Thursday, March 6, 1997
MUSIC:
University chorus, local enthusiasts play under direction of
charismatic UCLA conductorBy Jammie Salagubang
Daily Bruin Contributor
"Poppa Haydn’s dead and gone, but his spirit lingers on …" No,
this is not a seance chant, but an actual lyric from Haydn’s
"Surprise Symphony."
On Sunday, the UCLA University Chorus, the Westwood United
Methodist Church Chancel Choir and the Colburn School Orchestra
will try to breathe new life into the composer’s spirit when they
perform at the Westwood United Methodist Church. Richard Rintoul, a
doctoral candidate for conducting, will direct all three groups in
an all-Haydn program.
"Haydn works really well with the voices that I have and the
orchestra, in terms of level and difficulty," Rintoul says. "It
forces them to do about as much as they can do right now."
Rintoul also decided to do an all-Haydn program because of the
musical content. He especially admires the "Lord Nelson Mass",
which will put to good use the Westwood United Methodist’s organ,
the second-largest in Los Angeles.
"It’s (the Lord Nelson Mass) probably the greatest work (Haydn)
ever wrote. You’ve got a huge range of emotions," Rintoul says. "It
can be outrageously happy, serenely beautiful and even ugly."
The conducting bug bit Rintoul when he was a junior in high
school. He cajoled his high school music conductor into letting him
direct the orchestra because he didn’t like the way the teacher was
doing it. As a senior, he conducted the high school orchestra and
choir.
"It’s one of those things that I think is fatal. You get bitten
by this bug and that’s the end. You’re doomed to be a conductor,"
Rintoul laughs.
Rintoul learned from Leonard Bernstein that one should try to
get into the soul of the music and bring life experiences to it. He
teaches this lesson to his students as well.
"He (Rintoul) tells us what was happening at the time the
composer was writing this music and what the composer had in mind,"
says Tim Raposa, a third-year anthropology major and tenor in the
chorus. "He wants us to reflect that in our singing, not just
getting the notes or the pitches or the durations of the notes, but
the feeling and the intensity."
This ability to reach his students is quite a feat, considering
Rintoul did not originally want to be a music major; he wanted to
be a lawyer. But Rintoul decided that he couldn’t live without
music.
"A friend of mine told me, ‘The only reason one should go into
music is that if it is so important in life that if it were taken
away, it (life) would die."
Rintoul obviously agreed and has been active in the music
community ever since, playing the viola professionally, working on
commercials and even playing for KISS’s latest album.
Rintoul has been conducting professionally for 17 years, but
only started directing the UCLA University Chorus this past Fall
quarter. He has mostly worked with orchestras, so leading the
chorus was a new experience for him. "(The chorus) teaches me as
much as I teach them," Rintoul says.
"It’s really nice to just get together an hour or two a week and
not have to do homework or not have to prepare anything," Raposa
says. "The best thing about being in chorus, I think, is the social
aspect. You get to meet people from all different majors."
In fact, most people in the the 81-member chorus are not music
majors, but regular students just interested in singing and having
a good time  yet they still garner high praise.
Donald Neuen, a professor of conducting and director of choral
activities says, "At UCLA, the University Chorus, being our second
choir, is very close in quality to the UCLA Chorale."
But to Rintoul, success is secondary to the actual process of
making music. "I’m going to die conducting," Rintoul jokes.
MUSIC: The UCLA University Chorus, the Westwood Methodist Church
Chancel Choir and the Colburn School Orchestra will play at 7:30
p.m. at the Westwood United Methodist Church Sunday. Suggested
donation: $15 general, $10 students. For more information, call
(310) 641-2645.