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Mount Hood

Wolves Men’s Basketball bounce back against Nanooks

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

With a break full of up and down games, the Wolves were in need of another win to help climb the GNAC rankings. After a narrow loss to Alaska Anchorage University in the days leading up to their match with Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 5, the Wolves hoped to end their trip up north with a win. The Nanooks had recently edged out Alaska Fairbanks in one of their previous games, showing the Wolves that this match shouldn’t be a walk in the park.

Right out of the gates, the Wolves established dominance over the Nanooks. Western quickly soared to a staggering double digit lead before Alaska Fairbanks scored a single point. Western’s offense had hit their stride before the Nanook’s defense had a chance to adjust. Just four short minutes into the game, the Wolves jumped to a 15 point lead.

While the Wolves started to run away with the game since the first whistle, Alaska Fairbanks didn’t just roll over. Halfway into the first half the immense lead owned by the Wolves had been cut to only seven. This may have looked like the beginning of a comeback, but minutes later showed it was anything but.

The Monmouth men’s lead never dipped that low for the rest of the half. Precision shooting resulted in another run for the Wolves midway through the half. With a 20 point lead, the Nanooks offense finally woke up and started fighting back. But another run took the lead back to 20 before settling at 18 at the end of the half.

The second half showed no signs of Western’s offensive momentum slowing. While Alaska Fairbanks was finally starting to establish an offensive presence, any hope of a comeback seemed squashed by the unrelenting offense of the Wolves. Western stretched their lead to massive 23 points. At the end of the match Western finished on top 97-80, never having trailed.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Smack dab in the middle of a Western jazz concert

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Western Oregon Voices gave a warm and cozy end to a rainy, festive night with their jazz-themed concert, “Pass Me the Jazz.” Following the 51st annual Holiday Tree Lighting, the auditioned ensemble of 13 students, accompanied by a jazz combo, performed five jazz pieces and one traditional Christmas song, “Carol of the Bells.”

The accompanying jazz combo included Noah Adams on drums, Jacob Marsh on bass, and Julia Harrington on piano.

Dr. James Reddan directed this concert, his second performance in one week. Dr. Reddan is a nationally and internationally acclaimed conductor, clinician, and adjudicator. Reddan has also won two awards: one for “Excellence in Music Education” from the American Prize in Choral Music and one for being the conductor for the first “Honored Artist Choral Ensemble” by the American Prize.

“I chose to focus on jazz specifically because of the many musical doors it opens for the singers in this ensemble,” said Dr. Reddan. “The skills that the students learn from singing vocal jazz repertoire translates extremely well and benefits them when performing in all other styles of vocal music,” he added.

Despite some difficulties with sound, the concert went down without a hitch, and the smooth uniform style of the performers added exponentially to the overall ambiance of the performance. The song choice included pieces that were recognizable but not naggingly cliché.

Starting Winter Term, Western Oregon Voices will be performing in and around Salem. Auditioning for an international festival and performance is also on their radar.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Great American band music comes to Western

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Western’s wind and percussions ensembles and the Chemeketa wind ensemble paired up to perform a substantial concert on Thursday, Nov. 29.

Chemeketa’s ensemble, directed by J. J. Meyer, opened the performance. They played five pieces, all of which sounded impressively full despite the small size of the band. Songs played included “American Folk Rhapsody No. 2” by Clare Grundman, “Cajun Folk Songs 2” composed by Frank Ticheli, “Foundry” created by John Mackey, and “Down in the Valley” by Pierre La Plante.

Following Chemeketa’s performance was a set of performances by Western’s percussion ensemble. Two pairs of musicians played two movements each composed by Mark Mellits as part of a multi-movement project. Percussionists were Bailey Schafer, Noah Adams, Evan Saab, and Elijah Thompson.

Western’s wind ensemble was next in the line-up, directed by Dr. Ike Nail. Playing seven pieces, Western’s ensemble was slightly bigger than Chemeketa’s, but not by much; they still showed a great amount of musicianship and displayed a rich sound. Two songs, “Carnival of Venice” and “Reverie,” featured Keith Karns, a trumpet player and arranger. Karns is also the new Director of Jazz Studies at Western.

The final performance of the night combined both ensembles, finally filling all the stage seats and creating a truly large, triumphant, traditional-sounding group. “El Capitan, March” by John Philip Sousa was the closing song.

Both ensembles avoided the trend of playing holiday pieces, tempting being that it is that time of year. Despite the regular amount of missed notes and hiccups that any ensemble knows too well, the concert had a lively pace and there was rarely a lull in the action. Western’s wind ensemble exhibited a collegiate level of musicianship, as did Chemeketa’s even though their numbers were noticeably smaller. Coming together at the end gave the concert a sense of closure and the characteristically full sound of a classic American ensemble.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

“Music of the Spheres”: Dr. James Reddan’s Western directorial debut

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

The “Music of the Spheres” concert choir and Chamber Singers concert on Nov. 27 gathered together a large crowd of friends, family, students and community members.

Western’s concert choir is the institution’s largest ensemble, according to the event program.

Songs from various parts of the world were performed, including “Tshotsholoza,” a South African freedom song that was sung when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. According to Director Dr. James Reddan, this song was chosen to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Mandela’s release.

Also performed was the Austrian carol “Still, Still, Still,” “Sanctus” by Mozart, “Sure on this Shining Night” composed by Lauridsen and “Make Our Garden Grow” created by Leonard Bernstein.

The Chamber Singers are an ensemble comprised of around 24 students that performs mainly A Cappella music. Highlights included “Deck the Halls” performed in 7/8 time, “Babethandaza” which is another traditional South African song, and “Shalom Chaverim,” a traditional Hebrew song.

“In this concert, we celebrated music from different parts of the world, traditions, philosophies, religions, and ideologies,” said Dr. Reddan regarding the title of the concert. “Especially, at this time of year, it is important to celebrate our presence together and our ability to work together for more understanding for each other and the world around us.”

Dr. James Reddan is the director of all three on the choral ensembles at Western and only started approximately 10 weeks ago, as this is his first term as Director of Choral Activities. “Being new at WOU, everyone had to get used to me and me to them,” said Dr. Reddan, “choosing the music this summer was a great adventure, but more importantly, seeing the ensembles take ownership of the music to being it to life has made all of the hard work well worth it.”

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Poet Andrea Gibson releases new book

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Andrea Gibson, a poet based in Boulder, Colorado, released their second book of poetry in 2018. “Lord of the Butterflies” is the fourth full-length poetry collection of Gibson’s. The poet’s other book, released in January 2018, is an illustrated book full of the most popular lines from their most famous poems and is titled “Take Me With You.”

Gibson burst onto the spoken-word poetry scene in 1999 and gained great popularity when they won the first Women of the World Poetry Slam in 2008. 2008 is also the year Gibson released their first poetry collection, “Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns.” Gibson is busy in the LGBTQ+ activism community, and is involved in the anti-war and anti-white supremacy movements as well.

Gibson’s newest release includes 38 poems. The poems are a combination of old pieces that Gibson has been performing on tour, and some pieces that are completely new. Gibson’s new book tackles themes of family, gender, mental health, LGBTQ+ issues, politics and self love, to name a few.
This is quite on-theme for Gibson, but their writing style frames the topics in a way that seems fresh and evergreen. The poet grasps nuance with a simultaneous tightness and fragility that, in my opinion, is one of the reasons they stand out from the crowd.

I have personally seen Gibson perform their poems twice, so it was cool to read some of my favorite poems with their voice speaking along in my head. It’s also nice to have a physical copy of some of Gibson’s most popular poems. I think this volume really captures the scope of Gibson’s work in a way that improves on their previous books.

Information on Gibson’s shows and tour dates can be found at andreagibson.org. I would strongly recommend experiencing their work live if possible.

 

Overall rating: I would strongly recommend this book.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Flag football phenom

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

Another year, another west coast region victory. For the second consecutive year Western fielded a sort of “Intramural All Star Team” to compete in the flag football western regional tournament held by the National Intramural-Recreation Sports Association. A group of seniors with a handful of juniors made their way to Arizona State University to defend their title of region champions from the previous year.

The 2018 team, headed by senior business major Matthew Cornish, had a large schedule ahead of them as they arrived in Tempe, Arizona.

Their first match of the day was against Dixie State University. After a hard fought match, the Wolves surcame to a six point loss. But the tournament was far from over. Game after game the Wolves obliterated their opponents. Several of the games were ended due to a mercy rule being called.

“(Our offense) played excellent. We had a three quarterback system… Nobody knew how to play defense against us,” said Cornish.

Paired with the Wolves’s high scoring offense was a fearsome defense.

“Our defense played great. We had…Andrew Valladares nominated to defensive MVP after the tournament, as well as Cody Chimienti nominated to Offensive (honors),” Cornish added.

Because of the Wolves’s dominance in the tournament, they won a bid to compete in the National Championship tournament in Florida. However, due to funding issues and the short turnaround time, the Wolves likely will not be able to travel to compete.

“I would have liked to have seen how we played this year… There’s a couple of guys who are disappointed (we can’t go). But a lot of guys are happy to end the season with a win,” mentioned Cornish.

Overall, Cornish and the team stayed very humble, even after winning the western regional tournament.

“I want to make sure to thank The Health and Wellness Center because this wouldn’t have been possible without them. They were a big help for us, as well as the school because funding-wise we wouldn’t have been able to do it without them,” said Cornish.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Cross Country competes in National Championship

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

After being named to All GNAC honors, two seniors, Justin Nading and Tyler Jones took their running talents to Pittsburgh, PA for the NCAA DII National Championships on Dec. 1.

Nading and Jones were the only Wolves to earn the bid into competing and hoped for a solid finish.

The trail was overtaken by a plague of bad weather leading up to the tournament. But nevertheless, the Wolves pushed forward.

After a brutal run in cold and rainy conditions, Jones had found himself finishing the 10,000 meter course in 60th place with a time of 33:56.8. Nading came in at a respectable 109th with a final time of 34:42.0.

Out of the GNAC runners in the race, Jones finished 5th and Nading in 11th.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

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