Daily Iowan Video

I happened to notice that one of the members of our class appeared in a Daily Iowan video and I thought that I would share it here. Look for Jonathan at the very beginning and end of this video. Congratulations Jon!

Fountains of Rome

This popular piece written by Respighi is a calming piece with occasional dramatic moments, much like you'd expect when viewing the fountains of Rome. The gentle release of water as it runs down the many stone fountains was a common theme, though this all changed as the fountains become more complex. Poseidon, the god of the sea and earthquakes, has his special moment in the piece. We hear his enormous power, making me visualize harsh waves of the ocean crashing into the nearby rocks of a cliff. The complex architecture of the fountains closer to the end is mighty, much like the Romans were.

But what Respighi best presented to me is the depth and beauty of public art. Not only does it make our cities more visually appealing, it's also a reflection of one's culture and offers inspiration to many. Above is a picture from the Fountains of Rome video that I find outstanding. Below I also included one of my favorite styles of art; dark yet beautiful, and full of emotion and meaning. (Photo credit to Tracy Belle, a family friend who also painted these)

Why did I take this class?

There are a couple of reasons why I took this class…

Reason 1: I really love music. Music is a huge part of my life. I love to listen and play all the time. I have played violin so far for 10 years.

Reason 2: When I went to sign up for the non-audition class here it ended up overlapping with other things that I had, so I could not sign up for it. So, I still wanted to sign up for a music class. This leads to reason 3.

Reason 3: When I was browsing the first year seminars, I saw a class with the name “Music Gone Wild” I saw the name and thought it was awesome and saw it was about classical music and was interested, so I took it.

Overall so far this class is really great. I get to come to class and listen to classical music-some I have heard before and some I have not. It’s also awesome because I get credit for going to a concert or recital which is something I would do regardless of whether or not I was in this class. I have enjoyed it so far and am looking forward to what is to come.