UIndy music faculty put on a new type of performance, building off of a popular singer’s recent appearance in Indianapolis.
As part of their Faculty Artist Concert Series, Associate Adjunct Professor Terence Mayhue said he took note of Taylor Swift’s Nov. 1-3 concerts in Indianapolis, and wanted to reimagine her music for one the faculty performances. The Nov. 4 faculty concert aligned well with the Monday after “Taylor Swift Weekend,” Mayhue said, so it was the perfect time to piggyback off her presence in the city to try something new with the series.
“Normally, our Artist Series are a little bit more classical-oriented,” Mayhue said. “We will have commercial ensembles, but we don’t ever do anything that’s a pop band or pop stuff. Taylor Swift is definitely full on pop literature, … It’s definitely new, and we’re trying to reimagine everything that she did.”
Butler University and Marian University Adjunct Professor Chelsea Hughey played drums, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra member Mark Ortwein played saxophone, Adjunct Faculty Charles Platz played guitar, community member Josh Towensend played bass, Adjunct faculty Erin Benedict sang, Mayhue played a variety of different instruments and community member and wife of Mayhue, Jeannie Mayhue, sang as well as announced. Platz said the idea to rework popular Taylor Swift songs across different genres of music was the mastermind of Terence Mayhue, who has been working in higher education for 27 years. Mayhue transformed Swift’s songs, like “Welcome to New York” into an Irish jig, “Blank Space” into Afro-Cuban jazz and more.
“[Mayhue is] one of those creative people that can hear something and take it somewhere else where you didn’t expect it to go, and it works and fits well,” Platz said. “He’s got such a diverse approach and background with music. He can hear all of these influences and how we arrange the music. He put the music in front of me, and I played it. How it sounded was all Terence.”
Arranging different types of music is one of the larger tasks of Mayhue’s job, he said. He arranges all the music for the Latin Jazz Ensembles, as well as some of the Faculty Artist Concerts. The process involves a lot of experimentation and time to see what fits well, Mayhue said, and he is always on the search for a fresh take on things.
“I’m just interested in finding creative ways to present something that people have not heard before,” Mayhue said. “It takes a while, you know, you just gotta sit there and plunk around for a while, just to kind of find out what does and does not work. So hopefully these worked out.”
Having at least one concert that is a little more on the raw, rock ’n’ roll side of things is something Mayhue said he wants to experiment with more throughout the year. There will always be an expression of his love and appreciation for classical orchestras and beautiful arias, he said, but finding a different audience for the same concert series is a goal for him.
Both Platz and Mayhue encourage students to take part in the music department on campus. They said music classes can be taken as electives, and students can take lessons from professionals. A lot of classes are entry level, Mayhue said, and can be used to explore creativity and find community and fellowship on campus.
“I would encourage anybody to come check it out,” Mayhue said. “You don’t have to be a [music] major to have major fun. We’ve got plenty of opportunities to participate.”
