Encore March 2013

southwest michigan’s magazine

the making of amiddle school bandconductor andrew koehler leads 2 local orchestras

local label launchescassette comeback

sushi: fresh and fabulous

C

1

GAGIE AD_ENCORE_C

M Y K

INITIALS DATEJOB # BRO120054 DATE 2.4.13CLIENT Bronson

HEADLINE Her condition was as rare…

LIVE N/ATRIM 7.25" x 10"BLEED 8.6875” x 11.25”MEDIA MAGAZINE

COLOR CMYK

CD Kym O.

AD/DS Kym O.

CW Beth K.

AM Lauren R. (Jenny I.)

PM Andrea W.

STAGE: FINAL

HER CONDITION WAS AS RARE

AS THE TEAM OF DOCTORS WHO TREATED IT.When Marta Gagie felt a sudden and severe pain in her head, she had no idea how serious her condition was. Or how lucky she would be to have Dr. Je� rey Miller, the only neurointerventional surgeon in the region, collaborate on her care. Turns out, Marta was su� ering from an extremely rare type of brain aneurysm, with fewer than 150 cases like hers ever reported. Dr. Miller and the Bronson team worked closely with Marta’s family and decided on a minimally invasive procedure to treat her condition. The surgery was a success. And it’s one of the many reasons Bronson Methodist Hospital is rated best in Michigan for neurosurgery.* Thanks to the quality care she received, Marta has made a full recovery and is back to doing what she loves: teaching kindergarten.

*Healthgrades® 2013Read Marta’s story and watch her video at bronsonhealth.com/patientstories

BRO120054_Gagie_Encore_C 1 2/4/13 11:16 AM

Properly managed, your worth will go up. Unless you prefer down

In the profession of wealth management, you realize and appreciate early on that people want different

things from their money. Some want growth. Others want income. Some want to pare down their

estates, and so on. The common objective shared by all is to be in control of the outcome, which is

why so many entrust their holdings to Greenleaf Trust. Peace of mind comes from knowing

that their wealth management strategy is not only holistic and robust, but also superbly

tailored to their unique financial situation and objectives.

This goals-based wealth management approach ensures that we properly measure

success through the achievement of the things that are important to you. Not

every firm has the resources or wherewithal to do this, of course. But as one

of Michigan’s first privately held, trust-only banks, our independence

frees us from conflicts of interest. Whether your needs are in wealth

management, personal trust services or retirement plan

services, your well being is our primary focus. And with

over $5B in assets, including those of our founder, you

can be assured of getting our very best thinking.

To learn how Greenleaf Trust can help you make

the most of what you have, call 800.416.5555.

Financial Security from Generation to Generation

2 1 1 s o u t h ro s e st r e e t k a l a m a z o o , m i 4 9 0 0 7 2 6 9. 3 8 8 . 9 8 0 0 8 0 0 . 4 1 6 . 4 5 5 5

www.greenleaftrust.com

C

1

GAGIE AD_ENCORE_C

M Y K

INITIALS DATEJOB # BRO120054 DATE 2.4.13CLIENT Bronson

HEADLINE Her condition was as rare…

LIVE N/ATRIM 7.25" x 10"BLEED 8.6875” x 11.25”MEDIA MAGAZINE

COLOR CMYK

CD Kym O.

AD/DS Kym O.

CW Beth K.

AM Lauren R. (Jenny I.)

PM Andrea W.

STAGE: FINAL

HER CONDITION WAS AS RARE

AS THE TEAM OF DOCTORS WHO TREATED IT.When Marta Gagie felt a sudden and severe pain in her head, she had no idea how serious her condition was. Or how lucky she would be to have Dr. Je� rey Miller, the only neurointerventional surgeon in the region, collaborate on her care. Turns out, Marta was su� ering from an extremely rare type of brain aneurysm, with fewer than 150 cases like hers ever reported. Dr. Miller and the Bronson team worked closely with Marta’s family and decided on a minimally invasive procedure to treat her condition. The surgery was a success. And it’s one of the many reasons Bronson Methodist Hospital is rated best in Michigan for neurosurgery.* Thanks to the quality care she received, Marta has made a full recovery and is back to doing what she loves: teaching kindergarten.

*Healthgrades® 2013Read Marta’s story and watch her video at bronsonhealth.com/patientstories

BRO120054_Gagie_Encore_C 1 2/4/13 11:16 AM

Properly managed, your worth will go up. Unless you prefer down

In the profession of wealth management, you realize and appreciate early on that people want different

things from their money. Some want growth. Others want income. Some want to pare down their

estates, and so on. The common objective shared by all is to be in control of the outcome, which is

why so many entrust their holdings to Greenleaf Trust. Peace of mind comes from knowing

that their wealth management strategy is not only holistic and robust, but also superbly

tailored to their unique financial situation and objectives.

This goals-based wealth management approach ensures that we properly measure

success through the achievement of the things that are important to you. Not

every firm has the resources or wherewithal to do this, of course. But as one

of Michigan’s first privately held, trust-only banks, our independence

frees us from conflicts of interest. Whether your needs are in wealth

management, personal trust services or retirement plan

services, your well being is our primary focus. And with

over $5B in assets, including those of our founder, you

can be assured of getting our very best thinking.

To learn how Greenleaf Trust can help you make

the most of what you have, call 800.416.5555.

Financial Security from Generation to Generation

2 1 1 s o u t h ro s e st r e e t k a l a m a z o o , m i 4 9 0 0 7 2 6 9. 3 8 8 . 9 8 0 0 8 0 0 . 4 1 6 . 4 5 5 5

www.bronsonhealth.com

4 | EncorE MARCH 2013

publisher

encore publications, inc.

editor

marie lee

designer

maria majeski

photographer

erik holladay

copy editor

margaret deritter

contributors

kaye bennett, theresa coty-o’neil, margaret deritter, brian lam, jeremy martin

contributing poets

kate borgardt, heidi fidler, elizabeth kerlikowske, robert ed post

poetry editor

margaret deritter

advertising sales/business manager

krieg lee

advertising representative

celeste statler

office manager

ron dundon

www.encorekalamazoo.com

350 S. Burdick, Suite 214, Kalamazoo, MI 49007 Telephone: (269) 383-4433

Fax number: (269) 383-9767 E-mail: [email protected]

The staff at Encore welcomes written comment from readers, and articles and poems for submission with no obligation to print or return them. To learn more about us or to comment, you may visit www.encorekalamzoo.com. Encore subscription rates: one year $27, two years $53, three years $78. Current single issue and newsstand $4, $10by mail. Back issues $6, $12 by mail. Advertising rates on request. Closing date for space is 28 days prior to publication date. Final date for print-ready copy is 21 days prior to publication date.

Encore Magazine is published 9 times yearly, September through May. Copyright 2013, Encore Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Editorial, circulation and advertising corres- pondence should be sent to:

publisher

southwest michigan’s magazine

the making of amiddle school bandandrew koehler iskJso’s youthful leader

local label launchescassette come back

sushi: fresh and fabulous

FNG All Ads 23269.indd 1 1/10/13 11:30 AM

The Moors Golf Club�It’s all about golf and the golf experience.�

Experience great golf through our Preview Membership Program.�www.MoorsGolf.com�

7877 Moorsbridge Road • Portage, Michigan 49024 • 269-323-8873�

www.moorsgolf.com

www.farmngarden.com

www.encorekalamazoo.com

Up Front 6 Birdwatching 101 Course teaches novice ornithologists the basics of seeking and seeing birds.

8 Good Works Kalamazoo Junior Girls has been guiding young ladies for nearly three decades.

10 Update Kerria Randolph is putting on some mileage for good causes.

13 Photo Challenge You know you’ve seen it, but where? Solve our picture puzzler and win a gift certificate to Food Dance.

15 Savor Southwest Michigan’s sushi is just as fresh as Seattle’s.

Arts 34 RAD Fest Modern dancers descend on Kalamazoo for fourth annual event.

35 The Hours Medieval tradition inspires artists and poets in community project.

36 Poetry

37 Events of Note

Departments 17 First Glance An inspiring image from a local photographer.

46 The Last Word It’s hard not to heed the river’s call.

m a r c h 2 0 1 3

features

Strike Up the Band 24 It takes patience and dedication to turn a bunch of middle-schoolers into a concert band.

Andrew Koehler 18Junior Symphony and

Kalamazoo Philharmonia conductor helps others find the “music’s spirit.” Cassette Comeback 30 Local music label brings new artists out on tape.

On the cover: Sam Gearig, right, rests during band class at Vicksburg Middle School. In the foreground is fellow student saxophonist Garrett Bell. Photo by Erik Holladay.

Massie’s Michigan Historian Larry Massie is taking a sabbatical from writing this feature. Tell us if you miss him by posting on our Facebook page, facebook.com/EncoreKalamazoo.


Two years ago Karen Cooper didn’t know a grackle from a grosbeak. But now, thanks to taking a basic ornithology course at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, the Hickory Corners resident says she has discovered a “whole new world.” The KBS’ Field Ornithology Course is a five-week class running from March to May that teaches the basics of bird-watching. By attending lectures and field trips, novice birders learn techniques to identify birds and their mi-gration patterns and habitats. Participants can opt to take the full course (lectures and field trips) or just the lectures and field trips by themselves. Lectures are on Tuesday nights from 6 to 8:30 p.m.; field trips are on Saturday mornings. The cost to take the full course is $130, while lectures only are $75 and field trips only are $55. Re-duced rates are offered to Kellogg Bird Sanctuary members. “We supply everything. A student just has to bring the willingness to learn and a sense of adventure,” says Kara Haas, environmental education coordinator for the bird sanctuary. “The sense of adventure is important because sometimes field trips may not be during the best weather.” But neither the threat of inclement weather nor the cost has kept potential bird-watchers from turning out. This is the sixth year KBS has offered the course, and each year it has filled up, with many of the students taking it for a second or third time. “About a quarter of each class has taken it before. Every year the lectures are different and so there is new information for them to learn,” says Haas. “We have students with all different levels of skill and so we also learn from each other.” Cooper is one of those repeat students. She took the course for the first time in 2011 and again in 2012. “There was so much to learn I had to take it again,” says the 60-year-old former Portage resident. Not that Cooper paid much attention to birds before. The former schoolteacher and interior designer says her daughter Ann, who lives in New York City, initially nudged her mother down the ornithology path. “Ann would always want to go to the bird sanctuary whenev-er she came home,” says Cooper. “Finally I relented, and we went. It was February, and I remember thinking we weren’t going to see anything. But we came to the pond, and there were all these birds and

swans, and it was so lively. Kara (Haas) came along and explained why it was so busy and started pointing out birds. I was hooked.” Now Cooper rarely goes for a walk without her binoculars. The course taught her not only to recognize birds by their songs and markings, but to see and interact with the world differently. “You have to walk slowly and quietly so you need to stay peaceful,” she says. “Birds move very quickly so you learn to look differently with your eyes. You learn to be still. But up there in the sky, it’s like I-94. There is so much going on above you. It’s a whole different society.” Haas says the ornithology course is pivotal to KBS’ mission of educating the public about the plight of birds in Michigan. “Birds are in trouble in a lot of different ways – climate changes and changing habitats,“ she says. “We tell people about how and if the birds can adjust. Whether it’s talking about an endangered species or the little sandpiper that nests on Michigan beaches and struggles with its nests being disrupted by dogs, people and rac-coons, we have to have awareness of the changes that affect birds.” Southwest Michigan is an absolutely ideal locale for a bird-watch-er, notes Cooper. “I have been going to the Kalamazoo Nature Center for their programs, and there’s the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail and also the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy spaces as well,” she says. “I used to think birds were really sweet, but they’re not. They are very aggressive. It is life or death, eat or be eaten. “But they sure are beautiful.”

For more information, visit kbs.msu.edu or call (269) 671-2510.

up front encore

ThatsWhere.comA member of Ascension Health®

Birding 101

Course teaches basics of bird-watching

by Marie Lee

But now, thanks to taking a basic ornithology course at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, the Hickory Corners resident says she has discovered a “whole

The KBS’ Field Ornithology Course is a five-week class running from March to May that teaches the basics of bird-watching. By attending lectures and field trips, novice birders learn techniques to identify birds and their mi-gration patterns and habitats. Participants can opt to take the full course (lectures and field trips) or just the lectures and field trips by

Course teaches basics of bird-watching

www.encorekalamazoo.com | 7

encore up front

ThatsWhere.com

Teresa Brautigam was devastated. A fibroid tumor was standing between her and the college graduation she had dreamed of for longer than 20 years. That’s where connecting with caring doctors and leading technology made all the difference. The doctors at Borgess used minimally invasive robotic surgery to help Teresa recover in days, not weeks, putting her back on track for graduation.

See her incredible story or share your own at ThatsWhere.com.

A member of Ascension Health®

www.borgess.com


GooD WorKS up front

Kalamazoo Junior Girls guides girls to better lives

Pamela Roland didn’t like what she was see-ing. It was 1986, and Roland saw teenage and pre-teen girls out on the streets of Ka-lamazoo’s north and east sides, some push-ing baby strollers, most with not a lot to do. Roland — who grew up on the same streets, was a mother at 15 and knew the harshest realities of life — saw herself in these girls. One day she pulled her car over and asked some of them what they needed, what they wanted out of life. “They seemed so surprised that anyone would take an interest,” she recalls. Those conversations gave birth to the Ka-lamazoo Junior Girls, an organization that for the past 27 years has quietly helped guide more than 2,000 girls ages 8 to18 in reaching for their dreams. “From the beginning, we talked about how to give to the community rather than just receive from it,” Roland says. “We wanted to help these young ladies have a sense of direction, to allow them to share what they were feeling and thinking and let them see how they can help change things in their world.” The number of girls coming to her home each week grew rapidly, and Roland, who had worked for the city of Kalamazoo for 17 years, realized Kalamazoo Junior Girls was going to require full-time effort. So she “stepped out on faith,” quit her job and learned how to run a nonprofit the hard way: by doing. “I had never even written a grant before,” she admits. But within a few years, she was receiving grant funding from organizations such as the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation and the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. But it wasn’t just foundations that embraced the organization’s mission. On another fateful day Roland was driv-ing away from a meeting where she learned that the affordable facility she had lined up for Junior Girls had fallen through. Through the tears in her eyes, she saw Henry Vlietstra hanging a “For Sale or Lease” sign on his plas-

terer’s shop in the Northside neighborhood of Kalamazoo. She stopped, he invited her in, and the rest, as they say, is history. Vlietstra called Roland that night and told her that he and his wife wanted to let her rent the prop-erty for an unbelievably low price.

by Marie Lee

“When they shared with me what they would let us have it (the property) for, I re-joiced with tears,” Roland says. “It’s not an accident that we’re in this facility. The Vliet-stras could have sold the property for so much more, but they wanted us to have it.”

Erik

Ho

llad

ay

Pamela Roland is the founder and leader of the Kalamazoo Junior Girls.


ADULT DAY SERVICESat

Here to helpWe offer a welcoming environment and enriching activities for yourloved one, while giving you the necessary time to care for yourself

and meet the demands of family, home, and work.

Professional care and loving companionship for older adultswho need assistance or supervision during the day.

2255 West Centre Avenue at Oakland Drive, Portage(269)373-3200 |www.oaklandcentre.org

Scan the QR code above and learn how we canhelp you care for your parent or loved one.

OC_Encore_Sept-2012.qxd:Encore 8/20/12 3:54 PM Page 1

kalamazoo community Foundationlove where you live

269.381.4416 kalfound.org

The Kalamazoo Junior Girls building, on Paterson Avenue, is a cozy facility with an ex-ercise room, a small library, several computers, some video games and a sitting area with couches. But it isn’t just a place to hang out; each part of the facility supports the organi-zation’s mission. “Our mission really is to empower young girls and create an environment that increases their cultural and educational development,” says Ebony White, a KJG alumna and current KJG board president. “We want girls to be confident and make better choices to deal with the demands in today’s world.” KJG’s programs include multigenerational mentoring, for which many of the organi-zation’s alumni come back as adults and work with girls; a program for mothers and daughters that teaches healthy eating and physically active lifestyles; an after-school program with academic tutoring; and sum-mer day camps. KJG also works in Kalamazoo Public Schools’ middle schools, offering “The Promise” Pathway to Success, an eight-week life skills and health awareness program to prepare girls to take advantage of the educational opportunities of the Kalamazoo Promise. In all of its programs, Kalamazoo Junior Girls seeks to convey to members the importance of vol-unteering and being a part of the community. White, who now works for the W. K. Kellogg Foundation as a program manager for its grants in Mississippi and New Orleans, says that volunteering was one aspect of Junior Girls that benefited her the most. “Kalamazoo Junior Girls is how I got my first connection with volunteer work,” White says. “They really instilled in me the impor-tance of giving back.” On a tour of the KJG facility, Roland barely stops to point out the wall of accolades, instead pointing to a wall full of pictures of members. “We have such a rich history, and a photo archive that goes back to our very first year,” Roland notes. As she eyes retirement in a few years, Roland knows the legacy she leaves behind is more than photographic. “We just didn’t realize the impact we would have,” she says.

www.kzooymca.org

www.kalfound.org

www.oaklandcenter.org


upDatE up front

In celebration of its 40th year, Encore is taking a second look at some of those who have been featured in past issues of the magazine. This month we catch up with Kerria Randolph, who was first featured in September 2002.

Erik

Ho

llad

ay


up front upDatE

Causes keep Kerria Randolph on the run by JereMy Martin

Kerria Randolph is someone who runs to the rescue. When he was featured in Encore in 2002, Randolph was working as a signalman for the Canadian National Railway, but putting his energies into trying to draw awareness to the plight of people with AIDS in Africa. He founded the One World/One Race Founda-tion to raise money for the cause and began work on a documentary film on the situation. Now, a decade later, Randolph is still run-ning to the rescue — literally. The 46-year-old is using running to raise funds for a number of charitable organizations. Through dona-tions and pledges made to him for the races he runs, Randolph has found that running allows him to put his passion for community service in motion. “I enjoy doing it. You’re essentially put-ting your body through misery to help other people,” he says, laughing. Randolph’s first race was in May 2011, nearly a year after he had knee surgery. He has run in numerous races in Michigan, Chi-cago and Florida, including the Big House Big Heart Run in Ann Arbor to raise money for Kalamazoo’s Community Healing Centers and the Walt Disney World Half Marathon,

in Orlando, Fla., to raise money for Orlando’s Covenant House. He was one of 500 runners selected to run in the 2012 Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Run. Many times there are charities associated with a race that Randolph will raise money for; other times he picks the organizations he’d like to support. “I pick charities that I feel really have a major impact on improving lives and spreading a positive message,” he says. He has raised $2,000 so far but has set an ambitious goal of raising $15,000 through his running endeavors this year. “I want to be able to help more charities. That’s never going to go away. It’s like running a half-marathon. I started it. I’m going to finish it.” Randolph still works full time as a signal-man, now for the Grand Trunk Railway. His job has odd hours, and he’s always on call. “I essentially take care of the light signals,” he explains. “Whenever you hear lights or a signal go off and there’s no train there, I’m the guy that they call.” Randolph is also continuing to work for the cause that brought him to community service in the first place: the AIDs epidemic in Africa. Back in 2001, Randolph was con-vinced that AIDS was “the worst catastrophe

the world has evern known” and became de-termined to raise money to help AIDS victims and orphans in Africa. He began work on a documentary film about the topic, a project that he continues to work on today. “I’m still in the process of getting that to-gether,” Randolph says. “That’s something that I’m still pursuing.” Randolph is also a poet whose literary efforts have proven to be cathartic. “It’s something that’s kind of therapeutic, like the running. Sometimes I can just get away and write something, or you see something that inspires you, good or bad. I can write it down.” However, helping others and giving his time where needed is what he finds most rewarding. “That’s probably more therapeutic than the running and the writing, just know-ing that you’re making an impact on some-body’s life,” he says. He plans to continue his giving ways for as long as he’s physically able, which means running one race, writing one poem and fix-ing one signal light at a time. “The biggest question I get is ‘Why do you do it?’ And to be quite honest, I could never answer that, but then I realized it’s just something that I enjoy doing. I enjoy seeing somebody change because of something I’ve done.”

Erik

Ho

llad

ay

www.davesglass.com


Looking for a new view?

Prime Locations • Flexible Terms • Competitive Rates

Will Renovate to Suit • Suites to Accommodate Your Needs

Contact Chris Shook for more information: 269.381.3490 [email protected]

Gilmore Real Estate

n Kalamazoo n Grand Rapids n Metro Detroit n Grand Haven n Lansing

Fred Schubkegel [email protected]

@FSchub

■ Business lawyer

■ 25 years experience

■ In Your Corner.

Legal ExperienceIn Your Corner.

www.varnumlaw.com

www.jimgilmorerentals.com


Where is this?Tell us for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Food Dance!

1) Go to www.encorekalamazoo.com and click on the Photo Challenge tab at the top. Fill out the form and submit your answer; or

2) E-mail your answer to [email protected]. Type “Where is this?” in the subject line. Include your name, address and telephone number; or

3) Mail your answer to Encore, 350 S. Burdick St., Ste. 214, Kalamazoo, MI 49007; include your contact information.

One entry per person. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing of correct entries. Entries must be received by March 15, 2013. The correct answer will be printed in the March issue of Encore Magazine and on Encore’s website beginning April 1.

Need a hint? Go to our Facebook page, facebook.com/EncoreKalamazoo, for weekly clues.

photo challenge

winnerCongratulations to Deborah Hanley of Kalamazoo, who correctly guessed last month’s photo was the exterior of the

Kalamazoo Public Library’s Oshtemo branch. Her name was chosen at random from the

record number of right answers we received. Deborah won a $25 gift certificate to

Great Lakes Shipping Co.

FNBM Encore ad

MAR 2013

Switching to First National is easy. We do everything for you. We are alocally-owned community bank. We know and value each of our customers. When you bank with us,your deposits stay here, helping ourcommunity grow and prosper.Mary Hoag

Woodbridge Hills Banking Center

Join Us.Switch to a local bank where your deposits

stay here, helping our community.

269.349.0100Free ATM at 2,000 locations

Your Local Bank, Putting You First.

Learn more at fnbmichigan.com

www.fnbmichigan.com


SAVor UP FRONT

Eat. Drink. Shop.

Closer. Fresher. Better.Exceptional local foods. Serving

breakfast, lunch and dinner.

401 E. Michigan Ave. 269.382.1888

fooddance.net

Where simple tastes

scrumptious.

Bravo! Restaurant & Cafe • 269.344.7700 5402 Portage Road • Kalamazoo MI

bravokalamazoo.com

The label describes it,the taste defines it.

Using all natural ingredients, Bravo!’s handcrafted beers are made

in small batches by our award-winning chefs.

No additives or extracts, just amazing taste.

dDDiningDestinations

Fine dining in a relaxing atmosphere

8896 North 32nd Street, Richland269-629-9055

missionpointeofrichland.com

23901 City Center Circle, Mattawan269-668-7515

tavernonmcgillen.com

6905 Sears Drive, Portage269-327-2000

thecraftsmanportage.com

F i n e D i n i n g I n d i a n C u i s i n e

w w w . s a f f r o n k z o o . c o m

1 7 1 0 S u i t e D W e s t M a i n S t .K a l a m a z o o , M I 4 9 0 0 6

e . i n f o @ s a f f r o n k z o o . c o mp . 2 6 9 . 3 8 1 . 9 8 9 8

F i n e D i n i n g I n d i a n C u i s i n e

http://ghg.humanexventures.com

www.fooddance.net

www.thecraftsmanportage.com/

www.tavernonmcgillen.com/

www.missionpointeofrichland.com

www.bravokalamazoo.com

www.saffronkzoo.com


up front SaVor

Fresh FishSushi may just be the best meal you’re afraid to try by Brian LaM

One of the common misconceptions about sushi is that a sushi restaurant in a landlocked city — miles from the nearest body of salt water larger than a fish tank — can’t serve great sushi. I battled this misconception when I managed a sushi restaurant in Boulder, Colo., where a common inquiry was whether or not our sushi was as “fresh” as sushi served on one of the coasts. Whether you are enjoying your raw salmon on the back patio of a dockside restaurant in Santa Barbara, Calif., or at the bar of Kumo in Kalamazoo, there isn’t any difference in preparation, storage or “freshness” of the food you are eating. Almost all fish that is sold to be consumed raw is frozen and then thawed. In fact, U.S. law stipulates that all fish sold to be consumed raw must be frozen before consumption to kill parasites. The sole exception is tuna, but even in this case the economical decision is to freeze it to avoid waste or spoilage. In most cases, the fish right on the boat after being caught is either deep frozen or put in a refriger-ated sea well, a saltwater brine set below freezing. The frozen fish is flown to landlocked states packed on ice or dry ice, just as it would be if it were trucked to a distributor in Seattle directly from the docks. Is raw fish safe? I guess any-thing we put in our bodies has its risks, but I ate it every day for three years while managing Hapa Sushi in Boulder and never got so much as a stomachache. I’d certainly take raw fish from a licensed restaurant any day of the week over a brat handed to me at a backyard cookout. So, Kalamazoo, the fish here is fine. But that reassurance leads to the other big misconception about sushi: that it is only raw fish. Sure, that’s a part of it, but sushi typically refers to the use of sweet-vinegar-soaked rice and seaweed (nori) to accom-pany a protein or vegetable. There are plenty of veggie sushi options as well as cooked fish and even cooked meats. I’m not a huge fan of cucumber, but wrap it in vinegar rice and dip it in a shallow ramekin of soy sauce

and I’ve got a great lunch. And don’t get put off by the idea of seaweed. It’s nearly flavor-less and loaded with vitamins. Now that you have no reasons not to eat sushi, why should you eat sushi? On a recent visit to Sakura 2, a sushi and hibachi res-taurant on South Westnedge Avenue, I interrupted the lunch date of Neil and Monica Hurley to ask about the allure of sushi. They’ve been eating sushi at least once a week for 15 years.

“It doesn’t sit heavy,” says Neil. “It’s fairly good for you, and there’s so much variety.” The Hurleys tend to frequent Sakura 2 but maintain that they’ve found great sushi at other Kalamazoo sushi bars, sometimes pa-tronizing Kumo (also on South Westnedge Avenue) and Hana East before it closed a few years back. “We’ve eaten sushi all over the U.S.” says Monica, “and Sakura 2 holds its own. Not just in terms of sushi, but service too. They do a

Erik

Ho

llad

ay

Sakura 2 chef Joe Chen

crafts sushi rolls.


great job, it’s kid-friendly, and Tony always comes by to say hi.” Tony is Tony Trimh, a Vietnamese native who is the manager and face of Sakura 2. Trimh says that regulars are a significant part of Sakura 2’s business. “Even when the economy dipped, our regulars kept us busy,” he says. “We have very loyal customers.” Perhaps it’s the limited number of places that serve sushi, but the term “regular” takes on a new definition at sushi joints. I man-aged three types of restaurants in my own seven-year restaurant management career. Each had its own regulars, but none had such frequent regulars as I saw at the sushi bar. I would see patrons I knew on a first-name basis every shift. But while the limited availability of sushi is one explanation for the repeat business, there’s also an intimacy between chef and patron that exists at sushi restaurants. More than just an “open kitchen,” a sushi bar is a place where you sit face-to-face with the person making your food with his or her bare hands. Patrons get to know their favorite su-shi chefs and the artistic touches they bring to the sushi they roll. If you really want to make a sushi chef’s day, tell him or her to surprise you. Given the opportunity to put their skills on display, many sushi rollers will shock you with the artistic visual display they hand you minutes later. I’ve seen sushi chefs use different col-ored fish, rice, nori, wasabi and wax paper to create plates that look like famous paintings or jungle scenes. Other chefs may not focus on the visual artistry as much but will take pride in creating a special “off-menu” roll that they’ve been working on. This expressionist element is a daily fea-ture at Sushiya in downtown Kalamazoo. Sushi chefs there are able to submit cre-ative rolls on a daily basis for the featured “off-menu” roll. For even the most fervent Sushiya regular, there is something new to try every day. On my last trip, the bartender recommended the JJ Roll, an off-menu roll that features shrimp tempura and spicy tuna wrapped in rice and nori, then topped with crab guacamole, alternating strips of salmon and tuna, and crunchy tempura bits.

Finding a skilled, creative, artistic sushi chef to sit in front of is one of the great dis-coveries for sushi regulars. On many nights, it can be difficult to get a spot in front of an expert roller who has built a following. While sushi can be found elsewhere, Su-shiya, Sakura 2 and Kumo all feature sushi rollers at a seated sushi bar. All three are open for lunch and dinner, but each brings some-thing different to the table. For example, if you find the price of su-shi to be too expensive, check out Kumo on Thursday nights, when it offers $1.25 pieces of nigiri, the sushi bite that features a piece of fish or slice of vegetable atop a ball of rice. On Sundays, the restaurant offers $1 sushi rolls for every specialty roll ordered. Looking for some late-night sushi? Sakura 2 rolls sushi till almost 2 a.m. on Thursdays for its recently kicked-off “Karaoke Night,” when karaoke starts at 10 p.m. In addition to their sushi bars, both Sakura 2 and Kumo feature hibachi dining, where your chef interacts with you throughout your din-ing experience, though over a grill instead of a fish display. I would be remiss in describing the sushi experience without bringing up sake, the rice wine typically served in ceramic or glass carafes. Let me start with the managerial re-sponse that is typically given — and that I used to give — when people ask whether sake should be served hot or cold: Both are great; it’s just a matter of personal preference. Now I’ll give you the insider’s take on whe-ther sake is best hot or cold: Heating your sake is akin to dumping ice cubes in your caber-net. Cold sake of decent quality is very clean on the palate and compliments the cold, sweet-vinegar rice and raw fish or veggies in your meal. It has a crisp acidity and just a touch of bitterness. For more sweetness and less bitterness in your sake, try nigori, an un-filtered sake that is sweet and milky white as opposed to clean and clear. At Sakura 2, the nigori sake is the top seller, Trimh says. Try it with flying fish roe nigiri topped with a raw quail egg, or just a spicy tuna roll and know that, even though you are here in Kalamazoo, your fish is as fresh as that in Seattle.

EXECUTIVE DETAILMost Comprehensive

Detail AvailableFree Rental Car Provided

AUTOMOBILE ReconditioningHigh-end Detailing

Complete Polish & Paint SealantScratch Removal

Dent RemovalTouch-Up

Interior ExtractionLeather Conditioning

Smoke Odor AbatementOverspray RemovalRoad Paint Removal

Air Conditioning Sanitization

AUTOMOBILE ProtectionNano Technology Paint Protection

(including coupon service)Rustproof Protection

Undercoat/Sound TreatmentInterior Protection

Spray-In Bed Liners

Great Lakes Chemical Services, Inc.5220 W. Michigan Ave. Kalamazoo, MI 49006

269-372-6886 www.glchemical.com www.stoneliners.com

www.glchemical.com

See page 39 to learn more about this photo and its photographer.

encore firSt GlancE


Javi

n L

atim

ore by theresa Coty o’neiL

Music’s Spirit

F i n d i n g t h e


Athat’s what drives the conductor

who heads two local orchestras

ndrew Koehler, associate professor of music at Kalamazoo College and conductor of both the Kalamazoo Philharmonia and Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra, understands firsthand how pivotal a high school orchestral experience can be to a young musician. It was his student participation in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, under the musical direction of Joseph Primavera, along with the guidance of violin teacher Lee Snyder that awakened his musical sensibility when he was 15. “That was the point, after playing violin for 10 years, that I shifted from being a dutiful enough violinist to one who started to hear music in a different way and to become passionate about it,” Koehler says. That pas-sion has served Koehler well, earning him a full-time job in a competitive profession at a young age as well as several accolades, including prestigious honors at international conducting competitions. Primavera, who made his musical mark early as the youngest princi-pal violist for the Philadelphia Orchestra, could strike the fear of Apollo, music’s patron god, into the hearts and souls of his ensembles. Koehler remembers him saying once to a young tubist: “I could make better music with myself and a can of beans.” But he also could reveal a tender side, says Koehler. “He was tough on the orchestra, for sure, and he demanded an awful lot of us. But he also was able to reveal, in his more vulnerable moments, how much the music meant to him, which inspired those of us who paid attention.” It is no coincidence, Koehler says, that he has followed in Primavera’s footsteps, “channeling the model that Primavera set, with some judicious editing.” As many KJSO musicians can attest, their conductor will also be remembered for his colorful turns of phrase, such as “You sound like a herd of constipated elephants” or “You sound like flies trapped in sour cream,” comparisons that keep students on their toes during the three-hour Sunday rehearsals. For those who need more practice, he sometimes threatens, “I will haunt your dreams,” a statement that, while uttered lightly, may not be far from the truth.


junior symphony is 75 years young

The Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 75th anniversary with style. Musical Director Andrew Koehler, the KJSO’s sixth conductor, and longtime Executive Director Lee Fletcher, have exciting plans for the organization’s 75th season, including solo performances by re-nowned violinist Midori and up-and-coming pianist Alon Goldstein. Midori Goto, an internationally known violinist who premiered with the New York Philharmonic at age 11, will solo with the KJSO on a date yet to be announced. Midori’s special appearance is funded by a grant awarded to the KJSO and Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra by Partners in Performance, a foundation started by Midori to promote classical music performances by well-known artists in partnership with local arts organizations. In addition to her performance, Midori will work closely with KJSO orchestra members and ensembles. On April 27, in the KJSO’s final concert of the season and a collabora-tion with the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, Alon Goldstein, an Israeli-born pianist living in the United States, will perform the Grieg Piano Concerto accompanied by the orchestra. “He is very much interested in meeting people in the community where he performs and, wherever he can, meeting with young performers,” says Gilmore Festival Director Daniel Gustin, who notes that Goldstein has twice appeared in the Gilmore Festival. “He’s a real natural for this role.” In addition to an exciting concert season, the KJSO is launching a first-ever $75,000 Scholarship Fund Drive, under the initiative of Barry Ross, vice president of the KJSO Board of Directors. Sensing a growing need in the community and to commemorate its 75th anniversary, the KJSO hopes to raise $75,000 to provide financial assistance to young musicians who wish to take part in the Junior Symphony. Founded in 1939 as the Little Symphony by its first conductor, Eu-gene Andrie, and supported by ambitious and pubic-spirited mem-bers of the community who saw a need for an area youth orchestra, the KJSO is now the third oldest continually running youth orchestra in the nation. Since its inception, it has grown into an umbrella organization that supports four tiered orchestras — Training Orchestra, two audition-based preparatory orchestras (Concert and Symphonic Strings) and the Junior Symphony, a 74-member honors orchestra that performs three concerts each season and has won many national and interna-tional honors. Board President and KJSO alum Charlie Tomlinson likens the KJSO to an oak tree, “with deep roots throughout the spectrum of our community.” Executive Director Fletcher agrees. “It’s long been my contention that Kalamazoo has a lot to teach individuals who may have a mis-conception of what is possible for a community this size,” he says. “The KJSO is a touchstone for generations of young musicians, many of whom still live and play here.”

(continued on page 22)

“I strive to create an atmosphere where I show why the music matters and be just tough enough that students will take that leap of faith with me, seeing that excelling is important and the rewards are great,” says Koehler. At times he is the chief pirate of a large ship of unruly notes and rhythms and at other times a skipper steering a model crew over smooth, harmonious waves. As a con-ductor, he calls it “the agony and the ecstasy.”

From violin

to conducting Koehler grew up in Philadelphia’s northwest suburbs as the son of Ukrainian parents who were born in West-ern Europe but eventually settled in the United States. His mother resisted the familial expectation that Andrew would attend once-weekly Ukrainian school, though she did make sure he learned the language as a child. She instead enrolled him in music lessons to nurture self-discipline. His mother played piano, and Koehler, “already ornery at 5” when given the choice between piano and violin, chose violin. “My mother was a committed guardian, making sure I continued practicing and continued advancing,” he says. As a high school sophomore, he was accepted into the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra. He became concertmaster his senior year, which was when he experienced the first inkling of his calling. Without precedent, he decided to call and conduct Saturday sectionals at 8 a.m., and “remark-ably the whole string section grudgingly showed up.” In the following years, as an undergraduate at Yale University, where he dual-majored in German studies and music, he found more and more opportunities to conduct. New Haven, Conn., where Yale is located, is a place where professional, student-run and community ensembles abound. “I felt a real freedom when I was conducting which helped me to be more directly musical and to think about what the music says rather than how to execute it.” He began to notice that his “omnivorous curiosity was more served by conducting than violin playing because there is more to study and more to know.”



Koehler, at left, was a dedicated student of violin. Above, he leads the

Kalamazoo Philharmonia in practice. Below, Koehler shakes hands with

former KJSO concertmaster Raymond Chung. Below left, KJSO cellists

Paul Lee, far left, and Thomas Barth, perform in concert.


We’ll pick up your laundry from your home. Wash it, fold it and return it within 48 hours. It’s everything you’ve been wishing for.

Find the plan best for you.

MyLaundryAngel.com269-459-1088

LAUN 1005 Encore Ad.indd 1 12/17/12 1:25:09 PM

Quiet, Comfortable, Affordable

RESTAURANT & TAVERNVisit our website at www.greatlakesshippingco.com

Conveniently located at 4525 West KL Ave, east of Drake Road

Reservations Appreciated

375-3650Dinner from5:00pm daily

ChoiceAged SteaksFresh Fish

Slow RoastedPrime Rib

When Koehler first attended Yale, he planned to pursue the humanities but dis-covered that music filled all his spare time. “Every single second I wasn’t in a class I was spending it making music. I couldn’t deny it any longer: Music was what I loved above all else. Nothing gave me as much joy. As daunt-ing as it is to try to pursue a career in music, I couldn’t imagine any other life.”

international

recognition

By its nature, conducting is a step removed from the production of sound. “A conductor’s only recourse is to sit with the score and try to really understand it as a piece of music," says Koehler. "Why does this theme relate to this other theme? What is the spirit of the whole work? That, as a conductor, is what really engages me.” To test his skills, Koehler recently competed in the prestigious Grzegorz Fitelberg Inter-national Competition for Conductors, which takes place in Katowice, Poland, every five years. He was the only American to reach the finals in the televised and well-attended competition and was awarded First Distinc-tion, along with the title Young Baton Master, a special juried prize. The judging of such a competition involves several variables, but, as Koehler says, “what is principally at stake is having a compel-ling and clear-eyed vision of the score and the ability to convey that vision to orchestra members. That’s the essence of a conductor’s role.” The Kalamazoo community is fortunate to benefit from Koehler’s musical vision. “He is an exceptionally talented conductor with a deep artistic sensitivity to musical detail,” says Barry Ross, assistant conductor of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and vice president of the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Society Board of Directors. “He has the ability

nternational nternational

recognition

nternational

recognition

www.midtownkalamazoo.com

www.greatlakesshippingco.com

www.mylaundryangel.com


TICKETS269.387.2300

TheGilmore.org

mitsuko uchida , pIanoThE wIllIam C. and nanCy f. rIChardSon ConCErT

aprIl 13, 2013 · 8 pmChEnEry aUdITorIUm

Bach preludes and fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I Schoenberg Six little piano pieces, op. 19 Schumann Waldszenen (forest Scenes), op. 82 Schumann Sonata no. 2 in G minor, op. 22 Schumann Gesänge der Frühe (morning Songs), op. 133

to instill in young players the determination to conquer highly technical and musical demands of professional-level repertoire.” Koehler holds the young musicians of the KJSO and the college and community musicians of the Philharmonia to very high standards and challenges them to reach beyond their appar-ent abilities. And the orchestras under his guidance make music that lifts and moves audiences. On stage, he is a commanding presence. His hair often falls forward as he arches his shoulders, seeming to draw the music out of the orchestra with finely conveyed gestures and expressions.

training For the role

After graduating from Yale, Koehler was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Austria, a country he chose because his father grew up there and because Vienna was a place that complemented both his German and musical passions. In Vienna, Koehler was accepted to the University of Music, the principal training ground there for conductors. “It’s an extraordinary place to experience music and to feel the energy of music history,” he says. In just two years, he studied nearly the entire opera repertoire. When Koehler returned to the United States, he enrolled in a graduate program in conducting at Northwestern University, where he studied with the renowned conductor Victor Yampol-sky, whom Koehler describes as someone who “radiates music.” Yampolsky, along with conducting, continued to play violin. He began his musical life as a violinist, serving as assistant concertmaster of the Moscow Philharmonic, and later served as principal second violinist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In like fashion, Koehler also continues to play violin with friends and colleagues in chamber settings and substitutes with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. “It’s informative to be back in the orchestra, to remember the challenges and to see how a conductor might help with these challenges.” In 2005, at 26, Koehler earned a master’s degree in conducting. For a year he held various part-time conducting and teaching jobs in Chicago and in 2006 applied for the Kalamazoo College post, from which Ross was retiring and which includes conducting the Philharmonia. He found out soon afterward that the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony position was open. He guest-conducted for a concert cycle and won the position. While Koehler was still settling into his new post at Kalamazoo College, his former youth conductor, Joseph Primavera, died. Koehler dedicated his first Philharmonia concert to Primavera, who had been for him so formative and inspiring.


or the roleFor the roleor the roleFor the roleor the roleor the roleor the role

www.thegilmore.org


by Kaye Bennett

STRIKE UP THE (Sixth-Grade)

BAND


Erik

Ho

llad

ay


To mold willing and enthusiastic but for the most part totally inexperienced sixth-graders into concert-ready performers in just three months, Stoll lays the ground-work early. In fact, she starts a year earlier, selling Vicksburg’s fifth-graders on the idea of signing up for band when they get to middle school in the fall. In each of Vicks-burg’s three elementary schools, students are exposed to general music and learn to play recorders. Each spring all fifth-graders are surveyed as to how well they hear chords, pitch, melodic line and rhythm. Stoll visits the elementary schools to talk about band, and a group of retired band directors from across West Michigan brings instruments to the schools for students to try. At the students’ age, it’s not only musical interests but also physical attributes that need to be considered, says Stoll, an Allegan native who earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Western Michigan University in 1985. The youngsters’ arm length, hand size and teeth are part of the equation, as kids are matched up with instruments they are physically capable of handling. Stoll sends letters to parents describing the band class that will be available to their children that fall. To whip up even more enthusi-asm, the eighth-grade jazz band plays at each elementary school. Stoll’s salesmanship is a success, as about half of the incoming sixth-graders each year sign up for band.

While many families rent instruments from local music stores for about $25 a month, the school provides most of the larger and more expensive ones. Stoll says that a grant from the Vicksburg Foundation has covered the cost of the band’s large percussion in-struments, bassoons, a tuba and a baritone sax. Other instruments, such as trumpets, clarinets and trombones, have been donated by individuals. When a family’s finances are tight, the school helps out. Stoll says she uses the “beg, borrow and steal” method to come up with instruments so that every child who wants to can be in the band. After matching children with instruments, Stoll can at last consider the music they will produce. “It’s tricky to get the right number of kids for instrumentation,” she says. Each year, for example, she has to redirect some budding drummers. “Lots of kids want to be percussionists.” To deal with this overabun-dance, other schools in the area may require a child to have two years of piano experience to be considered for percussion, says Stoll. Vicksburg, however, does not require this. When school starts in September, Stoll

Every September Patty Stoll faces a new crop of musicians, and by December she conducts them in concert. In those early days of autumn, the majority of Stoll’s sixth-grade musicians have never before played — or, in some cases, touched — the instrument they soon will play in front of a thousand people. Yet, for Stoll, the Vicksburg Middle School band director, the concert always comes together.

Preceding pages: Band director Patty Stoll with members of

the Vicksburg Middle School sixth-grade band. Above, Stoll conducts her students at their

December performance. At right, saxophonist Sam Gearig warms up for Vicksburg music teacher

Ben Rosier (holding a portable tuner) in preparation for the concert.

Erik

Ho

llad

ay


faces about 100 eager new sixth-graders. They are broken up into three separate band classes and are not joined together to play as a whole until one day before their December concert. On the first day of band class, Stoll finds her new stu-dents quiet, but preteen enthusiasm and energy soon build. The first week or so is devoted to teaching students how to open their music cases and put their instruments together, she says. But in just a couple of weeks, Stoll says, her students are amazed that they can already play recognizable songs; “Mary Had a Little Lamb” is a peren-nial favorite. Plus, they like the social aspect of band. Before joining the sixth-grade band, Ashlyn Girolami, 11, had played the guitar “a little” and had sung. When it came time to choose an instrument, she knew exactly what she wanted to play: the saxophone. But, she says, “I could play every instrument but the sax. I couldn’t make a sound on it, and, when I did, it wasn’t the one I should have made.” A better match, she quickly discovered, was

the flute. “Two other girls and I were the only ones in the school who could make the highest sound.” So Ashlyn became a flutist. Ashlyn says she has learned to read music in band class, a skill that helps her when she sings at her church, and she even played her flute at church on Christmas Eve. Her mother, Allyson Husen of Portage, says that Ashlyn “absolutely loves band” and that Stoll is her favorite teacher. Stoll’s direction is in language her students under-stand: “Play loud, like you’re mad at your sister” or “Play more like bumblebees and less like motorboats.” To a girl who feels bad about a mistake she’s made on her clarinet, Stoll says: “If I would have given up after the mistakes that I’ve made, I wouldn’t be playing today.” Stoll’s tip to brass players: “When you’re practicing at home, just play your songs on your mouthpiece if your parents say you’re too loud.”

Erik

Ho

llad

ay

28 | EncorE MARCH 2013FNG All Ads 23269.indd 3 1/10/13 11:30 AM

4341 S. Westnedge Ave., Suite 1205 Kalamazoo MI 49008

(269) 343-9700

Small Business Accounting & Taxes Personal Income Tax Services Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) QuickBooks Pro Advisors New Business Set-up

With 60 years of combined experience.Character Counts!

Left to right - Jill Flipse, CPA, CFERalph Meyer, CPA - Mindy Allwardt, CPA

Our Industry AwArd-wInnIng servIces mAke It hAppen:

Print Services

Technology Support

Data Management

Kalamazoo • Battle Creek • Grand Rapids(269) 321-9442 • cornerstoneos.com

Costs & RisK

PRoduCtivity

Stoll says that discipline is not much of a problem in her sixth-grade classes. Her sig-nal for quiet is to step onto the podium, and most students usually comply quickly when she does that. She acknowledges, though, that her students occasionally need to burn off excess preadolescent energy. Those are the times when she gives them the signal that they should all practice their own parts simultaneously. “It can sound like a train wreck sometimes,” Stoll says, laughing, but after 30 seconds or so the young musicians are refreshed and ready to get back to work. Young musicians soon learn the impor-tance of practice. The band room is left open so that students can come in and practice after school. Those who play smaller instru-ments can take them home for practice. Tu-bas, baritones and tenor and baritone saxes, however, simply don’t fit on the school buses, so those instrumentalists usually need to rack up practice hours at school. Chris Gearig, of Vicksburg, says her 11-year-old son, Sam, is very excited about being in band and practices regularly at home. “He wants to play for us and have us guess the name of the piece he’s playing.” Sam’s two older brothers were also in band, and the experience has been positive for the entire family, Gearig says. Sam reports that he played the viola for about a year in the fourth grade and that he “kind of plays the piano a little.” But in band, he says, he plays the alto sax, his choice based at least in part on the fact that his older brother had played that instrument and the family already owned one. “We knew it would be cheaper,” says Sam. Sam has especially enjoyed learning how to read music and how to play different notes, and, like beginning musicians everywhere, he has learned that Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Bacon and All Cows Eat Grass (mne-monics for the order of sharp notes and bass clef spaces). His favorite times in band, says Sam, are “Show-off Fridays” (“We can play different instruments and play solos”) and those times when “we get candy if we get stuff right.” (Jolly Ranchers are the currency of choice in middle school.)


www.cornerstoneos.com

www.landscapearboristservices.com


HRMInnovationsllc.com

Reading Reading Together

2 0 1 32 0 1 3

Reading 2 0 1 3

Reading Meet Journalist & AuthorBrooke GladstoneBrook Gladstone is co-host and managing editor of the National Public Radio newsmagazine, On the Media, an up-close look at what the media are covering and why. Gladstone will speak about the complexities—and sometimes, controversies—modern media cultivates. Michigan News will sell copies of her book, The Influencing Machine at the event.

Tuesday, April 2, 7:00 pm WMU Center for the Humanities* Open seating, no ticket required. *For a map, go to: bit.ly/ZR2mD3

Our grateful thanks to the following for their sponsorship of Brooke Gladstone’s visit:MLive Media Group

Western Michigan University: Center for the Humanities; Center for the Study of Ethics in Society; School of Communication; WMUK

RT-Gladstone2013_EncoreR1.indd 1 2/4/13 11:46 AM

‘a high-wire act’

At age 33, Koehler is entering his seventh year at Kalamazoo College and sixth with the KJSO, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary next season and is the third longest con-tinually performing youth orchestra in the U.S. (see related article).

Koehler feels fortunate to be conducting two orchestras with which there is a tremen-dous amount of artistic freedom and flex-ibility. “These are orchestras that I can build a relationship with over a long time,” he says. “I really appreciate the opportunity to be in a place where I can choose music without compromising, music that I’m excited about sharing with my players and our audiences. To learn new repertoire keeps orchestras engaged and our music-making vital. “

The inherent nature of a college-based or youth orchestra is change. The roster changes every season. One of Koehler’s happiest moments with the KJSO came, he says, when the orchestra had a second opportunity to perform the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto under his baton.

“Even though much of the orchestra had changed, we were more quickly able to tackle the challenges of the work the second time around because we had slowly built a culture where good ensemble skills were paramount.” These ensemble skills — a sensitivity for listening across the orchestra and an ability to sense the natural shape of a phrase — are what Koehler works with both his orchestras to nurture and develop.

“My job, in many ways, becomes one in which I have to coach and encourage. There are certain members of the orchestra who are already turned on and committed; others need coaxing. Within that gap is this tremendous potential for transformation. It’s a high-wire act. It’s nerve-racking. But it’s also very exhilarating.”

KOEHLER (continued from page 23)(continued from page 23)(continued from page 23)(continued from page 23)KOEHLER (continued from page 23)(continued from page 23)(continued from page 23)

www.hrminnovationsllc.com

www.kpl.gov


Most of us have relegated them to dusty boxes in our basements or put them

out for a dime apiece at a garage sale. But hold on. The cassette tape

is making a comeback, and a Kalamazoo-based company is on

the front lines of its resuscitation.

by JereMy Martin


Already Dead Tapes, a small, independent recording label that operates from the downtown Kalamazoo home of co-founder Sean Hartman, is among those behind a movement to “reintroduce” a recording medium that was long ago con-signed to the bargain bin. “There’s something really beautiful about bringing life to something that’s con-sidered a dead format by the general public,” says Joshua Tabbia, the other co-founder of the label. Already Dead Tapes, like a number of small record labels across the country, specializes in recording and releasing new music on cassette. Launched in 2009 by Tabbia and Hartman, the label was a way for the duo to promote local ex-perimental musicians cheaply and easily. The label grew rapidly and now boasts a roster of more than 50 releases by artists from around the globe. While the Already Dead headquarters is equipped to handle live recording, about half of the label’s releases are recorded by the artists themselves before being sent to Already Dead for dubbing onto cassettes and shipment. In the past year, Already Dead Tapes has released albums from musicians living in Germany, Russia and Canada. But no matter how far or quickly the label expands, the core mission of Already Dead Tapes is not to create a business but to create a com-munity, Hartman says. “I try to be a champion for experimental and creative music. It’s always been important for me to go out there and establish a community for it,” Hartman says. “This is something that a lot of people haven’t heard before, so my mission is ’Let me teach you about it. Let’s explore music together.’ ’’ Hartman and Tabbia’s exploration of music began in 2007 after Hartman, a gui-tarist and songwriter, moved from Battle Creek to Kalamazoo to establish himself on the local music scene. Tabbia, a Kalamazoo native who was then a Western Michigan University student, was playing around town with his experimental electronic group Problems That Fix Themselves.

P a i r w o r k s t o r e v i v e o u t d a t e d m e d i u mBy Jeremy Martin

COMEBACK

encore artS

by JereMy Martin


Works by Zach Terry, now a film student at

New York University, have long been audience favorites

at the Teen Filmmaker Festival.

Hartman found a job booking shows at The Strutt, a now-defunct café and mu-sic club near the WMU and Kalamazoo College campuses. Using connections he made there, Hartman was able to form the noise rock outfit Rotten Wood Moon, helping to establish him as a leader in the local experimental music community.

Rotten Wood Moon’s forte was creating spontaneous noise collages, layering guitars, horns, drums, keyboards, electronic instruments and other noise makers on top of each other to form often-discordant and sometimes-unsettling waves of sound. Almost immediately, Rotten Wood Moon began to play the local house-show circuit, performing in living rooms, basements and garages across town where residents host local and touring bands and the scores of people who come to watch a show.

Hartman had chosen to open his own home to musicians, creating what soon became one of the area’s best-known house venues. Located downtown, behind St. Augustine Catholic Church, the venue has become known affectionately as the “No Fun House” because of its strict policy of no alcohol or drugs. It was at one of those house shows that Hartman and Tabbia connected.

“In early 2009 I started playing house shows,” Tabbia says, “inspired by my good friend Ray Jackson and my now wife, Tori Blade, and that’s how I met Sean. A short time later, I joined Sean’s band.” It was also during this time that the two created Already Dead Tapes.

However, despite the following Rotten Wood Moon was gaining and the fact that Already Dead Tapes was still in its infancy, Tabbia decided to pull up roots and move to Chicago, accepting a position as a graphic designer with the digital marketing firm UBM Studios.

Hartman and Tabbia’s story could have ended there, but they were far too driv-en, determined and optimistic to let a mere 150 miles or an antiquated recording medium hinder their dream.

Not to say the cassette tape wasn’t once avant-garde technology. The two-sided compact cassette tape rose to popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s after being introduced to consumers in the early 1960s by the Philips Co., of the Netherlands. Sold in the U.S. under the Norelco brand name, the tapes quickly grabbed a foothold in the music recording market, which had been all about vinyl records and clunky eight-track tapes. Electronics giant Sony soon hopped on board, offering to license the format free of charge.

This new, easy-to-use medium allowed greater recording possibilities and mo-bility. Though cassette tapes tend to have short shelf lives, a propensity to be easily damaged and a less-than-high-definition sound quality, it is these and other quirks that are now drawing musicians — many of whom are too young to remember a world before compact discs — to revive a format pronounced dead more than two decades ago.

“The fidelity and overall sonic texture of the tape medium is nostalgic for us in a variety of ways,” says Abram Morphew of the Little Rock, Ark., duo The Binary Marketing Show, which is on the Already Dead Tapes label. But beyond evoking nostalgia, tape recording is a way for musicians, many of whom have limited funds, to cheaply reuse materials that would otherwise go to waste, Morphew says.

“Most of it these days is winding up either in landfills or the mid-Pacific,” he says, referring to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a large area of free-floating trash and debris, mostly plastics, in the central North Pacific Ocean. “There are only a handful of companies that make the effort to recycle tape.”

In addition to recording on new cassette tapes, labels like Already Dead will reuse older cassettes by recording new material over unwanted tapes. “Tape labels like AD give value to the medium and the equipment needed to produce it by releasing artists that you might not hear anywhere else, hopefully keeping an obsolete medium in someone’s tape collection instead of in a landfill,” Mor-phew says. While many people who once owned cassette-tape players have moved on to compact disc and MP3 players, there is still a thriving market for, as Hartman terms it, “the cassette culture.” “The majority of folks that are into cassette culture are those who frequent thrift stores and/or those still buying cars old enough to come equipped with tape decks,” he says. “Part of the charm comes in appropriating technol-ogy abandoned by modern society, finding old tapes and players at a fraction of their original cost. Fans of mod-ern tape labels tend to be very active at seeking out new music. There aren’t many ‘stars’ in the tape world. Folks seem to be more interested in continually finding fresh and interesting sounds instead of finding just a handful or artists and then stopping.” Cassette-culture consumers tend to be teenagers and those in their 20s who shun the popular music genres that saturate today’s media. They are drawn to the vin-tage medium because equipment to play cassette tapes can be found at quite cheap prices. While the vast majority of Already Dead’s business is conducted on its website at alreadydeadtapes.com, the label also sells to retail shops, including the Corner Re-cord Shop locations in Kalamazoo and Grandville. Hartman’s nearly full-time job these days is heading up the day-to-day tasks of keeping the business afloat, from seeking new acts for the label to accepting submissions, packaging tapes and shipping products to buyers. Hart-man also freelances as a booking agent for area venues.

artS encore

In addition to recording on new cassette tapes, labels

Works by Zach Terry, now a film student at

New York University, have long been audience favorites


encore artS

In Chicago, Tabbia keeps tabs on the visual aspects of the business and oversees production and the company’s website. Sometimes his work involves designing artwork for the releases, as was the case for the 7-inch vinyl release that The Binary Marketing Show split with the Chicago band New Diet. “We had some amazing cover art created by Joshua Tabbia and (Sean’s wife) Samantha Hart-man,” says Binary Marketing Show’s Morphew. Tabbia’s day job utilizes his graphic-design abilities, and his Already Dead duties blend two of his passions. “I’ve had a passion for visual art my entire life,” he says. “I’ve also had a great passion for music for as long as I can remember. The merging of the two seemed so natural. I love collaborating with musicians to give their work a visual identity. It definitely falls somewhere near the realm of dream job.” Hartman finds his duties also fit well with his passions. In order to showcase and drive aware-ness of Already Dead artists and of cassette cul-ture, Hartman organizes the Already Dead Family Reunion, an annual music festival in Kalamazoo.

This year’s festival, the third, will be held Sept. 19-21 at venues that include the 411 Club and a possible site on the WMU campus. “Doing a festival for the label was just sort of a natural extension of the work that I do,” says Hartman. “I try to be a champion for experimental and creative music. The thing I’ve found with a lot of the people that are in that community is that they seem to get discouraged by how difficult it is to turn people on to that kind of thing.” So, instead of constantly trying to win over a new audience, Already Dead Tapes invites the already established audience to Kalamazoo for a three-day festival celebrating experimental music in all its forms. “If all goes well, this will be the first year to feature bands from overseas,” Hart-man says. “We’re talking to a few from Europe and some from Canada.”

This year’s festival, the third, will be held Sept. 19-21 at venues that include the 411 Club and a possible site on the WMU campus.

“Doing a festival for the label was just sort of a natural extension of the work that I do,” says Hartman. “I try to be a champion for experimental and creative music. The thing I’ve found with a lot of the people that are in that community is that they seem to get discouraged by how difficult it is to turn people on to that that they seem to get discouraged by how difficult it is to turn people on to that kind of thing.”

So, instead of constantly trying to win over a new audience, Already Dead Tapes invites the already established audience to Kalamazoo for a three-day festival celebrating experimental music in all its forms.

“If all goes well, this will be the first year to feature bands from overseas,” Hartman says. “We’re talking to a few from Europe and some from Canada.”

This year’s festival, the third, will be held Sept. 19-21 at venues that include the 411 Club and a possible site on the WMU campus.

“Doing a festival for the label was just sort of a natural extension of the work that I do,” says Hartman. “I try to be a champion for experimental and creative music. The thing I’ve found with a lot of the people that are in that community is that they seem to get discouraged by how difficult it is to turn people on to that


Former roommates Sean Hartman, far left,

and Joshua Tabbia created Already Dead Tapes, a local music label that

releases artists on cassette tape.


CTSTELECOM.COM 13800 E. MICHIGAN AVE., GALESBURG, MI 49053-9658 269.746.4411 • 800.627.5287

Communicating every thought, every word, every event has become a way of life. Whether it’s business or pleasure, CTS is here to help you communicate with the world. Our state-of-the-art phone and internet services can be customized to fit your needs, so no matter what important message you need to share, we’ll make it happen. The latest technology for the simplest communication.

Get connected, stay connected with CTS.

share the loveWITH TECHNOLOGY THAT WORKS FOR YOU

artS encore

Alternative DanceRAD Fest draws modern dancers to Kalamazoo

by Marie Lee

The “rad” in RAD Fest doesn’t have anything to do with being radical, but it is about being “alternative.” Hundreds of modern, contemporary and post-con-temporary dancers from across the United States will step their way here for the fourth annual Michigan Re-gional Alternative Dance Festival (RAD Fest), presented by Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers. The four-day juried festival — set for March 14-17 at the Epic Center in downtown Kalamazoo — will feature pieces created by 39 choreographers and chosen by a panel of dancers. According to coordinator Rachel Miller, the festival is gaining fame among modern dance com-panies on a national and international level. “We had an increase in submissions this year and had two queries from dance companies in England,” Miller says. “We ended up turning down about half the submis-sions we received.” While the majority of the performers and choreogra-phers in this year’s RAD Fest come from Michigan and other Midwestern states, participants are traveling from as far away as New York, Arizona and Washington, D.C. “We call it the Midwest RAD fest because it’s in the


Midwest, but we do try to let in as many Michigan and Midwest par-ticipants as we can,” Miller explains. The festival is growing in another way: in what it offers the public and the dance community. New to the event this year is a youth show on Sunday afternoon that will feature works by choreographers under age 18 or choreographed for dancers under age 18. A second new event is the “Dance Talk” panel discussion, at which visiting artists will share their insights on issues in the dance world, from funding and building an audience to running a dance company. Jane Baas, chair of the Western Michigan University Department of Dance, will moderate the discussion at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Epic Center’s second-floor atrium. “The whole point is for them to have a discussion where they brain-storm and give companies a chance to share information,” Miller says.

Michael Parmelee will be one of the choreographers and

dancers featured at RAD Fest.

www.ctstelecom.com


Charles S. Ofstein • Michael D. Holmes • Michele C. MarquardtDaniel L. DeMent • William B. Millard

DeMENT ANDMARQUARDT, PLC

A law firm focusing on estate planning,estate settlement, and the transfer of wealth.

the Globe Building211 East Water Street, Suite 401

Kalamazoo, MI 49007269.343.2106

encore artS

Contemplating ‘The Hours’Medieval tradition informs community arts project

by Margaret Deritter

Have you ever noticed that moment when the bright sun of midday turns to the softer light of afternoon? Or when the gray of dusk be-comes the dark of night? You might be sitting on the beach watching the last sliver of sun slip beneath Lake Michigan or walking in the woods of Kleinstuck Preserve when the light of day suddenly shifts. It is those special hours, those noticed moments, that provided inspiration for a local art and poetry project called “The Hours.” Art-ist Sydnee Peters came up with the idea of inviting other artists and writers to join her in using the theme of hours — found in medieval books of meditation and prayer known as Books of Hours — as a “metaphoric launch pad” for their work. “I tried to invite very well-seasoned artists who have a name be-yond Kalamazoo like (novelist and poet) Bonnie Jo Campbell and (printmaker) Ladislav Hanka. I invited others who exhibit a lot or have had published works, and I also invited people who haven’t had any experience with exhibiting or reading,” says Peters, who received a $4,500 grant for “The Hours” from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. She laid out her idea to the 33 other participants but didn’t give them specific directions. “Some people were a little baffled that I wasn’t directing things,” says the Richland artist and Western

Michigan University art instructor, “but I invited people in that I thought could work with the metaphor and said, ‘Let’s see where the chips fall. It’s bound to be interesting.’” That kind of open-ended approach “links into my own personal spirituality,” says Peters. And while it feels “uncomfortably open” to some people, “it’s my experience that brilliant things happen, inspir-ing things happen, in that space.”


This artwork by Mindi Bagnall, “feels like none,” is from “The Hours.” Its title refers to a liturgical term for 3 p.m., None.

www.dementandmarquardt.com


poEtry encore

These poems are all from “The Hours,” a local art and poetry project inspired by certain times of day such as Prime (6 a.m.), Sext (noon) and Vespers (sunset) that are featured in medieval books of meditation and prayer. See story on “The Hours” on page 35.

6 a.m. A block away, the first call.Responses. Crows from all sides. Onset of rain in leaves, dovesand robins plucking mulberries until jays and cardinals drive themto the top branches. It isn’t a tree but a cathedral and everyonewants a sugary pane just as the sun slips up. U must have been hungrythat morning birds came along — we came along — to cram into ussuch appetite.

— Elizabeth Kerlikowske

Kerlikowske teaches at Kellogg Community College, in Battle Creek, and is president of the Kalamazoo group Friends of Poetry.

Sext

The sun crescendos,clock arms join inupward salutation,crown on my headburns with light.I reach for a hat,cast no shadow.What would I doif this bush burstinto flame, runfor water, dousemyself, or blazewith fire downto my toes,a miracle on the journeyback to dust.

— Kate Borgardt

Borgardt is a Lawton grape farmer and an admirer of nuance in all its many forms. She holds an advanced degree in tree hugging.

morning meditation

At this wobbly kitchen table,my mother pens her odesto organizational dream godssketching schedules unattainable by mortals.

Artful agendas grace tornsheets and envelopes, trash heap refugees from thehomework graveyardof her children’s lives.

Planning the day’s events,circles, arrows,dashes and numbersdecorate margins with none for error.

Hours pass as one hand scribes, the other pulling threads of thoughtalong strands of finger-twisted hair. Rising swirls of smoke carry awaythe possibility of accomplishment.

— Heidi Fidler

When Fidler is not rearranging words on a page, she is a massage practitioner at SolSpring. She lives in Oshtemo Township.

Walk With me through milkWeed(VeSperS)

Walk with me through milkweedalong the horse path,through maple and pine woods,the ripening orchards ablaze.

Crickets, the rattle of last year’s husks,the pace of our steps —It’s the same rhythm.

Let us watch the late sunof early summer,a peach on the cusp of harvest.

— Robert Ed Post

Post teaches writing at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. His poetry has appeared in Passages North, Kansas Quarterly and Driftwood.


encore EVEntS

perForming artSPlaysSame Time Next Year — A romantic comedy about the love affair of two people who are married to others and meet once a year, 8:30 p.m. March 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, New Vic Theatre, 134 E. Vine St. 381-3328.

In the Next Room — A comedy about marriage, intimacy and a new electrical device in post-Civil War America, 8 p.m. March 1 & 2; 2 p.m. March 3, Balch Playhouse, K-College. 337-7047.

Macbeth — Western Michigan University’s theater department presents Shakespeare’s dark tragedy, 8 p.m. March 14–16, 21–23; 2 p.m. March 24, Williams Theatre, WMU. 387-6222.

My First Time — Four actors present first-person stories about first sexual experiences, 8 p.m. March 15, 16, 22, 23; 2 p.m. March 24, Fancy Pants Theatre, 246 N. Kalamazoo Mall. 599-6437.

Musicals & OperaThe Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley Jr. — Civic Youth Theatre presents a musical adaptation of the popular children’s book about a boy who wishes for adventure, 7 p.m. March 8; 1 & 4 p.m. March 9; 2 p.m. March 10; 9:30 a.m. & noon March 12 & 13; 5 p.m. March 14, Civic Auditorium, 329 S. Park St. 343-1313.

American Idiot — A musical based on Green Day’s album of the same name tells of three friends forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia, 7:30 p.m. March 26, Miller Auditorium, WMU. 387-2300.

DanceMidwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival — Wellspring Cori Terry & Dancers present this festival featuring master classes, an art exhibit and five dance concerts with original works by noted choreographers, 7:30 & 9 p.m. March 15 & 16; 3 p.m. March 17. www.midwestradfest.org. (See related article, page 34).

Noon Dance — WMU dance department presents guest artist Millicent Johnnie, a choreographer and teacher of hip-hop and African-American vernacular movement, performing with WMU dance students, noon March 22, Room 3118, Dalton Center, WMU. Free.

SymphonyCirque Musica — The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra Pops Series presents performers from Ringling Bros. and Cirque du Soleil, 8 p.m. March 9, Miller Auditorium, WMU. 349-7759.

Kalamazoo Philharmonia — An orchestra composed of Kalamazoo College students and community members will perform, 8 p.m. March 9, Dalton Theatre, K-College. 337-7070.

Pines of Rome — The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra will perform this Respighi piece as well as works by Bermel and Dvorák, 8 p.m. March 22, Miller Auditorium, WMU. 349-7759.

University Symphony Orchestra — WMU’s Bruce Uchimura will conduct this free concert, 3 p.m. March 24, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU. 387-4667.

Chamber, Jazz & BandsGilmore Rising Stars Series — Korean-born pianist Minsoo Sohn, 4 p.m. March 3, Wellspring Theater, Epic Center. 342-1166.

Guest Artist Recitals — A series of free concerts at WMU: West Point Hellcats, 7:30 p.m. March 11; pianist Hamilton Tescarollo, 7:30 p.m. March 12; Dither Electric Guitar Quartet (part of the New Sounds Festival), 7:30 p.m. March 14; tenor Nathan Munson, 7:30 p.m. March 25, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU. 387-4667.

Dalton Wed@7:30 — A series of WMU School of Music concerts: Merling Trio, March 13; Western Wind Quintet, March 20; International Contemporary Ensemble (part of the New Sounds Festival), March 27. All concerts 7:30 p.m., Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU. 387-2300.

A Soldier’s Tale — Fontana Chamber Arts and WMU School of Music present Stravinsky’s score and Kurt Vonnegut’s adaptation of a Russian folk tale, 8 p.m. March 15 & 16, Dalton Center Multimedia Room, WMU. 382-7774.

Western Invitational Jazz Festival — Featuring two concerts: jazz trumpeter Tim Hagans, 8 p.m. March 15, and the University Jazz Orchestra and the Festival Band & Combo, 7:30 p.m. March 16, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU. 387-2300.

New Sounds Festival — WMU School of Music presents a series of concerts celebrating con-temporary music: Electronic Music Midwest Mini-Festival, 2, 5 & 7:30 p.m. March 17, Dalton Center Multimedia Room; Birds on a Wire, Kyong Mee Choi & Keith Kirchoff, 7:30 p.m. March 21, Dalton Center Recital Hall; Student Composers Concerts, 7:30 p.m. April 1, Dalton Center Recital Hall, and 8 p.m. April 5, Dalton Center Lecture Hall. 387-4678.

Vocal, Opera & RadioMasterworks Concert — The Kalamazoo Singers’ spring concert features Schubert’s Mass in G and Vivaldi’s Gloria, 3 p.m. March 3, Holy Family Chapel at Nazareth, 3427 Nazareth Road.387-2300.

A Tribute to Doo Wop — A concert featuring the classic sounds of the 1950s and 1960s with Cornell Gunter’s Coasters, Bobby Hendricks’ Drifters and Larry Marshak’s Tribute to the Platters, 8 p.m. March 8, Miller Auditorium, WMU. 387-2300.

All Ears Theatre — Live radio performances for later airing on 102.1 WMUK-FM: Johnny Forrest and His Gal Pal Sue in the Dragonfly, 6 p.m. March 9; The Canterville Ghost, 6 p.m. March 23; First Baptist Church, 315 W. Michigan Ave. Free.

Vivaldi’s Voice — Early Music Michigan, under the direction of Eric Strand, presents a concert of early vocal music, 8 p.m. March 17, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 1747 W. Milham Road. 349-1045.

Gold Company Invitational Vocal Jazz Festival — A festival for high school, community college and university vocal jazz ensembles, with a concert by the WMU vocal jazz group Gold Company, 8 p.m. March 23, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU. 387-4689.

Collegium Musicum — This WMU early-music vocal ensemble will perform under the direction of Matthew Steel, 7:30 p.m. March 28, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU. 387-4715.


MiscellaneousFertile Beach – Improv troupe Crawlspace Eviction examines the foibles of the annual college retreat of Spring Break, 8 p.m. March 15 & 16, Farmers Alley Theatre, 221 Farmers Alley. crawlspacetheatre.com

Wild Kingdom’s Peter Gros — The host of the Animal Planet show will share stories, video clips and live animals with the audience, 3 p.m. March 24, Miller Auditorium, WMU. 387-2300.

ViSual artSRichmond Center for Visual Arts, WMUThe Lawrence Lithography Workshop — An exhibit of prints from the famous workshop in Lawrence, Kan., through March 22, Albertine Monroe-Brown Gallery.

Prints from the University Art Collection — Through March 22, Rose Netzorg & James Wilfred Kerr Gallery.

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, 349-7775Reflections: African American Life from the Myrna Colley-Lee Collection — Fifty works from the col-lection of this costume designer and arts patron, including paintings, works on paper, collages and fabric works, March 2 to May 26.

Stoked: Five Artists of Fire and Clay — An exhibi-tion of works from Minnesota’s Saint John’s Pottery studio by Richard Bresnahan and four of his apprentices, through April 7.

Sight and Feeling: Photographs by Ansel Adams — 23 of Adams’ photographs from the KIA collection, through May 19.

The Art of China and Japan: Selections from the Collection — Works on paper, ceramics and sculpture, through June 9.

Art & All That Jazz — Tasty treats and bever-ages served with art and music from Zion Lion, 5:30–7:30 p.m. March 9.

ARTbreak — Informal, free presentations on art-related topics: Ansel Adams, Part 2, documen-tary, March 5; Maya Lin — A Strong Clear Vision, Oscar-winning documentary on Vietnam Memo-rial designer, March 12 & 19; Cultivated: Pastels and Prints by Laurel Kuehl, artist’s talk, March 26. Guests may bring a lunch to these noon sessions.

MiscellaneousMidtown Gallery — Featured artists for March include painter Jerry Bowman and ceramist Heidi Fahrenbacher. 356 S. Kalamazoo Mall. 372-0134.

Live painting with Conrad Kaufman — Muralist and sculptor Kaufman and three other artists will turn Food Dance’s dining area into a studio for a live painting event, 5-8 p.m. March 1, Food Dance, 401 E. Michigan Ave.

Art Hop — View the works of local artists at vari-ous venues and galleries in downtown Kalamazoo, 5–9 p.m. March 1. 342-5059.

literarY eVentSKalamazoo Public Library, 553-7879 or 342-9837Amy Waldman — A special Reading Together event featuring the author of The Submission, 7–9 p.m. March 5, Kalamazoo Central High School Auditorium, 2432 N. Drake Road. Free.

Music at the Library — Artwork and performances inspired by The Submission and created by students from Education for the Arts classes, 6–8 p.m. March 1; acoustic slow jam co-sponsored by the Great Lakes Acoustic Music Association, 7–8:30 p.m. March 6; Neil Jacobs, a guitarist who fuses Gypsy, Celtic and Balkan music and more, 7–8:30 p.m. March 20, Central Library.

Classics Revisited — A discussion of Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd, 7 p.m. March 21, Central Library.

Public Art and Controversy — Members of the Kalamazoo County Public Arts Commission will speak on this topic in this Reading Together event, 7–8 p.m. March 28, Central Library.

Portage District Library, 329-4544Open for Discussion — A literary discussion of The Submission by Amy Waldman, 10:30–11:30 a.m. March 19.

Exploring Six Characters in The Submission — Sherry Ransford-Ramsdell leads a discussion of the characters in Amy Waldman’s novel, 6:30–7:30 p.m. March 21.

Truth in Fiction: A Discussion of The Submission — Edwin Martini, associate dean of WMU’s College of Arts and Sciences, will discuss how fiction lends perspective to historical events, 6:30–8 p.m. March 27.

www.sharpsmilecenter.com


Lewis Reed & Allen P.C.attorneys

Front Row: Dean S. Lewis, Richard D. Reed

Second Row: Thomas C. Richardson, James M. Marquardt, Whitney A. Kermerling, Robert C. Engels, Sheralee S. Hurwitz, Stephen M. Denenfeld, Owen D. Ramey, William A. Redmond

Third Row:Gregory G. St. Arnauld, Ronald W. Ryan, Nicholas J. Daly, Michael B. Ortega, David A. Lewis, Michael A. Shields, Michael A. Dombos

136 east michigan avenue suite 800 | kalamazoo | michigan | 49007-3947

phone: 269.388.7600 | fax: 269.349.3831 | [email protected]

www.lewisreedallen.com

MiscellaneousThe Hours — An exhibition of works by local writers and artists working with the concept of hours borrowed from medieval Books of Hours, March 1–29, Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., Suite 103A; Art Hop opening, 6–9 p.m. March 1. 373-4938. (See related article, page 35.)

Poets in Print — A free poetry reading by Tyler Mills of Chicago and Brynn Saito of San Francisco, 7 p.m. March 2, Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., Suite 103A. 373-4938.

muSeumSKalamazoo Valley Museum, 373-7990African-Americans in World War II — A photo-graphic exhibit showcasing the contributions and efforts of this group during the war years, through April 14.

Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival — Fretboard Festival Play-In Contest during Art Hop, 5–8 p.m. March 1; Fly Paper, a three-piece rock band, 7 p.m. March 22; meet instrument makers, attend work-shops and hear live performances, 11 a.m.– 6 p.m. March 23. www.fretboardfestival.com.

natureKalamazoo Nature Center, 381-1574Owl Prowl — Learn which species of owls are calling in the woods during these night hikes, 7–8 p.m. March 1 & 7.

Maple Sugar Festival — Maple treats, wagon rides and maple-syrup demonstrations at the sugar shack, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. March 16 & 17.

Small Wonders — Interactive nature stations are set up to encourage learning with your child: Maple Sugar, 10–11:30 a.m. March 19 & 30.

Boomers and Beyond — A program for adults over 50; this month focuses on common bird identification tools and techniques, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. March 26.

Kalamazoo Audubon SocietyCougars in Michigan — A presentation by Steve Chadwick, a wildlife biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 7:30 p.m. March 25, People’s Church, 1758 N. 10th St. www.kalamazooaudubon.org.

First Glance ArtistranDy BronKEma of Climax found this unique sight at the Al Sabo Preserve last fall. Bronkema, who is millwork manager for Lamar Construction in Hudsonville, is known to take his camera on hikes and travels throughout the area. He will be going to Cuba in April to photograph the people and culture of that island nation.

Do you have an image that captures the essence of living in Southwest Michigan? We invite photographers of all ages and abilities to submit their work for con-sideration as a First Glance photo. Send your photos and contact information to [email protected].

photoS WantED!

www.lewisreedallen.com


Keep up, Kalamazoo!

Don’t miss a single issue of Encore,the only magazine that spotlights the best arts, businesses, events and people of Kalamazooand Southwest Michigan.

1 year (9 issues) just $272 years (18 issues) just $53

Call 383-4433 today to have Encore magazinedelivered to your home or business!

RAD FEST (continued from page 34)

The festival is an ideal opportunity for spectators to see a plethora of modern dance in a short amount of time. The festival will feature five concerts —two on Friday evening, two on Saturday evening and one on Sun-day afternoon — at the Wellspring Theater, with seven to eight works presented at each concert within the space of an hour. Whether performed by a soloist or an entire company, each piece is 10 minutes or less. “It really makes the concerts move,” Miller says. “To see that many modern dance pieces in one performance is really exciting.” Whether it’s called modern, post-modern or contemporary, alternative dance is a de-parture from the type of dance with which many people are familiar. Known for its athleticism and gender-neutral moves such as women lifting other women, alternative dance was pioneered by such dancers as Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham. “It’s very sculptural,” says Miller. “It’s per-formed barefoot and is much more accepting of different body types.” While the festival will feature choreo-graphed pieces, there will also be pieces by improvisers — dancers who make it up as they go. Miller says that what viewers will see is really more like “structured improv,” as the dancers “know when they begin and end, but it’s the movements in between that they de-velop on the spot.” “When a dancer is very good at improv, you can’t tell it’s improvised,” she says. Other events that are part of the festival include the RAD Fest art gallery, which will show dance films by visiting artists, dance photography and dance-history items Friday and Saturday in the second-floor atrium. Miller says that the organizers are especially excited to have the costumes and set for Erick Hawkins’ “Classic Kite Tails,” a well-known modern dance piece. The festival also will feature six master classes covering a wide range of topics, in-cluding “Afro-Contemporary Dance,” taught by Vershawn Sanders, artistic director and founder of Chicago’s Red Clay Dance; “Dance Improvisation and the Five Elements,” by Mare Hieronimus of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and “Youth

©B

ell's

Bre

wer

y, I

nc.,

Com

stoc

k, M

I

Great flavor comes from deep roots.

since 1985

bellsbeer.com

372-3400 www.devisserlandscape.com

Three Generations Serving Kalamazoo

http://www.encorekalamazoo.com/subscriptions

www.devisserlandscape.com

www.bellsbeer.com


Steven M. Nitsch, MDComprehensive Plastic Surgical Care

Cosmetic & ReconstructiveBreast Surgeries

Body ContouringCosmetic & ReconstructiveFacial Improvements

Burn Care & Reconstruction

Skin Cancer Treatments

Scar RevisionBotox & Injectable Fillers

Julie PowellSkin Care Specialistwww.juliepowellskincare.com

Fraxel re:store® Laser Resurfacing

“THERMAGE” Skin Tightening

IPL Treatment of Skin Pigment &Hair Removal

Microdermabrasion, Chemical Peels,Custom Facials

Image Products, Gabriel CorrectivesProducts

LATISSEWe strive to provide a superior care experience by creating a pleasant personal setting for the finest surgical procedures.

575 W. Crosstown Parkway, Kalamazoo

269.343.5750 Toll-Free 877.995.5750 | www.parkwayps.com

ParkwayPlastic SurgeryParkway Surgery Center

Financial Advice forYou on Your Road

Through Life

157 S. Kalamazoo Mall, Suite 300, Kalamazoo, MI 49007 • 269.385.0001 • www.jeffkrossfinancial.comSecurities and Advisory Services Offered Through Commonwealth Financial Network • Member FINRA/SIPC, A Registered Investment Adviser

Jeff K. Ross

a part ofAnything but Common®

SM

MOREEXPECT

ARTS & MORETUESDAYS & FRIDAYS

7:50 am

WMUK m 102m1 FMWMUK m ORG

construction, many will be left as green spaces.

“We can sell the property to neighbors for a very reasonable price, or residents on the block can opt to create garden space for vegetables or trees and bushes and places to sit and enjoy the surroundings,” Boring says.

Galilee Baptist Church, on North Westnedge Avenue, hopes to create a serenitygardenonpropertyat430W.Paterson St., across from the church. The Land Bank Adopt-A-Lot program leases properties for use as green space and gardens.

“”When we heard that the property would be available, we thought it would be a good place for a serenity garden,” says William Roland, a church elder for outreach ministry and board chairman. “We want to make it aesthetically pleasing and a place for peaceful reflection, and members of the church will maintain the garden.”

Sofar,therehavebeen12Adopt-A-Lot leases as part of the Land Bank’s Community Garden program.

Last year Boring approached residentsinthe1500blockofEastMichigan Avenue, where there were three empty lots, and asked if they would be interested in having a garden space there. “They not only agreed but said they would love to take over the building and maintenance,” she says.

The result is the Trybal Revival Eastside Eco-Garden, with more than 100plantingsand28speciesofmostlyfood-producing trees and shrubs. Funds for the garden came from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, one of many Land Bank partners.

“The neighbors have been great partners,” Boring says.

As the Land Bank and its partners look across the Kalamazoo landscape, they see the fruits of their labors — new homes, rehabilitated homes and lush gardens where dangerous eyesores once stood — and know that they have changed the face of Kalamazoo in profound and lasting ways.

Land Bank(continued from page 16)

44 E N C O R E • A p r i l 2 0 1 2

Modern Technique” for dancers 18 and younger, taught by Pat Plasko of Kalamazoo. Miller, who is in her second year at the helm of RAD Fest, says the festival is able to attract outstanding dancers and chore-ographers because it provides a stipend to help offset the costs of travel for the visiting artists. “Not a lot of festivals do that,” she says. “We provide a very nurturing environment and give the artists a lot of respect.” In addition to funding from Wellspring, the festival receives grant funding from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, Discover Kalamazoo, the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) and the National Endow-ment for the Arts (NEA). Miller notes that those who want to attend one of the concerts should plan ahead: The 122 seats for each show sell out every year. Ticket prices are $10 per performance, $18 for an evening pass for Friday or Saturday, $35 for a festival pass providing access to all the Friday and Saturday performances; and $40 for a festival pass that includes Friday, Saturday and Sunday performances. The cost to attend the master classes is $10 per class. The public can attend the panel discussion and visit the art gallery for free.

RAD FEST COnCERTSConcerts will be presented at the Wellspring Theater, in downtown

Kalamazoo’s Epic Center, at the following times:

7:30 & 9 p.m. Friday, March 15 7:30 & 9 p.m. Saturday, March 16

3 p.m. Sunday, March 17 – Youth performances.

To order tickets or for more information call Wellspring at (269) 342-4354 or visit

www.midwestradfest.org or www.kalamazooarts.org

www.jeffkrossfinancial.com

www.langelands.com

www.parkwayps.com


In mid-December each year, all four of the VMS bands (sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, and eighth-grade jazz band) perform in the Performing Arts Center, an auditorium at Vicksburg High School with more than 1,000 seats. Stoll’s primary concern the day before the concert: “Remember to bring your instru-ments!” The kids’ concerns are more audience- focused. “I don’t like people watching me,” one boy says. “Don’t worry,” Stoll reassures him. “You’ll be with 99 of your friends.” Then she adds, “And don’t forget your instruments.” Nearly 250 students will appear on stage

that evening, playing to enthusiastic family members and friends, who will fill every seat. The sixth-graders will play three pieces, two holiday-themed songs (“Jingle Bells is really confusing,” says Sam Gearig) and a snippet of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Each section of the band also gets a chance to solo. The concert is invariably an enormous success. Stoll says that band provides valuable les-sons for youngsters, helping them develop cooperation, confidence, pride, leadership and creativity. By having so many students in band classes for all three years of middle school, Stoll gets to know not only the kids but also their families. Often children with

STRIKE UP THE BAND (continued from page 28)

problems at home will choose to tell the band instructor their troubles. Band provides a family atmosphere, says Stoll. “It’s a group they can belong to.” Stoll is proud of her sixth-grade band stu-dents even long after they’re out of middle school. Stoll lists former VMS band students now in college bands or who majored in music in college or who themselves have decided to become band directors. As for Sam Gearig, he’s positively evangel- ical about band class: “It’s a lot of fun,” he says. “I encourage other kids to do it. I highly recommend it.”

THE HOURS (continued from page 35)

One thing that has happened is that Peters and about a dozen others have created a “Suite” of 11- by 14-inch broadsides — 10 prints combining images and poetry. These prints will be exhibited at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center (KBAC) during the March 1 Art Hop, along with other art from “The Hours” participants. The “Suite” includes a prelude and postlude and eight works related to specific times of day. Some participants have created both the words and the art and done the printmaking for one of the broad-sides, while others have combined their tal-ents with those of other participants. A framed set of the broadsides will be on exhibit at the KBAC March 1-29, and an un-framed set will be auctioned off during Art Hop, with the profits going to the KBAC, which provided letterpress, papermaking and bookbinding classes through the Arts Council grant. In preparation for their work, about 15 of the artists and writers involved in “The Hours” visited the Rare Book Room at WMU’s Waldo Library in July. There, Susan Steuer (head of special collections and the Rare Book Room) showed them examples of Books of Hours and talked about the history of these books. Some of the artists also attended a Septem-ber lecture on Books of Hours by WMU art history associate professor Joyce Kubiski.

Books of Hours, which originated in Ca-tholicism, were created in medieval times to give laypeople access to the monastic tra-dition of meditation and prayer at specific times of day. Their pages are often beauti-

fully illustrated, or illuminated, and include elaborate border art. Simon Marmion’s 15th-century Book of Hours, for example, features borders with fantastical imagery of creatures that appear to be part person and part ani-mal. Inspired by these images, local artist Paul Nehring is sculpting his own versions for the “Hours” exhibit. The poetry and art from “The Hours” are featured in a book that local artist and writer

Elizabeth King has put together. Peters’ son, Austin, 20, created the art for the front and back covers. The book will be for sale during the Art Hop and again when the poets give a reading at 7 p.m. March 21 at the Kalamazoo Public Library, with proceeds going to the local Friends of Poetry group. Poet Elizabeth Kerlikowske says she doesn’t consider herself religious and at first thought “The Hours” wasn’t for her. “But doing the project helped me learn about questioning and faith,” she says. “I discovered way more than I thought was in me.” She has written a series of poems on small panels that she illustrated and placed in a box she artisti-cally decorated. The work is full of doubt and questions about God, she says, “but it has positive feelings too about the universe and the miracle of the whole thing.” Although the artists and writers involved in “The Hours” have been free to approach the project’s concept any way they want, Peters says she thinks of it as “more of a spiritual concept than a religious one.” Even so, the monastic practice of being quiet and aware of the passing of the hours is appeal-ing to her: “To become a monk, who wouldn’t want to do that? ... When you live a moment like a monk would live, you manage to slow down time. You’re present to the moment. Time slows, and you put off dying.”

"The Hours" project

is the brainchild

of artist Sydnee Peters.


WMUK

102.1 FMWMUK.ORG

w m u k ’ s n e w p u b l i c r a d i o a p p

i TUNES STORE

WHAT’S NEXT?GOOGLE PLAY

As Hartman works on the festival lineup, he is also anticipating a new addition to the Al-ready Dead family: This month the Hartmans are expecting the birth of their first child. Hartman is well aware that his priorities may have to change a bit once the baby is born, but he has no plans to halt the progress of Already Dead Tapes; he just might not get much sleep for a couple of years. Both he and Tabbia know how easy it would be to let all that they have accomplished slip away. “There are tons of tape labels out there, and you can really tell the ones that are put-ting an effort into it,” Hartman says. “It took us a while to figure out the logistics of get-ting our roles down and staying motivated. It’s also difficult trying to manage a partner-ship from two different states,” he admits. While face-to-face conversations are a rarity these days for the former roommates, they are continually online together brain-storming and mapping the future of the label. “There’s such a clear division of labor, it works pretty well,” Tabbia says. “We stay in close contact and have a lot of grace for each other when things get hectic. Because a lot of our sales and activity are web-based, the dis-tance isn’t as great of an obstacle as it might seem. One benefit of two locations is having two cities to market to and two communities of people to share the label with in person.” Despite their physical distance, Tabbia and Hartman say they are very much on the same page when it comes to the goals and running of the business, even though they don’t con-sider Already Dead to be a commercial enter-prise. “Honestly, it started as more of an art project and has since grown into something more legitimate and business-like,” Tabbia says. “With that said, I don’t like to think of Already Dead as a business because we’re not profit-driven. It has (been) and always will be a passion project for both of us.” One thing that the duo is currently passionate about is expanding the label’s repertoire into vinyl, books, magazines and visual arts.

“We’ve already got cassette and vinyl releases planned for the better part of this year, but we’re also planning on expanding into books, ‘zines and prints,” Tabbia says. “We’ve also talked to a couple different labels about potential co-releases and have sparked up a friendship with (the label) 1980 Records of Chicago.” The St. Louis, Mo., band Spelling Bee is among those that have taken advantage of Already Dead’s interest in vinyl. Its debut album, Caterwaul, was released in October as an LP. Already Dead connected with Spelling Bee after Hartman’s current band, Forget the Times, played shows in St. Louis with the group and he approached drummer Joseph Hess with the idea of releasing Spelling Bee’s music. Hess immediately liked the label’s artist-first attitude and its flexibility with the visual as-pect of the release. “Sean and Josh were both open to the minor details, as in, we wanted our LP jacket to be matte, not glossy, and when we insisted on 45 speed for our LP (an uncommon practice, as most LPs turn at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute), they were open and willing,” Hess says. Hartman and Tabbia see themselves as facilitators of art, not business owners who would change or alter music for their own benefit. “The whole intention of this is just to support these bands,” Hartman says. “They are all bands that I am really passionate about and really excited to have play, and I want to share that excitement with other people.”

For more information about Already Dead Tapes and the label’s artists, visit alreadydeadtapes.com.

ALREADY DEAD TAPES (continued from page 33)

www.wmuk.org


Bell’s Brewery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Borgess Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Bravo! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Bronson Healthcare Group . . . . . . . . . . . 3

cornerstone office Systems . . . . . . . . . 28

ctS telecom, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Dave’s Glass Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

DeMent & Marquardt, pLc . . . . . . . . . . 35

DeVisser Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

eDr restaurant Group . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

encore Magazine Subscriptions . . . . . . . . 40

farm “n Garden—the fence center . . . . . 44

farm “n Garden—the Garden center . . . . . 4

first national Bank of Michigan . . . . . . . . 13

flipse, Meyer, Allwardt . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

food Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

the Gilmore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Gilmore real estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Great Lakes chemical . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

the Great Lakes Shipping co . . . . . . . . . 22

Greenleaf Hospitality . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Greenleaf trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

HrM Innovations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Kalamazoo/Bc International Airport . . . . . 47

Kalamazoo community foundation . . . . . . 9

KnI/Southwest Michigan Imaging . . . . . . 48

Kalamazoo public Library . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Keystone community Bank . . . . . . . . . . 45

Landscape Arborist Services LLc . . . . . . . 28

Langeland family funeral Homes . . . . . . . 41

Lewis reed & Allen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Midtown Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

the Moors Golf club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

My Laundry Angel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

oakland centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

parkway plastic Surgery . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

portage printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Jeff K . ross financial . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Saffron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Sharp Smile center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Varnum Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

WMuK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

YMcA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Don’t miss an issue of Encore, Southwest Michigan’s Magazine!

Have Encore delivered to your home or office.

Subscribe today at www.encorekalamazoo.com

or call Encore at 269.383.4433

May We?May I ask you a question? What do you think of when you think of spring?

We think of color! The vivid greens of trees growing their first leaves, the softer gray-greenness of grass that’s just starting to show. We think of flowers bursting into blooms of red, yellow, blue, pink, purple, orange—and, of course, how those colors translate onto the printed page.

We also think of growth; of potential buried in a small seed; of excitement in seeing tender plants reaching toward the sun. We think of the glossy newness that seems to permeate everything, lending a brighter hue to the most subtle shades. And we think of paper, and how it’s the perfect medium in which to sow a garden of ideas and dreams.

We’re sorry if we seem to be waxing romantic, but to us, paper and ink are poetry. The quote may be: “In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” But our fancy turns to thoughts of color printing.

Call us sentimental.

1116 W Centre Avenue☎ 323-9333PortagePrinting.com

FNG All Ads 23269.indd 2 1/10/13 11:30 AM

www.farmngarden.com

www.portageprinting.com


encore thE laSt WorD

keystonebank.com

The Keystone Community Bank Christmas Club is a timed savings account that matures each year on October 25th. A minimum deposit of $1.00 is required to open the account. A daily periodic rate is applied to the principal in the account each day and is paid at maturity. Deposits cannot exceed $1,000 per month or $12,000 per year. At maturity, the account balance will be paid to another Keystone Community Bank checking or savings account. A $5.00 penalty fee plus all accrued interest may be imposed for withdrawals before maturity.

*The Annual Percentage Yield – APY is determined by an Interest Rate of 2.00%. Rate/APY is effective October 26, 2012 through October 25, 2013.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a little extra money saved? THE CHRISTMAS CLUB earns you 2.00% APY* toward future purchases like vacations, furniture, or next year’s holiday spending. You can deposit up to $1,000 a month, which will automatically transfer into your checking account in October. Save now, avoid credit card bills later.

GREENSEE SOME MORE

IN YOUR FUTURE.

(continued from page 46)

Margaret DeRitter, a regular contributor to Encore, is a freelance writer and editor with more than 30 years of newspaper and magazine experience. She’s the former Features Editor of the Kalamazoo Gazette and lives in the Westnedge Hill neighborhood. She also writes poetry and loves living in the fertile literary territory of Kalamazoo.

“No, that’s fine,” he says. I ask if he’s ever read Once Upon a River. He hasn’t. In fact, he’s never heard of it. I tell him I think he might like it, living on the river and all. He points at a structure just downstream and tells me he’s been collecting oil since the Enbridge spill. Then he invites me onto his dock and throws more pellets to dozens of little fish. “What kind are they?” I ask. “Wide-mouth bass.” “How can you tell?” “From that stripe along their side.” He walks over to another one of his three oil collectors and tells me he’s had a Kalamazoo Gazette reporter out to see the structures. “Which reporter?” I ask, and he tells me. “I know Fritz,” I say. “I worked at the Gazette for 22 years.” “Then you must know ...” he says and fires off a string of names. “I do. So how do you know all those folks?” “I used to be a politician.”

“What’s your name?” “Jerry Vander Roest.” “Oh, sure, I remember. You ran against ... “ “Lorence Wenke,” he says, supplying the name when my middle-aged brain can’t pull it in. “Yeah, yeah, I know him,” I say. I don’t mention that I remember who lost the race or that I usually vote for Democrats. And I think, Oh, man, what was I doing telling him about Once Upon a River? Margo Crane seems way too fierce for Republican tastes. As I’m wondering if he’s read any of the columns I’ve written, he says quietly, “Yeah, being a Republican, I was not that much about the environment. The oil spill kind of changed that.” Suddenly “Democrat” and “Republican” lose a little of their punch. My first im-pression was right: This guy loves the river. Maybe he would like Margo Crane after all. Maybe anything can happen when a river takes hold of you.

Have The Last WordHave a story to tell? Non-fiction, personal narratives about life in Southwest Michigan

are sought for The Last Word. Stories should be no more than 1,000 words. Submit your story and contact information to [email protected].

www.keystonebank.com


thE laSt WorD encore


Safe. Simple. Convenient.

FLY HOME. BE HOME.FLY HOME. BE HOME.

Hey. We just landed.Be home in 10 minutes.

I wrestle my kayak from the roof of my Rav4 and slide it gently into the Kalamazoo. I’ve parked at the end of a dead-end street, a quarter-mile down from the Galesburg bridge. No one seems to be home at the nearest house. As I set off upstream, the day is sunny and the current strong. I can see the rising angle of the water, riffles cascading over stones. I dig in hard and make it through to calmer waters. Cars pass over the bridge as I move forward in the shad-ows and echoes. In half a mile or so, the sounds of traffic recede and the world opens up into wildness. A kingfisher races by with a stuttering squawk. A heron stands at the water’s edge, then rises slowly in sharp silhouette. A carp shoots past, its top fin slicing the surface. That’s one of the things I love about paddling: You never know what you might see or hear. I discovered wilderness canoeing about 20 years ago, after a waiter in Toronto recommended Algonquin Provincial Park. One day my girl-friend and I drove from our campsite to Canoe Lake to rent a boat for a few hours. Getting out onto the dock as we arrived was a young woman with her hair tied back, a bandanna around her neck and the dirtiest clothes I’d ever seen. She’d been canoeing for a week. I wanted to be her. We went back the next June for a five-day adventure. We saw moose. We heard loons. We listened to the drip of our paddles at midnight as wolves howled in the distance. We came home with purple bruises from black-fly bites and a crazy hunger to return. We did return a few years later for an eight-day trip, but in be-tween, we discovered Michigan rivers. We watched white-tailed deer run at dusk along the banks of the White. We watched salmon flip their bodies into the air above the Pere Marquette. I was hooked.

But it took me another 20 years to get my own boat. That’s how I’m out here on the Ka-lamazoo. As I leave civilization behind, I see two plastic chairs sitting a companionable distance apart on the riverbank. I imagine their owners casting lines and tipping a few beers. Farther along, a green rowboat is tucked at the river’s edge. I half expect to see Margo Crane emerging from the trees. She’s the main character in the novel Once Upon a River, by Comstock author Bonnie Jo Campbell. In search of her mother after her fa-

ther dies, 16-year-old Margo takes off in a row-boat up a fictional river that feeds into the Kalamazoo.

“When Margo swam, she swallowed minnows alive and felt the Stark River move inside her,” Campbell writes. That’s how I feel about rivers: They move inside me. In the fall especially, I’m compelled to leave my desk and heed their call. I’m not as tough as Margo, but I’d like to be. I like knowing I can maneuver my boat onto the car on my own. I like feeling new muscles forming as I fight the current. The creaking of my knees as I get in and out of my kayak, though, makes me feel more like the Ancient Mariner. On this fall day, I make it about a mile and a half before my arms get tired. I drag my paddle in the river to turn downstream, and I’m back at my starting point in less than half the time it took to go up. As I move toward shore, I see a car pull into the driveway of the nearby house. I’m strapping my kayak to my car when a white-haired man emerges from the house. He smiles as he walks toward the river, then reaches into a bag and throws pellets into the water. When he turns around, I say, “I hope you don’t mind that I put in here.”

A river’s call by Ma

by Margaret Deritter

SePT eMBeR 2012 EncorE | 47Safe. Simple. Convenient.

FLY HOME. BE HOME.FLY HOME. FLY HOME. BE HOME.BE HOME.FLY HOME. BE HOME.

Hey. We just landed.Be home in 10 minutes.

www.azoairport.com

KNI • 1700 Gull Road • Kalamazoo, MI 49048 • 269.342.1099 • www.kniimaging.com

Keep your options open.Your physician has powerful tools to provide you with medical images.

Even an Olympic swimmer with a 7-foot arm spancan stretch out in KNI’s high-field open magnet.

MRI patients who need more room, who feel uneasy in tight spaces, or who need specialty exams for orthopedic procedures often find comfort in high-field open magnets.

KNI partners with Borgess to provide the most powerful and versatile medical imaging equipment available in Southwest Michigan. Working with Premier Radiology, KNI has the medical expertise to provide your physician withthe test results you need.

KNI will continue to introduce area physicians to new developments in breast imaging, cardiac imaging, neuroimaging, orthopedic imaging and functional imaging.

So, when medical imaging is important to you or your family, learn more about your options at www.kniimaging. com.

www.kniimaging.com

Encore March 2013

Documents

Transcript of Encore March 2013