A woman danced fluidly at the back of the room. A teenage boy grooved in his seat. A three-person band performed passionately on stage as music flowed from their fingers and vocal chords. Outside on the campus of the Wayne County Fairgrounds it was cold and damp, but inside the heat was turned up.
Wooster Jam 2012, presented by The College of Wooster, was a multimedia festival lasting from Friday, April 20 to Saturday, April 21. It was simultaneously a celebration of the end of the semester for the students while it was a celebration of music and the arts for all.
The music stylings ranged from upbeat rap to scaled-down jazz. On Saturday afternoon, there was also a choral competition for a cappella groups called Voicefest.
I really enjoyed the choral competition. The a cappella music, it was really sweet. Very nice, Bryan Rucinski said, acknowledging that this was his first time at Wooster Jam. This was the second year for the festival to take place. Rucinski added that he would like to come back every year. Its really a lot larger and more diverse: meeting music and different types of people. Its broader and bigger than I expected. I thought it was going to be in one building but its kind of a campus.
Accomplished guitarist Andy Cary was also there with his Wooster jazz ensemble called Standard Time Jazz. He was there last year. You perform as much as you can, it brings you up: your level of musicianship. He loves performing in front of audiences, with his bands music ranging from swing to Latin material.
Eric and I started the band. We just got together. He was teaching [my daughter] Addy clarinet and he was interested in jazz. We got together and played a little bit and it just turned into something, said Cary, as he explained how he and Eric Fairhurst (saxophone) initially met. The other two band members, Ed Rindfleisch (bass) and Dennis Bartelheim (drums), joined soon after. Cary had been with Standard Time Jazz for 10 years.
Their schedule and music can be viewed at http://www.standardtime-jazz.net. If you want to catch us this summer, were playing a lot of places, Cary added.
Not only adults and seasoned professionals performed at Wooster Jam. Brandy Kay Riha and D.R. Haught had traveled from Ashland University together.
I performed with my band last year, the Unsung Heroes, and they sent a flyer to the music department, Haught said, as he explained what had interested him this time around. I read that they were looking for artists. Riha added, We put an application in and got it.
Riha, a vocalist, and Haught, a guitarist, have been playing together since last fall. They are both music majors; Riha, a junior in music performance and theory while Haught, a freshman, is in music education.
I think its an awesome experience. To perform in multiple venues we have a really good variety of musicians, Riha said, reflecting on Wooster Jams various talented individuals. Haught agreed. Its really great that [Wooster] put this together because theres not really a musical venue. Its a place for people to go to get their art out. I like it.
The weather for Wooster Jam was almost as diverse as the music played there on the Wayne County Fairgrounds. But it did not lessen the atmosphere of warmth that surrounded all who attended.
Bryan Rucinski had this observation to add: It brought sunshine to a rainy day.
