Muse House

Syracuse University hosted two extraordinary journeys through the world of chamber music on Nov. 13, with performances from Boston’s Hawthorne String Quartet and Ensemble Nordlys from Denmark.  The programs for each of these concerts, though the music could not have been more different, illustrated how classical music is continually used to preserve cultural identity.

A Korean music and dance concert drew a large crowd of students to Grant Auditorium on Tuesday night. Some of the students obviously don’t frequent folk concerts – a few even had their laptops and cell phones out – but the pieces in this Department of Ethnomusicology-sponsored performance were stunning enough to halt many audience members mid-text.

Audiences should be trembling with antici—say it!—pation for The Talent Company’s current production of The Rocky Horror Show. After all, it’s been 15 years since the last live performance. And the wait was worth it. Under Christine Lightcap’s direction, this sci-fi-horror-parody is fresh and provocatively funny.

In the third song of [title of show], Hunter, dressed as a sandwich board advertisement that reads “An Original Musical,” gives Jeff a satirical crash course in how to put on a Broadway-worthy production. He promotes an over-the-top set, a huge cast and a full symphony orchestra. And when Jeff says he wants to use just four chairs, four cast members and a keyboard, Hunter replies that Jeff needs at least “a turntable or a freakin’ electric blimp or something.”