The doors of the McKay Auditorium opened to an art exhibit the evening of Feb. 28, stocked with pieces mainly from professors on campus, but also a few community members, according to Professor Brandon T. Truscott, art instructor at BYU-Hawaii. “I love this event because it gives us a chance to show that professors, who spend time in the classroom, are good at what they do,” said Dr. David Kammerer, a music teacher at BYUH, who went on to mention it was a good time to dispel the myth that individuals go into teaching because they aren’t that talented at their subject. “We teach because we love it,” Kammerer continued. Upon entering the exhibit, attendees immediately saw a large, string-art piece on canvas that spelled out “Laie.” The white string was stretched over black canvas in an intricate, spider-web-like display. “It’s like you walk in and BOOM- Laie,” said Gavin Nuttall, a biology major from California. He went on to cite “Hibiscus 1” by Japanese professor Katsuhiro Kajiyama. “Teachers and community members are the bomb-diggity,” said Cara Young, a freshman from Colorado. Dozens of other pieces were on display in the small foyer to the auditorium. In the far back right corner, a replica of Princess Kaiulani’s ball gown, created by Daniela Dooley, stood erect. Towards the front of the room, a stoneware creation called “Ocean form 2” by Jacob Jackson rested on a platform.When the clock struck 7:30 p.m., the music, theatre, and audiovisual performances began.A good amount of the musical pieces were originals. Dr. David Bradshaw’s original number, “Passings” brought Lizzy Saylor, a sophomore in education from China, to tears. “It gave me time to think and it moved me,” she said when describing her emotions during the performance. “It was incredible,” said Saylor. “Not what I expected. I was interested the whole time. They were my teachers. It was like supporting my friends.” The fun nature and timbre of “The Hula Blues” had the audience laughing. The call and response between the xylophone and the piano elicited positive reactions from the audience. The last two pieces were fun and jazzy, and “Shower the People” involved the audience. Toward the end of the song, the audience was asked to sing along with the chorus. According to Dr. Kammerer, the solo performers had been working on their selected pieces for about a month, while the last two jazz pieces had only four hours of practice between the two of them. Uploaded March 5, 2015
Writer: Max Betts
