Performance to salute end
of semester
By Sarah Szczepanski
Assistant
Features Editor
It took Frank Sinatra and a karaoke machine, but
Kris Gibson, a trumpeter in the American Music Review, is finally showcasing
his vocal talent in his last performance at Purdue.
Gibson, a senior in the Schools of Engineering,
is part of the Stagedoor Spectacular, a free performance designed to
salute the end of the school semester. The performance is at 8 p.m.
tonight in Loeb Playhouse and is sponsored by the American Music Review.
Gibson usually plays the trumpet, but after traveling
to Tucson, Ariz., last year with the Boiler Brass Band to the Men's
NCAA Basketball Tournament, his vocal talents were discovered.
A former Golden Girl invited the band into her
home, a karaoke machine was set up and Gibson sang his first piece —
a song by Frank Sinatra.
"I was a closet singer before that,"
said Gibson, a fan of blues music.
Bill Kisinger, the director of the American Music
Review and Boiler Brass Band, was so impressed with Gibson’s voice
that he convinced Gibson to perform solos with the big band.
"I thought if I didn’t sound that bad,
maybe I’d try it again," Gibson said.
Gibson, who has been also been a member of the
marching and jazz bands, said singing is a lot different than playing
the trumpet, where he plays with a lot of improvisation.
"It takes a lot of memorizing," Gibson
said. "I’m not used to memorizing so much. I get pretty nervous
that I will forget words or I will come in at the wrong time."
Gibson is not the only senior performing something
different in the Stagedoor Spectacular tonight. The American Music Review
has added a lot of vocalists to the program. It’s like a jazz band
with singers, said Kisinger.
Fritz Muehlausen, a singer for American Music Review,
will sing an a cappella number solo. Performing "Thinking,"
written by singer Bobby McFerrin, Muehlausen will have to vocalize between
different voice ranges.
Singers will be featured in six pieces, and in
addition, other productions such as tap dancing will be included in
the 1 hour, 15 minute performance.
Kisinger stresses that the show will offer people
performing in a combination of ways with an assortment of songs.
"If you don’t like one tune, you might
like the next," he said.
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