Christiana Lehmann, Printmaker, Graphic Designer, Musician

ALFRED: Christiana Lehmann has wanted to work in an art field for about a long as she can remember. She has a memory of an interest area test in which her choices indicated that she might do well if she aimed her studies toward an art field. In elementary school, for a flicker of time, she considered being a teacher but shortly realized that would be a disaster – too much talking and not enough drawing. Other than that moment of considering teaching, art is what she has pursued.

                Christiana graduated from Arlington High School, about an hour and a half north of New York City. When it came time to choose a school, she narrowed it to Pratt and Alfred and one of the things that tilted strongly toward Alfred was the Performing Arts Department.

                Christiana started flute lessons when she was about 9 and continued with flute in high school and through her 4 years in Alfred. She started playing acoustic guitar when she was 13 and spent a few semesters studying piano at Alfred. Her newest instrumental experience is with the cello which she has played for just over a year.

                She played in Symphonic Band all 4 years and has been a member of the flute choir since it started. She played flute in both Symphonic Band and Orchestra one year and then started cello lessons so played in the cello section of the orchestra this year. The cello attracted her because of the glorious sound it can make. That range of tones is so rich and full that she had to give it a try.

                Christiana’s degree will be a Bachelor of Fine Arts and she has chosen to concentrate on graphic design and printmaking. Her senior thesis show, Melodic Dissonance, will combine drawings, handmade flutes and recorded music. In this title, Christiana is the melody. It’s the music within her and the emotions that music brings to her. She is the midst of carving print blocks that reference music and the emotional aspect of music. The dissonance in the melody is the repeated stamping of the blocks in overlapping rows, columns and patterns to create new designs with the varied placements.

                All of her stamps have designs 5 lines representing the lines of the music staff. She showed me some prints that are done in gray, black and white or just black and white. Some of the stamps are just a few inches in size but she places them on the paper over and over to create huge designs and said she is never sure how the small patterns will look when they are used over and over. One large print has curved lines that reference the shape of the cut out on a cello. Stamps made in straight lines sometimes give diagonal designs or a sort of plaid. The surprising outcomes are part of the fun of printmaking.

                Christiana likes functional art and decided that her thesis show would include a collection of handmade, functional flutes. She chose to make the flutes from bamboo because it is a natural and fast growing material and thought she could get some at a garden center. Instead she had to order bundles of it from the also fast-growing but perhaps not so sustainable Amazon. Needs must.

                Early in the flute making process she discovered things about flutes and bamboo. One is that bamboo is brittle and cracks sometimes when drilled. Another is that bundles of bamboo contain some long narrow poles amid long wide poles with few being a great diameter for a flute. Another is that the head of a flute needs to be smaller in diameter than the body of the flute to be in tune.

                She starts by drilling the mouth piece hole and then gets what she calls the original note to sound true. After she successfully gets an original first note she applies mathematics to determine the placement for finger holes. She plans to have 13 flutes starting with a low D and going up the scale in half steps to the D one octave above.

                When you attend her show, if plans aren’t modified, you will see a display of her flutes amid the prints based on the line designs. You’ll hear recordings of her playing the flutes which will be blended and edited and played in a loop.

                The designs will be printed on the flutes as well as on paper. She learned that if she prints on acetate and wraps it around a flute, she can burnish the acetate to transfer the print to the bamboo flute.  

                This semester has been Christiana’s favorite time at AU. She has her thesis show work, music including both Symphonic groups and flute choir and Astronomy to more than fill her days as she thinks about finding a job in graphic arts after graduation. She’s enjoyed her time in Alfred but plans to move south toward the milder weather that her siblings live and work in, and, no offense to The Rogue Carrot, near a large grocery store.

                Senior thesis shows are always on a Saturday evening. May 5^th is the date set for this year and the time is the usual 4 to 7 pm. Christiana Lehmann’s work will be in section B10 in Binns-Merrill Hall. There will be dozens of other graduating seniors showing their work on the campus and in town. Follow an excited crowd and make it into an active area where there will be labeled maps to guide you.Senior Shows are free and open to the public though parking areas are scarce.

Alfred University Symphonic Band - April 28

ALFRED: You are invited on Friday, April 28 at 7:30 to hear the Alfred University Symphonic Band performance. The band is full of interesting people with several of them soon to graduate so this is your last chance to hear them together.

                One Senior is Cheyenne Seymore. Cheyenne went to school in Elmira where everyone has to join chorus or band in junior high. Most other students I’ve interviewed chose an instrument in 4^th or 5^th grade and then stuck with it but in Elmira everyone volunteers. In high school, students choose to continue with music or have a study hall. Cheyenne said that about half the students choose to continue, as she did.

                Cheyenne chose to play percussion for, one might say, interesting reasons. Her dad, noted as a hippy-dad, took her to drum circles so drums were familiar. She also felt that drum music is easier to read without the music staff making demands on her.

                At AU, Cheyenne is a math and accounting major with plans to work as an accountant after she graduates. The CPA exams (a series of 4 exams, 3 hours each) are in her future. By taking full time studies on the AU campus and adding other courses from Alfred State she has managed to get all the coursework needed for the CPA while earning her degree.  She had an interview for a potential job the day we talked.

                Cheyenne has a strong work ethic that she credits to her first pony. She started riding lessons when she was five and when she turned 8, her grandparents gave her a pony. Her parents agreed to pay the cost of boarding the pony but if she wanted to continue riding lessons she had to earn them. She agreed to work so, every day, after school, she rode the bus to the barn to muck out stalls and feed horses. Also, as a rugged 8 year old, she “helped the little kids” saddle their horses.

                Alfred University’s Equestrian program brought Cheyenne here to study. As a member of the Equestrian Team, Cheyenne took 8^th place in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Hunt Seat Regionals.

                Cheyenne is sorry that she didn’t join the Symphonic Band sooner. She took percussion lessons from Dr. Foster in the Fall Semester and joined the band this, her final, semester. The 3 years away from drums made her rusty so she is thankful that the percussion section members are so welcoming and helpful.

                Another senior is trombonist and ceramic engineering student, Kade McGarrity. Kade is from Angola, NY where in 5th grade he started lessons on saxophone. The best laid plans of a fifth grader can be wonderfully flexible because when Kade couldn’t get musical sounds from the sax, he traded it for his second choice, a trombone. While those might seem miles apart, both are suitable for jazz.

                He joined concert band in sixth grade and in high school played in a Ska band, Scallywags, performing at parties and in the fire hall. They wrote and recorded a few songs in the drummer’s basement since he was the guy with the sound board.  Now, that drummer is now studying music production program at Fredonia while Kade and his trombone are in Alfred- always in Jazz Band, occasionally in Symphonic Orchestra, and regularly in Symphonic Band.

                Kade spoke of the value of music in general.  He is concerned about the decreasing funding for school music programs at all levels. Kade is certain that he wouldn’t be the person he is now without the many academic and social experiences that music provided. Music is an essential in one’s education.

                He also named his high school band teacher as his favorite teacher ever. This man cared about all students and not just their music but their well being. He even gave Kade his jazz trombone.

                The instrument teetered on the edge of beatten up and having character with a distinct liability in that it didn’t work. After it was used as a prop in a school play, Kade took it home and fixed it but when he returned it, his teacher said he earned it. This is the trombone he uses in jazz band because it has a smokier sound than his concert horn and it hits high notes more easily.

                Kade and his trombone may be at AU for a while. He plans to apply for advanced study here and hopes for a PhD. He may like to work on materials in electronics or maybe develop body armor or structural ceramics or explore heat resistant materials.        

                Kade and Cheyenne both name Second Suite for Military Band by Holst as their favorite piece in the concert.  Kade particularly likes the fourth movement because it brings together many melodies and intertwines them. Cheyenne likes it because it reminds her of her high school music fun.

                Kalene Strange, a senior in Interdisciplinary Art from Wellsboro PA, plays alto sax. Her senior show reception will be in the basement of The Brick on May 5 from 5-7 pm but first come to hear her play in the concert on April 28. Her art involves using sound waves within childhood photographs.

                Kaylene is from Wellsboro PA where she had her first music lesson on piano at age 3 with her grandfather. He got frustrated and walked away but she kept at it till she figured it out. Her grandfather played by ear but which made sense to her because she has near perfect pitch and can “hear” the music but she taught herself to read music and began piano lessons with another teacher when she was 5.

Cheyenne, Rosalyn, Kaylene, Kade

                Kaylene started singing when she started talking, or maybe before. Her family gatherings always include a guitar and songs. She got a guitar in middle school and taught herself. Not surprisingly, she borrowed instruments and books from school and, as she says, figured out flute, piccolo, clarinet and trumpet as well as French horn with a brief stint on oboe. Her mother said she sounded like a dying duck and the oboe had to go, please. At AU she studied violin for 2 years with Dr. Lantz and would have had more music classes and experiences but her schedule was packed.  

                Kalene’s favorite piece is Endless Rainbows by Brian Balmages because of the lovely, lyrical melodies.

                A fourth senior is Rosalyn Nardella, who began with baritone sax in middle school in Loganton, PA and added viola in high school. As a freshman at Alfred, she began taking flute and piano lessons and this year has played in student recitals as a flute soloist and with Andres Garcia in a saxophone duet as well as with the Pep Band, Symphonic Band and Orchestra.

                During her senior year she joined the newly formed Alfred University Flute Choir. This busy student exercises her horse regularly and works to earn board for it. Some days she travels to the Dansville Dental Practice where she takes xrays and assists in patient room preparation.

                Rosalyn says that she has time for lots of things if she avoids studying but, knowing she is a biology major, that seems a joke. At the time of our talk her future involves dentistry at Temple University in Philadelphia. Four years at Temple will bring true her childhood dream of being a dentist.   For many, a dentistry degree comes with student debt anchoring them to earth but Rosalyn has a different anchor in mind. By enlisting in the Navy, she will avoid $300,000 to $500,000 in loans. The Navy will pay for dental school in exchange for her pledge of 4 years as a naval dentist. She will have the option to stay in the Navy for her entire career if she chooses. If she is assigned to a ship she will not be able to take her horse but she might take a ukulele since she plays that too.  

                Rosalyn’s favorite piece in the concert was Lightning Field by John Mackey. She was playing the flute part and having fun with it but recently was assigned the piano part instead so Shortcut Home by Dana Wilson is now her favorite. “It’s really fast and technically difficult,” she said.

Christiana and Molly ignore Dr. Foster and his Alfred Sun

                Other pieces in the concert are Gavorkna Fanfare by Jack Stamp, Snowflakes Dancing by Andrew Boysen, and The Promise of Living by Aaron Copland. The concert is free and open to the public in the Miller Performing Arts Center. Enter the campus at the traffic light, turn left at the boulder near the top of the hill. MPAC is the building at the end of that road with a glass front.

Symphonic Band Concert

 ALFRED: Alfred University’s Performing Arts Department attracts students from all areas of study. Many students choose Alfred because they can continue their experiences in performing arts without committing to the rigors of a performance major or minor. Three such students, Kyle Merrifield, Katie Weiss and Jay Horwath, talked with me about their musical experiences as they prepared for the
Alfred University Symphonic Band Concert. (Friday, December 9, 7:30 pm Miller Performing Arts Center. Admission is free and open to all.
                Kyle came to Alfred from Amherst, NY to study Renewable Energy Engineering.  He chose Alfred because it was close to home, because he could continue to participate in instrumental performances and because he could compete in his high school sports – bowling, tennis and volleyball.
                Kyle began his musical career, like so many others, in fourth grade. He chose percussion because percussionists play several instruments. Mallets are his favorite. During some rehearsals Kyle will jam a set of mallets under an arm as he plays with a different set. Suddenly, he will switch mallets and zip over to a different instrument or he’ll hammer a chime.
                Kyle said the different mallets give different sounds. A harder mallet compares with woodwinds playing staccato while a softer mallet creates the legato articulation.
                Kyle played percussion from 4th through 12th grade but also picked up the French Horn in 7th grade just for the experience. While in high school, Kyle traveled to Chicago and Washington DC to compete in symphonic band competitions and do some sightseeing. He said it was always interesting to hear several groups play the same piece and have all sound different.
                One great thing about AU is that Kyle is able to be a die-hard football fan and a percussionist at the same time. Kyle bangs on the drums with the Pep Band at all home football games.
                For the upcoming concert, he notes that My Shot from the musical Hamilton is his favorite piece. For that piece he will set aside mallets to give his first rap performance on a stage. His only other public rap was the conclusion of a presentation on geothermal energy. That rap, a big hit in class, was his own creation.
                After graduation Kyle will work in the solar or wind industry. Right now there are more people employed in renewable energy fields than in fossil fuels.
                “I’m thankful for the opportunities to continue in performance arts here at Alfred. My life goal is to be well a rounded individual and my experiences in athletics and music help me attain that.“
               Katie came to Alfred from Rome, NY to major in Bio-materials Engineering. She hopes to help design new and better orthopedic medical implants. She told me that the research & developing in joints is constant. Doctors want implants that are easier to insert and everyone wants them to last longer and work better.
     Engineers work with an array of materials and try to improve attachment systems.  Implants are used to replace aging arthritic joints but also to replace joints damaged by traumatic injury.   

         Katie will play French Horn in the concert and you’ll hear her on some solos. She regularly plays trumpet with Pep Band, sometimes plays French Horn in the orchestra and always plays Tuba in "Tuba Christmas."
      Tuba Christmas is a national organization that helps to arrange regional groups to perform in December. The group has only tubas, euphoniums and baritones (essentially little tubas). She has played with groups of about 40 members but hopes to play with the New York City group one year. That group draws a few hundred performers.
                Katie chose Alfred because it is a small community and AU offered the program she wanted. She was attracted by the fact that she could play in the musical groups here because rehearsal times give her a break from study.
        As an added bonus, she met Scott DiFranco-Norton. Scott recruited her for pep band student but that was just the start of their time together. They were recently engaged and will live in Mahwah, NJ, where Katie will work, after they marry in June.
                In this concert, Katie’s favorite piece is Star Wars. Katie is a Star Wars fan. In high school, she and her best friends would make costumes and go to the films. Her favorite character is 3CPO so Katie's nickname is KTPO.
                Katie said, “Music is my source of sanity here. It gives me a break from study  and is totally different from my normal class work.”
     Jay is one of the rare students who did not start music lessons in 4th grade. Instead, this senior in glass engineering with a chemistry minor started working with a trumpet in 8th grade.
       In the summer before eighth grade, Jay went to his grandfather's house to help clean out a closet. Jay had been fooling around with a guitar but wanted to start taking lessons.  That day, they dug his Grand Dad's trumpet of the closet. It was the perfect time for a first trumpet lesson.
      Jay chose to attend AU because of the glass engineering program but the fact that he could play in Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, Pit Band and Orchestra without competing with music majors was a bonus.
    Jay said, "Having the opportunity to do so much with music has made me more rounded. Working with and learning from people with different perspectives has been a another benefit of my music experience."
     Jay's favorite piece in the December concert is Olympic Fanfare.  He likes it because it's challenging and fun as well as familiar because of the number of times it was played during the recent Olympic Games.

       Jay is planning on graduate school in the Philadelphia area, near his family's home in Doylestown. There are many community musical groups there and Jazz is particularly popular.     Jay told me about his 2 trumpets. They are both brass but one has a higher copper content and makes a darker sound so is more suitable for jazz. The voice of a trumpet is impacted by the metal as well as by the tightness of the curves. Two trumpets might look the same but sound different.

       Whichever trumpet he plays, you'll be impressed. The concert will be at 7:30 on December 9 in the Miller Performance Hall.