Crimson and Gold Connection; Joe Firman

Music Welcome to Crimson and Gold Connection, keeping you connected with the people and current events at Pittsburgh State University. Thanks for joining me this week for the Crimson and Gold Connection on 89.9 K.R.P.S. I'm Fred Fletcher-Fierro. There seems to be something always going on at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts. Whether it's hosting the Thomas Jefferson Hour this past weekend, or the upcoming Midwest trumpet festival taking place in early October. To learn more about the upcoming events at the Bicknell, this week we're joined by the Director of the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts, Joe Furman. Joe, thanks for joining me this week on the Crimson and Gold Connection. Absolutely a pleasure to be here. We are right in the middle of a great lineup this fall at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts here at Pittsburgh State. This past weekend, the Bicknell hosted over 500 guests for a limetaping of the Thomas Jefferson Hour. Next up on the schedule is something completely different to Joe.

What can you tell us about the Elcelet trio? They are awesome. They are funny. They are entertaining. They are world-class performers. And it is a real honor to have them at the Bicknell Center. They're going to be exploring Italian American music and how it has changed everything from poverty to opizopi or anything and everything between. They have done several showcases at Arts Midwest over the last couple of years. I've gotten to visit with them and get to know them. What's really amazing is their love of music and love of entertaining. And they are really fun on stage. As an audience member and you sit there and oftentimes you'll go to a recital and it's like looking through to a different world where you don't really get to know the people. And when you see these performers, they really pull you into it. And they're there for you and they're thrilled that you're there to hear them. And that's always magical. So this is an interactive performance? They will definitely have you laughing and maybe even crying. You'll never be sure until you get to come and see it.

Interesting. Indeed. Is this the first time they've come to the Bicknell? It is the first time they've been to the Bicknell. What's really fun with the Bicknell Center being so new is that almost everything we do is the first time ever. I haven't started repeating any acts yet. We do have a few guests who come back to visit us the third year that we're going to have the Moscow Ballet back. And so there are groups that are coming back repeatedly. But part of our actual performance series, we haven't repeated anything yet. Then about a week later, after the also lay at trail, performs at the Bicknell, the venue was also hosting the Midwest trumpet festival. That's taking place Saturday, October 7th and Sunday, the 8th. And Saturday, the 7th, the Bicknell will be hosting a concert feature in the Crossroads Jazz Orchestra. And guest artist Wayne Burjohn. He's performed in over 400 TV and movie soundtracks. And this is just a few of them. Have you ever seen La La Land? Warm the minions or Jersey boys, the Incredibles, the Green Hornets. He's been in so many great movies that you've probably seen. A lot of our audience has seen. That concert takes place Saturday, October 7th at 7.30pm.

And what's really fun is we have these incredible artists who come to Pittsburgh. In part because the center has been built, we can now host these artists. But we also have always had them around town and with us, we've got incredible professors who are world class. And when they get to bring their friends and other professional performers to town, it is something that I always say, you can't miss it. And I look around and say, if you did miss it, I'm sorry. Because we really hope you come next time. And this is one of those where Todd Hastings, who is the professor here that teaches trumpet, is really worked last few years to bring an incredible talent. And the students that are involved, the audience that comes, these are once in a lifetime experiences. And I would really say to everyone listening, the center is on campus. It was built for everyone. We would love to see the community be involved in everything we do, whether it be the on campus performance of our jazz band, which is also coming up on October 1st,

or whether it be these professional groups that come in like the jazz fest, the trumpet fest, they always have evening concerts that have these incredible performers. And it's all for you. I always like to say you've got to come with that perfect tag line when you're doing marketing. And it's kind of like the old McDonald's tag line we do it all for you. We take that for heart. We really want people to be a part of the audience. And I as a facilities director, I look at the audience. I'll be sitting in a performance, and I'll be looking at the audience to see what they think. And it is incredible to see people laughing or crying or just in the moment, in that perfect moment where you're in total sync with the music or the performance and to realize that we had some small part in making it happen. And then of course I look at any of the empty seats. And I think, oh, I just hope people will continue to engage and fill those seats because these are performances that you just shouldn't miss. And I call it the couch potato syndrome. You get home, you lay on the couch, and you don't go anywhere.

It is worth getting off the couch to come to what we're doing. What the students are putting out is world class, what these professionals who come are putting into it is incredible. And when you hear people like Clay from this weekend saying that it's the finest building he's ever performed in, they're not kidding. When we built this facility, we leapfrogged everybody else. This could have been built in any major city, and they would have been incredibly proud to have it. And I'm really proud to be the director. But I would say to the entire community, you should all be really proud that this building is here. And never forget that we really, really built it for you. We want to see you, we want you to be a part of it. Coming to the big null as the best of the part of the breast of the Broadway series is the timeless classic The Wizard of Oz. That's been around for almost 80 years now. That performance is taking place Tuesday, October 9th at 7.30pm. Yep, and tickets are going fast, so I would not wait to get them if I were listening to this right now. Right, the big null holds what about 1100 people? 1100 all in, as I like to say. And for certain performances, say we have an orchestra pit, we would remove the pit seating and put the orchestra there.

So for some performances, about 1,030 other performances, 1100, it just all depends on configuration. And there's not a bad seat in the house. What I really enjoy too is our student performances are out of the same caliber in so many ways as professional shows. Whereas you think of a professional show coming in, they're here for one day, they move on to the next place. Our theater group on campus is doing cabaret and they will put an entire month into one room into one space to perfect the craft. And those kind of experiences for the students are just incredible. Whether it be a student performing with our Steinway or a student performing with our harpsichord, whether it be a student on the Miller stage or the performance hall stage, this is as good as it gets. Joe Furman, director of the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts. Thanks for stopping by our studios. My great pleasure. You can learn more about all the events taking place at the Bicknell at their website, bicknellcenter.com. I'm Fred Fletcher-Fierro, and you've been listening to the Crimson Ant Gold Connection, a production of KRPS.

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