INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / MARCH 27, 1990

 

 

 

Professional orchestra, soloists team up with

College choir

Orchestra and professional soloists
are teaming up with the Douglas
College Choral Society to perform
Handel’s sacred drama, Judas Mac-

A upcoming presentation of one
of Handel's best works will be

a musical first for Douglas College.
Members of the CBC Vancouver

 

College theatre accessible to
hard of hearing

Performances held in the Douglas College Performing Arts Theatre in
New Westminster are now fully accessible to people who are hard of hearing.

Through a grant from the Ministry of Advanced Education and Job
Training, a "loop" system has been installed in the College theatre which
directly transmits the sounds on stage to people in the audience with special-
ly equipped hearing aids.

The loop system means people who are hard of hearing can enjoy cul-
tural events, including concerts and theatre productions like A Midsummer
Night’s Dream which runs until April 1.

Hearing aids are not selective about sounds they pick up, according to
Rob Linschoten, manager of the College’s Instructional Media Services
Department.

"So in productions like A Midsummer Night's Dream, people who are hard
of hearing would have a difficult time distinguishing from dialogue and
sound effects," he says.

Setting up the loop system involved running a system of wires around
the periphery of the theatre, and "constructing a large antennae, that basical-
ly covers or sends signals throughout the entire theatre," Linschoten ex-
plains.

Theatregoers who are hard of hearing can switch on their hearing aids to
the "loop" function, enabling them to hear what is coming through the PA
system, or anything else that is specifically selected for the hearing-impaired
listeners, Linschoten says.

"We can essentially send any sort of sound or combination of sounds
through the loop system."

With the loop system in place, people who are hard of hearing will be
able to fully enjoy ail theatre productions. "That’s important because the
audio is as important as the visual in a theatre production," he adds.

Marilyn Dahl, President of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Society, says
the new system is good news for people with hearing impairments.

"I am very pleased to learn of the installation of this listening system and
congratulate Douglas College on taking this step forward in providing ac-
cess for the hearing disabled as well as access for other disabilities," Dahl
says.
"I am just delighted to learn that this loop system has been installed, as it
will mean that hard of hearing people at last can begin to participate in cul-
tural events within the College." @

cabaeus. “We are the only college-
based choir in the lower mainland
using a professional orchestra,” says
director, Tatsuo Hoshina.

The opportunity to perform
with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra
is an enjoyable challenge, says
Hoshina. "It certainly adds a great
deal to our performances, because
we have to match their expertise. It
is very challenging for us, and it al-
lows the Douglas College Choral
Society to gain a higher profile."

The Judas Maccabaeus piece is
rarely performed, says Hoshina, but
when Handel wrote it in 1745, it was
a bigger success than his well-
known piece Messiah.

"Judas Maccabaeus is one of
Handel’s great oratorios, which is
like a sacred text without theatre,"
says Hoshina. "It’s based on the
story of a tribe of Israelites overcom-
ing an invasion of Syrians."

Soloists in the show include
soprano Fiona Blackburn and alto
Bonnie Dodds of Coquitlam, tenor
David Meek and bass Lee Jamieson
of White Rock. Douglas College
Music Instructor John Glofcheskie
will play harpsichord, and Ian
Hampton will play continuo cello.
Hoshina says members of the
Douglas College Chorus come from
Burnaby, New Westminster, Rich-
mond and many other parts of the
lower mainland.

Judas Maccabaeus will be per-
formed on Saturday, April 7, and
Sunday, April 8, 1990, at 8:00 P.M. in
the Performing Arts Theatre. Tickets
are available at the Douglas College
Bookstore, or by calling the Douglas
College Box Office at 527-5488
(General admission $10, Seniors /Stu-
dents $8. Visa & MasterCard ac-
cepted). Tickets are also available at
the door. @

BRERA SoS RMN A PRs RPS TGS ERIS DS ET LR AACE OT

 

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