Carter: Not Even Memorex

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“Not even Memorex”

Richard Carter

Johnny Cooper plays the Iron Horse Pub December 23

Thursday night I dropped by Akin Auditorium at Midwestern State University to check out and listen to the dress rehearsal of the Christmas Homecoming show that benefits the Opera Breve Vocal Intensive two week seminar at MSU. The program brings former Wichita Falls singers back to town from New York and other cities to sing, and the voices are pretty amazing.

Their final performance is today (Sunday) at MSU and I believe it starts at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at the door. Tickets, I think, are $25.

While I recognized the three singers that I interviewed for the opera and noted their good diction while they spoke to me, it’ always amazing to hear those same people when they sing. It goes from a good, reserved, spoken voice to amazingly well-trained singing voice with real power. Seriously, listen to Eugenie Grunewald “lay into” the high points of an aria and it’s amazing. Very few non-opera singers have the power and the passion that opera singers bring to their profession. And, here we are in Wichita Falls getting to experience people at the top of their game singing, and the price to hear this kind of talent sing is pretty affordable. I hope that people don’t miss out on this, and that we can continue to host such an excellent program and talents.

It’s so much more direct and immediate to hear live voices—even if amplified—as opposed to recorded voices in the various shops around town singing the same songs. There’s something lost in translation along the way.

The other day I was asked in a radio interview about culture in Wichita Falls, and I observed that we can’t have it too bad because we still have a symphony. There are much larger cities out there that have lost theirs. We also produce some brilliant singers who go across the country and the world to perform. And it was just announced—from what I understand—that MSU will host two additional classical programs each semester. Again, we should feel lucky that people want to perform and play here–even if we can’t seem to show up in droves for major shows like Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Lady Antebellum.

After the dress rehearsal at MSU was over, I went to the Spot to listen to the last of their bi-weekly open mics. Starting in January 2012, the open mics will be limited to the first Thursday of each month. I think it’s sad that cool open mics don’t draw the way they used to, but maybe the time for that locally is over. I remember when Vincent’s first opened and they had open mics once a week and sometimes more. Despite this setback, there are still some good performers and some intriguing new performers who continue to show up. I’m not sure if it’s the weather, the economy or whatnot that stops more people going to appreciate free live music. It may be a while if we ever know.

I understand that the Mix is going to have a huge rave for New Year’s Eve, and that has possibilities. Finally, I got to hear an area blues band work up a version of Prince’s “Let’s Get Crazy,” which was so much fun. It’s almost as good hearing a band kill it live as hearing them painstakingly put it together in the studio. Wonder what that was like back in the day when Prince himself was putting it together.

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