordinary musicians from all over the place while I led them around this church.

         Of everything that I have done so far with the Lexington Philharmonic, that day of audition has by-far been the best. I don’t think I ever forget the casual conversations I was able to have with those incredible musicians. In just a few minutes with each bassist, I connected more, and appreciated the task more, than the entire day I spent working with the viola players, It was very fun.

Time For Three at The Lexington Philharmonic

This past Friday I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Time for Three concert for the Lexington Philharmonic. I was very nostalgic while standing backstage as the musicians performed; I have been a performer since I was 4 and for the first time I was the one behind the scenes. Since I was little I have done dance, cheerleading, and for a short period of time played the piano. It is almost funny to think someone that has been in the spotlight for so long can still have a more introverted personality as I do. Although working at the concert behind the scenes made me miss performing, it was a new and interesting perspective. I already understand how much work goes into recitals and concerts but it was different actually doing the work myself.

I was able to work the marketing table before the concert began and there I learned some of the Lexington Philharmonics marketing strategies. I’ll admit that I do not know much about orchestras but I have found that even in the music industry, business and marketing is a huge aspect of how successful a company is. LexPhil is one of the only well promoted orchestras in this region and because of this they have had good business for their concerts. They also have many guest appearances such as Time for Three that help with publicity.

I believe one of the main challenges for LexPhil is developing a large interest group to be their audience. The audience tends to be elderly couples but with new groups such as Time for Three, they are starting to attract younger audiences as well. I personally enjoyed the part of the concert I was able to listen to; Time for Three performed some covers of more modern songs that are popular with today’s youth. This may have been a risky move considering the audience was predominantly elderly people who may have been expecting only traditional pieces, but overall I believe Time for Three did a great job of incorporating music for all audiences. The group, Time for Three, has been rapidly increasing in popularity since their initial famous YouTube video and has continued to attract younger people from all over the world to their music. My experience working a concert for LexPhil was not only educational but very entertaining and I cannot wait to help them with the next concert.