The physics involved in creating
musical notes from major instrument families will be featured in a
special educational program on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 7 p.m. in the
Hatfield Hall Theater at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
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| Steven Prescott is shown directing the
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Jazz Ensemble earlier this year. |
The program is free and open to the
public. It is sponsored by the Wilkison Meeks Endowment and organized by
Rose-Hulman’s Department of Physics and Optical Engineering. No advance
tickets are necessary.
The scientific basis of music is
the theme of the evening. All musical instruments rely on resonance for
pitch selection and amplification. The nature of these resonances will
be demonstrated for string instruments, woodwinds, brasses and
percussion instruments.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College’s Jazz Ensemble, directed by Steven
Prescott, will provide sample performances on each instrument. Uwe J.
Hansen, professor emeritus of physics at Indiana State University, will
provide insight into the instruments’ characteristic tone qualities.
The program will be capped with a
short performance by the jazz ensemble –- combining all of the musical
resonances into one arrangement.
Hansen has done extensive research
in musical acoustics, is a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA),
has served as chair of the ASA technical committee for musical
acoustics, and has made several presentations on acoustics at
international conferences. He was president of the Indiana Academy of
Science in 2005 and currently is the executive director of Central
States Universities Inc., a consortium of universities in the Midwest of
which Rose-Hulman and ISU are members. Hansen earned his doctorate
degree in physics from Brigham Young University, taught physics and
mathematics at ISU, and served as an adjunct faculty in physics at
Rose-Hulman.
Prescott, assistant professor and
instrumental conductor at SMWC, specializes in teaching woodwinds and is
the utility clarinetist with the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra. He is
also a member of the Indiana State University Faculty Winds, the
Philharmonia a Vent ensemble and International Clarinet Society, has
performed with the Chicago-based MAVerick Ensemble, and is an active
soloist and chamber music performer. Prescott is currently studying for
a doctorate in music arts at the University of Illinois.
The Wilkison Meeks Endowment was
established to honor Wilkison “Bill” Meeks, who taught physics at
Rose-Hulman for more than 27 years before his death in 2001. He was a
specialist and writer in the field of acoustics, served as chair of
Rose-Hulman’s physics department, was a member of the American Physical
Society, and was a 50-year member of Sigma Xi Honorary Science
Fraternity.
