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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, February 27, 2002 11 THEY SAID IT CONTACT US EM CIORAN, THE TEMPTATION TO EXIST: . “Anyone can escape into sleep, we are Story ideas. Questions. Comments. all geniuses when we dream, the butch E-mail us at gamecockmixeditor@hotmml.com er’s the poet>s equal there - c machine BY ERIC SUTTON THE GAMECOCK The USC Symphony Orchestra is teaming up with internationally renowned violinist Vadim Gluzman for an evening of classical music at the Koger Center for the Arts. Timothy McDonnell, Kirsten Cassel, Abigail McKee and Zhou Jin are young Artists Award winners se lected to perform solos Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Conductor Donald Portnoy will lead the baton while Vadim Gluzman performs the "Korngold Concerto." Gluzman will play the concerto on the 1690 ex-Leopold Auer Stradivarius violin. The instrument is on extended loan from the Stradivari Society of Chicago, which connects great young talent with the greatest instruments ever made. The ex-Leopold Auer takes its name from one of its former owners. Constructed in 1690, the violin "has a beautiful noble voice," according to Gluzman's Web site. "Its luscious low register, pene trating E-string, immensely wide col or palette and power of projection have mesmerized audiences every where it has been heard," he said. In The Chicago Tribune Magazine Gluzman said: "Words cannot de scribe how wonderful this instru ment is. It makes me run 15 times faster, dive 15 times deeper. When I first picked up this violin and notes emanated from my bow, I knew my life had changed." McDonnel will conduct McKee in a performance of the first movement in Mozart's "Flute Concerto." McDonnel, a second-year doctoral candidate studying conducting at the School of Music, has a Bachelor of Arts in music from Immaculate College and a Master of Music in choral conducting from Yale University. McDonnel is a compos r-- - : ' er whose work is performed around the world. McKee, a third-year music per formance student, is principal flute in the USC Symphony Orchestra and the Symphonic Band. She is an ac complished vocalist and a member of the West African Drumming and Dance Ensemble. McKee performed with the Blue Lake International Youth Symphony Orchestra in the summer of 1997 and has played throughout the United States and Europe. McKee thinks the piece will be ac cessible to people who don't know a lot about symphonic music. "I love this piece. It’s a standard for all flutists, and I think, after hearing it, everyone will understand why. The piece itself is very crystalline, very pure," she said. "As far as my inter pretation goes, I'm really just trying to play it in a way that doesn't inter fere with the innate beauty of the piece." Cassel, playing cello under Jin's conduction, will perform the first movement from the Dvorak Cello Concerto. She is a native of Nashville, Tenn., and began learn ing the violin at age 2 at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music. At age 6, she took up the cello. Cassel spent seven years with the Nashville Youth Symphony and was one of three cellists in the Southeast to play for Lynn Harrell, a famous cellist, conductor and teacher, at Spivey Hall in 1997. In 2001, she was invited to play at the Aspen Music Festival. She is a senior performance major at USC studying with Robert Jesselson. Jin is completing his doctoral de gree in opera and conducting at USC after receiving a Bachelor of Musical Arts from China's Wuhan Conservatory of Music. He earned his master's degree from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. At Wuhan, he served as the orchestra's music direc tor. Gluzman has many credits to his name. The 29-year-old started studying the violin at age 7 and comes from a ■ family of professional mu sicians in Zhitomir, Ukraine. Gluzman's studies in clude stays at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel-Aviv and at The Juilliard School in New York City. He has played at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and Paris' Theatre du Chatelet, as well as with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. The Washington Post describes Gluzman’s performance as having "a commanding technique, spontane ity and visionary breadth... capable of both delicate nuances and incen diary passion." Gluzman has released two albums under the label Koch International. His first CD includes music by Beethoven and Brahms, as well as the rarely recorded "Sonata in E" by Paul Hindemith. His second album is a recording of the world premiere of the "Violin Concerto" by Richard Rodney Bennett with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra. There will be a concert preview at 6:45 p.m. in the large rehearsal hall in the Koger Center, where USC Symphony Assistant Conductor Neil Casey will lead a discussion. Tickets for the performance are available at the Coliseum Box Office, at all Capitol Tickets outlets and in the Koger Center lobby before the concert’s start. Tickets are $15, $12 and $7. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com USC Symphony Conductor Dr. Donald Portnoy (center) and USC’s Young Artist Award winners, from left: Timothy McDonnell, Zhou Jin, Kirsten Cassell and Abigail McKee. PHOTO BY MICHAEL BROWN WUSC Top Ten Albums FOR THE WEEK OF FEB. 17-23 1. “INTERSTELLAR GROOVE”EP _Interstellar Groove 2. “ALL YOU CAN EAT" Beat Crusaders 3. “ ‘OCEAN’S ELEVEN’ SOUNDTRACK” _ Various Artists 4. “WE ARE THE ONLY FRIENDS WE HAVE” Piebald 5. “ATTAK” _ KMFDM 6. “THE GUEST Phantom Planet 7. “ENGLAND, HALF ENGLISH” Billy Bragg and The Blokes 8. “DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME” _ Joey Ramone 9. “ROCK MUSIC: A TRIBUTE TO WEEZER” __Various Artists 10. “ ‘SIX FEET UNDER’ SOUNDTRACK” Various Artists _ Newcomers, old school get chance at Grammys BY MIKE LUKE THE GAMECOCK The 44th annual Grammy Awards for recording artists is upon us. If you’re a mainstream rock fan, it was a lackluster year in music. On the other hand, R&B and hip-hop music had a gracious share of the limelight. The three nominees with the most nominations are U2, leading the competition with eight; India.Arie, with seven; and Alicia Keys, who got six nods. What to expect? Arie might seem like this one of this year's favorites, but she has only just recently enjoyed a rise in popularity. Keys and U2 have had sustained success over the entire year. Train has a couple of nominations, but its success has been banked on one song, "Drops of Jupiter." Keys and U2 have given the radio hit after hit and topped the Billboard charts this year. Outkast's only challenge in the rap category is for rap album of the year, for which it is competing with Jay-Z and Ludacris. According to an E! Online poll, U2 will win album of the year. Keys should also win the Grammys for record of the year and best new artist. The poll also projects teenyboppers such as ’N Sync and the Backstreet Boys will fall short of the legendary Elton John in the US ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND best pop vocal album category. This year's Grammy performances promise to be exciting. In light of this year's tragedies, Billy Joel and Tony Bennett will perform a duet of Joel's classic "New York State of Mind." It's reported that their rendition brought people to tears during rehearsal. The youthful Joshua Bell will perform a virtuoso violin piece. Outkast and Keys will perform, and even a gospel medley featuring Brian McKnight will grace the stage. This year's lifetime achievement recipients are Count Baise, Rosemary Clooney, Perry Cuomo, A1 Green and Joni Mitchell. Rehearsal photos show that A1 Green will most likely have a large role in the gospel medley. This year's biggest disappointments in nominations are Radiohead and Tool, who only got one nomination apiece. Tool's first album in five years, "Lateralus," made its debut at No. 1 on the Billboard charts during the week of its official release and was certified platinum soon - after. Radiohead was voted best band of 2001 by the British magazine Q. This year's awards will be the perfect combination of old-school giants proving they can still rock and newcomers who have just gotten their feet wet. Tune in to CBS on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. to see whether your favorite artist takes home a Grammy. -* Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Grammy Nominees RECORD OF THE YEAR "Video" India.Arie "Failin'" Alicia Keys lonl/frin11 Outkast "Drops of Jupiter" Train Alicia Keys "Walk On" U2 ALBUM OF THE YEAR "Acoustic Soul’ "Love and Theft" Leave Behind" U2 " ‘0 Brother, Where Art Thou?’ India.Arie Soundtrack" Various Artists SONG OF THE YEAR "Drops of Jupiter* Charlie Colin, Rob Hotchkiss, Pat Monahan, Jimmy Stafford and Scott Underwood, songwriters "Failin'* Alicia Keys, songwriter "I'm Like A Bird" Nelly Furtado, songwriter "Stuck In A Moment you Can't Get Out or „ „ _ ^ . U2, songwriters Nelly Furtado .Vjdeo. India.Arie, Carlos "Six July" Broady, Reginald Harris and Shannon Sanders, songwriters BEST NEW ARTIST India.Arie Nelly Furtado David Gray Alicia Keys Linkin Park 1 CD REVIEW Nettles to release album atNBT DRAG ME DOWN: GRAVITY Jennifer .Nettles Band ★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY CARRIE PHILLIPS THE GAMECOCK There’s not much ground left to cover in music; just about anything that can be done has been done before, and the odds are that it was done better back . then. A good musician realizes this, laughs in its face and makes music anyway. The Jennifer Nettles Band, on tour to promote the release of their new CD, “Drag Me Down: Gravity,” laughs at it, spits on it and rocks out until it goes home crying. The band plays Thursday - night at the New Brookland Tavern. Nettles, the front woman and author of most of the songs, came onto the music scene in 1996 as part of the now defunct band Soul Miner’s Daughter. She struck out on her own and has remained a powerful force on the Atlanta and Southeastern music scene since the late ‘90s.. She gathered the talents of Michael Cebulski, Wesley Lupoid, Scott Nicholson and Brad Sikes to complete the conglomeration of sounds and genres that is now the Jennifer Nettles Band. The band came to the Elbow Room last year, and Nettles wowed the audience with her dynamic stage presence. Her powerful voice tilled every crevice in the room with its warmth and emotion. Nettles is not a quiet performer; she likes to talk to the audience and is funny and charismatic in her tales. The highlight of the night was her cover of the Peter Gabriel and ‘80s teen movie classic “In Your Eyes.” Her voice is perhaps the best part about her performance, whether it is through the speakers in your car or the speakers at New Brookland Tavern. She sings with abandon, opening her mouth and letting the huge sound pour out that is one part Ani DiFranco folk, one part Tori Amos angst and one part pure country soul. Nettles knows when to yell and when to growl, and she uses that to embody a range of emotions in her music. witn tneir sopnomore release, Jennifer Nettles Band has continued their growth to a more sophisticated soimd. The funk and soul elements on “Change” make it one of the most fun songs on the album. She goes back to her country sound with “El Camino” and “Drag Me Down.” “Gravity” sounds like it could have come straight out of Tori Amos’ mouth (although Nettles’ lyrics are much less cryptic than rtmus ). Nettles picks up her folk queen mantle with “What You Signed Up For” and “By the Skin of Her Teeth,” and rocks out on “Shift,” by far the heaviest song on the album. All of the tracks have just enough complexity for an album, yet are not too weighty for the stage. The show starts at 10:30 p.m. at New Brookland Tavern, 122 State St. Rene Russell and Kristy Starr will open. Cover is $7, and the show is open to ages 18 and up. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com