The Digest
What’s Happening at KVCC
What’s below in this edition
ü Artists Forum (Pages 1/2) ü Joe Reilly (Pages 14/15)
ü ‘Vols’ needed (Pages 2/3) ü ‘Cedars’ movie (Pages 15-17)
ü Diversity Conference (Pages 3-5) ü Friday Night fun (Pages 17-19)
ü Wellness screens (Pages 5/6) ü Income-tax aid (Page 19)
ü Effective teaching (Pages 6/7) ü Telling our stories (Pages 19/20)
ü Job Expo (Pages 7-9) ü Getting them right (Page 20)
ü Earn a gig (Pages 9/10) ü SSC activities (Pages 20/21)
ü Fretboard Festival (Pages 10/11) ü Exercise ‘opps’ (Page 21)
ü Trix Bruce (Pages 11/12) ü Spring-break changes (Page 21)
ü ‘Visit’ 11 nations (Page 12) ü Gold fever (Pages 21-23)
ü Techno teaching (Page 13) ü Festival of Health (Page 23)
ü Police orientations (Pages 13/14) ü Paper chase (Pages 23/24)
ü And Finally (Page 24)
☻☻☻☻☻☻
The gypsy jazz of the Jorgenson Five
If you don’t have a clue as to what American gypsy jazz is, the Sherlock Holmes of that genre of home-grown music is coming to Kalamazoo to shed light on the mystery.
The John Jorgenson Quintet, whose Grammy-winning guitarist leader is regarded as a pioneer of that jazz style, will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 20, in Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Dale Lake Auditorium.
Tickets for the fivesome’s concert are $15 and are available at the college’s bookstores on the Texas Township Campus and in downtown Kalamazoo’s Anna Whitten Hall.
Artists Forum is co-sponsored by KVCC and the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation of Kalamazoo. The series began with the 1987-88 academic year.
The college’s two-concert Artists Forum series for 2009-10 will conclude with a performance by instrumentalist Darrell Scott, who has composed chartbuster songs for Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Keb Mo, Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt and The Dixie Chicks.
Formed in 2004, the quintet also features jazz violinist Jason Anick, rhythm guitarist Doug Martin, bassist Simon Planting, and percussionist Rick Reed.
Gypsy jazz was made famous by French guitarist Django Reinhardt. In the 2005 movie “Head in the Clouds” that featured Reinhardt’s music and starring Charlize Theron and Penelope Cruz, Jorgenson, who also plays the clarinet, portrayed the Frenchman.
Jorgenson was a six-year member of Elton John's band. Artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Bonnie Raitt to Earl Scruggs have sought out Jorgenson's guitar work that has been described as “dazzling.”
Whether playing his own compositions or classic standards, Jorgenson and his musical mates John make music that is “equally romantic and ecstatic, played with virtuosity and soul.”
Jorgenson’s articles and lessons on gypsy jazz have appeared in prominent guitar magazines. He has given master classes around the country, and has performed with some of the most respected European proponents of this style. His “After You've Gone” CD is a collection of Reinhardt- and Benny Goodman-styled 1930s swing.
Growing up in Southern California, Jorgenson was playing both the piano and the clarinet by age 8. At 12 he got his first guitar and practiced voraciously while continuing to study classical music on woodwinds. By age 14, he was playing professionally.
Learning first to play rock guitar, Jorgenson absorbed other guitar styles as quickly as he discovered them. This broad musical palette has enabled him to play with artists as diverse as John, Luciano Pavarotti, Raitt, and Goodman.
Jorgenson first came to national prominence in the mid1980s with the Desert Rose Band, which he co-founded. The band earned five No. 1 singles and Jorgenson won the Academy of Country Music’s "Guitarist of the Year" award three consecutive times.
Following the Desert Rose Band, he formed another award-winning group, the virtuosic guitar trio The Hellecasters. Originally conceived as a "one off" gig for fun, the group went on to produce three CDs and a live video, winning both "Album of the Year" and "Country Album of the Year" from the readers of Guitar Player Magazine in 1993.
In 1994, British rock legend John called and invited Jorgenson on an 18-month world tour. The 18 months stretched into a six-year period that included not only sold-out world tours, but also recordings, television appearances, and collaborations with many other artists including Sting and Billy Joel. In addition to acoustic and electric guitars, the Californian was also featured on saxophone, mandolin and vocals.
Although well-renowned in the pop, country and rock world, gypsy jazz is the style of music closest to his heart. His “Franco-American Swing” is full of infectious gypsy jazz music and co-features the Nashville Chamber Orchestra from Jorgenson’s home port in Tennessee.
In addition to gigs up and down all of California, the Jorgenson fivesome has taken part in “Jammin’ Java” in Vienna, Va., has played with the Les Paul Trio in New York City, been booked into the Hilton Hotel in “The Big Apple, and been the headline act for the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts in Anchorage.
Upon leaving Kalamazoo, the quintet will head for booking in Philadelphia, Boston, Germany, Scotland and London. Jorgenson describes himself as “a proud patron of the only dedicated gypsy-jazz venue in the world” in London.
Nine more 'vols' needed for ‘Human Race Machine’ exhibit
A week’s stay of the Human Race Machine on the Texas Township Campus will complement the college’s seventh annual Diversity Conference later month.
From March 22 through March 26 in Room 4380, the magic of computer software will allow people to see what they would look like if they were of a different race. Participants will use their own image to gain a sense of their appearance as a member of six different races.
The exhibit is based on the scientific finding that the DNA of any two humans is 99.97 identical and that there is no gene for race, adding substance to the premise that in a foxhole everybody is the same color – red.
In addition, throughout the week in the exhibit area, there will be showings of the PBS documentary, “The Illusion of Race.”
As with a similar format for the sixth conference in 2009, the plan is to open the experience to the public.
However, that will require KVCC’ers to step forward to serve as volunteers to monitor the exhibit in one-hour shifts that week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and nine more are needed to make all of that happen.
Those who would like to serve as monitors for an hour or more can contact Nancy Taylor at extension 4142 or .
In addition to Taylor, Carol Head, Ken Barr Jr., Russ Panico, Dan Maley, Sue Hills, Janet Alm, Jackie Howlett, Melissa Farris, Karen Steeno van Staveren, Ruth Baker, Colleen Olson, Joyce Tamer, Marie Rogers, Bonita Bates, Mary Johnson, Kate Ferraro, Laura Cosby, Mike Collins, Kandiah Balachandran, Leona Coleman, Marion Melville and Marylan Hightree have committed to helping the college open this experience to the public.
Here are the vacancies: Wednesday (March 24) at 11 a.m. and at noon; Thursday (March 25) at noon and 5 p.m.; and Friday (March 26) at 9, 10, and 11 a.m., and 1 and 2 p.m.
“In addition to employees and students visiting the exhibit,” Taylor said, “we are also expecting K-12 class trips as well as the general public. The primary responsibility is to monitor the room and the machine, and to start up a DVD player when necessary.”
7th Diversity Conference slated for March 26
The keynote speaker for KVCC’s seventh annual Diversity Conference has shared stage and microphone time with such luminaries as First Lady Michelle Obama and “The Fonz” from “Happy Days.”
In addition to remarks from Greg Forbes Siegman, the Friday, March 26, billing includes an entertainment package that delivers a message and a panel discussion.
Under this year’s theme of “Educating Ourselves and Others,” attendees from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. can listen to the perspectives of keynoter Siegman (8:15), enjoy, a performance by Portage’s Kinetic Affect (9:45), and take part in a panel discussion entitled “How I Got Here” (11 a.m.).
The latter will address family structures, how people grow up, the culture/environment of each person’s childhood, experiences with education, and the challenges and obstacles facing people as they try to move forward when it comes to tolerance.
Among those presenters will be:
· Bruce Kocher, vice president for academic services, who will talk about how, while raised in a single-parent home, he moved ahead in life.
· KVCC data-base analyst Jolene Osei, who was born in Zimbabwe.
· David Hernandez, Puerto Rican from Chicago who is majoring in international studies at KVCC.
Free and open to the public, the conference events will be held in the Dale Lake Auditorium on the Texas Township Campus. Remarks from KVCC President Marilyn Schlack will open the annual gathering.
Siegman’s book, “The First Thirty,” chronicles the first 30 lessons Siegman said he learned in his life that blossomed from college reject to honored graduate to substitute teacher to young philanthropist helping other overlooked students get to college.
The lessons revolve around such issues as community service, diversity, leadership and dealing with setbacks. It is a story of redemption and determination.
A major setback came as an 18 year old when Siegman was rejected by every college to which he applied. Given a chance by a school in Louisiana, he transferred with two years of passing grades to a college closer to his Midwest roots and graduated as a top scholar. He even served a Capitol Hill internship in Washington.
Already sensing more of a mission aimed at community service than material gains, Siegman chose to become a substitute teacher and created a mentoring program to break down racial, cultural and social barriers.
Within 18 months, he had established The 11-10-02 Foundation to help other overlooked students get to college as they encountered heartache, shut doors, and closed minds. In all, he spent eight years in the front of classrooms.
In 2005, he was honored by Princeton University as one of the nation's top social entrepreneurs under 40 for his dedication to speak before diverse groups of people and interests.
He has shared lectern duties with Nobel Peace Prize honoree Elie Wiesel, President Obama’s spouse, Nebraska athletic icon Tom Osborne, and actor Henry Winkler.
His writings have explored the impact of labels and stereotypes, the wisdom of grandparents, how to talk to students about the ramifications of 9-11, and the internal strength of those who deal with physical obstacles.
Siegman has coordinated and hosted hundreds of events to bring people of different races, cultures and backgrounds together in cities throughout the United States, Canada and Africa.
With the arrival of the new millennium, “Good Morning America” buried a time capsule that included a video narrated by Diane Sawyer about Siegman’s efforts to bring people together of different races, cultures and backgrounds.
As he strives to stay mentally, culturally and socially fit, he pays equal attention to physical fitness as a competitor in triathlons, quite an accomplishment for someone who has had four operations on his feet.
“People don’t remember how you were treated,” he says. “They remember how you respond.” It is this attitude that he says has helped him convert barriers into bridges.
The community of Enfield, Conn., in 2005 used “The First Thirty” as its version of Kalamazoo’s “Reading Together” program, which led to him delivering the commencement address at Suffield High School and to a presentation at Asnuntuck Community College where students were reading the book.
The Portage-based Kinetic Affect, the duo that won the recent “Kalamazoo Has Talent” competition, are two spoken-wordsmiths who joined forces in the summer of 2007 after being fierce competitors at local poetry slams. Gabriel Giron and Kirk Latimer have created a new kind of verbal experience.
Giron’s Latino background and hip-hop influences collide on stage with Latimer’s Native American heritage and academic nature. Despite apparent differences, they exhibit similarities. They challenge beliefs, push boundaries, embrace differences, and seek to increase awareness of local and global issues.
Giron admits to a difficult and angry past, vacillating from class bully to class poet. After lazily making his way through high school, he felt oddly drawn to the military. Eight months into his enlistment, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and underwent cycles of chemotherapy and several surgeries over three years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The cancer-free Giron said days spent wondering whether he would live or die gave him a new-found perspective on life. He is majoring in film and creative writing at Western Michigan University.
His reflection on cancer survival, military experience, and family relationships enabled him to write on topics with unique vulnerability not commonly explored or spoken by others. By sharing his stories and commenting on what he sees around him, others can be inspired to share their stories, making poetry real, honest, and accessible regardless of age, class or gender.
Now dressed in slacks, dress shirt and tie, Latimer had a history of fighting both inside and outside the ring. He turned his anger from his color-trunked opponents toward himself, resulting in his arrest at the age of 16. He continued a cycle of vengeance and retribution until his senior year of high school when five of his friends and classmates committed suicide. It took him nearly six months to change his approach to life.