The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 23, 2004, Page 12, Image 12
World-famous pianist, USC violinist to perform with symphony
BY CARRIE GIVENS
THE (iAMECOCK
Richard Ormrod is no stranger
to the piano or to the stage. He has
charmed audiences in the United
Kingdom, France, Austria, Israel,
Morocco and numerous other
countries. His next stop: the Roger
Center, where he will play in con
junction with the University of
South1 Carolina Symphony
Orchestra.
At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, the USC
Symphony Orchestra, conducted
by Donald Portnoy and assisted by
Neil Casey, will play host to
Richard Ormrod’s piano stylings,
featuring Ormrod playing
Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No.l,
Op. 15." In addition, the orchestra
will present Antonin Dvorak’s
“Symphony No.7, Op. 70.”
The performance will also fea
ture violinist Eliza Hesse. A third
year music performance student
and one of two winners of the 2004
Young Artist Competition at USC,
Hesse will open the performance
with the first movement of
Mozart’s “Concerto No. 5,” a piece
characterized by youth and vitali
ty. The music is a mixing of tem
pos and of melodies.
Hesse said she is excited about
this performance, adding that it
“isn’t an opportunity that comes
up a lot... it’s a special thing.”
She said she feels special to be-a
part of this performance, and that
it’s a “dream come true...it’s a
dream for a lot of students.” Hesse
has been playing the violin since
she was three years old and will
also be participating in the Rome
Music Festival in Italy this sum
mer.
Ormond will continue the per
formance with Beethoven’s “Piano
Concerto No.l, Op. 15.” This classi
cal piece begins quietly, later erupt
ing with a powerful orchestral tutti.
Ormrod, who began playing the
piano when he was five years old,
appeared in his first concerto with
the Glamorgan Orchestra at 10.
After years of study, Ormrod still
remains focused on redefining and
honing his performances.
His commitment to the devel
opment of his talent has paid off.
He has performed with the
Philharmonia Virtuosi, Czech
Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
and Salzburg Hyperion Ensemble.
Currently, he is on the faculty of
both the Cardiff University of
Wales and the Royal Welsh
College of Music and Drama.
His talent has received much ac
claim worldwide. According to the
Stockton Record, “Ormond plays
with a technique and musical ma
turity that approaches the super
natural ... his articulation made ev
ery note absolutely distinct.”
The Coast Weekly claimed that
this “lanky and serious youngster
reveal(s) a pilgrim’s unquiet soul
and a poet’s wounded heart.”
The third piece, “Symphony
No.7,” opens with violas and cel
los, gradually adding in basses,
horns, timpani and the remainder
of the orchestra. Unique in both
melody and orchestration, the
piece eventually reaches a dra
matic conclusion that not only
completes the work but will top off
what is sure to be an entrancing
evening.
Tickets can be purchased at the
Carolina Coliseum Box office.
Admission is $8 for students, $15
for faculty and staff and $18 for the
general public.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockfeatures@gwm. sc. edu
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
Pianist Richard Ormand has performed with the Philharmonia Virtuosi, Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and Salzburg
Hyperion Ensemble. He will be the feature performer at the USC Symphony Orchestra concert on Tuesday.
Show. Review
‘Tape ’ captures USC talent
“TAPE”
Trustus Theatre
★★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
BY GRAHAM CULBERTSON
THE GAMECOCK
In Trustus Theatre’s latest late
night play, a group of talented stu
dents, mostly from USC, has put
together a production that is as in
teresting and exciting as anything
else in Columbia this season.
Under the name “Armed Chair
Productions,” the moniker of a
new group at Trustus formed to
get students more involved in the
ater and revitalize Trustus’ late
night performances, first-time di
rector Patrick Kelly has used
three talented young actors to
make an exciting and watchable
version of Stephen Belber’s
“Tape.”
“Tape” is a one-act play about
a reunion of sorts 10 years after
high school. There is only one lo
cation, the Motel 6 Hotel room of
Vince in Lansing, Mich. Vince,
played by Andrew Quattlebaum,
is in Lansing to attend the Lansing
Film Festival in support of his old
friend Jon (Matt Purdy). Jon is
showing his first film at the festi
val, the end result of years of work
and grad school.
The play opens with Vince, a
small-time drug dealer and volun
teer firefighter, drinking beer in
his motel room when straight-ar
row Jon shows up to visit. The
pair have been best friends for
years, so they trade barbs and at
tacks on each other’s characters
with ease—from Jon’s disdain for
Vince’s drugs to Vince’s revulsion
at Jon’s pretentious statements.
Quattlebaum and Purdy played
this scene effortlessly, trading I
lines that had the audience roar
ing with laughter and maintain
ing a sense of friendship amid the
antagonism.
Eventually, Vince reveals his
real reason for coming to see Jon
in Lansing — he’s still distressed
about high school events that en
sued after he broke up with his
girlfriend Amy—Jon briefly dat
ed Amy at the very end of high
school and slept with her. Jon says
the sex was rough, but Vince sus
pects it was rape. It’s not easy at
first to tell who is telling the truth,
even after Vince calls Amy, a
Lansing district attorney, and she
shows up without knowing Jon
will be there. From there, the story
evolves into a series of accusations
and revelations that further illu
minate the characters.
Elizabeth Heard plays Amy
competently, but she’s hampered
by a role written and developed
less than those of the two men.
Furthermore, the chemistry
Purdy and Quattlebaum exhibit
on stage together is slightly less
ened after the woman’s arrival, as
the play’s best moments come
when Jon and Vince are sniping
at each other as not-so-friendly
friends.
Quattlebaum provides all of the
play’s energy; his Vince is chaotic
and reckless, potentially violent,
and the actor digs into the role
with relish.
♦ TAPE, SEEPAGE 13
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