Edward Schmieder conducts as Luiza Borac plays piano during a rehearsal in Hannon Theater at Mount Saint Mary's College in Brentwood for the upcoming iPalpiti Festival. (Anne Cusack, Los Angeles Times / July 18, 2010)

iPalpiti’s world of talent

The Eduard Schmieder-powered festival spotlighting international musicians builds toward a showcase concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall

By Matthew Erikson, Special to the Los Angeles Times

July 18, 2010

To the uninitiated, the name “iPalpiti” might conjure up a new line of Apple products. For those most familiar with the artist foundation and two-week music festival of the same name based in Los Angeles, iPalpiti is about spotlighting international talent (mostly string musicians from their late teens to early 30s) and presenting those players in a broad and creative range of musical combinations and repertoire.

Now in its 13th year, iPalpiti has also become a respected fixture in L.A.’s summer musical calendar with public performances throughout the city and in Beverly Hills. On Saturday, the festival culminates with its annual showcase concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall, featuring the iPalpiti Orchestra and guest soloists.

Read more at here.

Boyer College of Music and Dance associate professor John Douglas lost his battle with cancer this week. He was 54

Read the full obituary here.

Funded by the William Penn Foundation, MPIP promotes regional thinking about metropolitan Philadelphia’s most important challenges by illuminating conditions and trends in the nine-county region (defined as the central cities of Philadelphia and Camden along with the Pennsylvania counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery, and the New Jersey counties of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem).

Because one of the goals of MPIP is to inform policy conversations about improving quality of life in the region, this year’s report begins with a section that maps changes in three recession-related indicators–Job Loss, Food Stamps and Foreclosures–using legislative boundaries to portray patterns across the region.

Additionally, most sections of the report also show how greater Philadelphia ranks in comparison with eight other metropolitan areas.

For more information, please visit MPIP’s website (www.temple.edu/mpip) to make free use of MetroPhilaMapper, a web resource that allows users to easily find data about all communities in the region, to view the information displayed in charts, tables and maps, and to compare data that used to be scattered across multiple sources.

–Kim Fischer

Once you’ve got the building up, someone has to make sure the daily operations run smoothly, right? It seems that architecture isn’t just about drafting and design anymore. The degree was designed in response to the growing and lucrative field of facilities management, which has evolved from building maintenance and janitorial services to a more complex profession involving real estate and capital asset development and management.

The four year Bachelor of Science in Facility Management was  developed in collaboration with the Fox School of Business and Management.  The first  two years of the  program are common to the BS Architecture and the BS Architectural Preservation.

Is this indicative of a new trend in the architecture schools across the country ? Stay tuned to find out.

J. Burton

Students from Temple University’s Japan campus have just completed a project that epitomizes the nature of 21st century collaboration.

A 20-person team based at TUJ spent four months working with Philadelphia-based indie rap artist Legrand to create a music video for his single “Virtual Love.”

Launched today on YouTube, the one-shot video focuses solely on a computer screen, as a mouse arrow navigates through dozens of web, multimedia and social media applications in synch with the song’s hip hop beat.

The TUJ students’ artistic talents are on display at every turn. At one point, a pencil sketch of Legrand becomes part of his virtual avatar during a Second Life concert. Social media connections such as Tweets from Kanye West, Skype calls from Andre 3000 of Outkast and shout-outs from popular YouTube videographers are layered on screen.

The video demonstrates how technology enables cost-effective collaborations where everybody wins: Legrand can boast a creative and attention-grabbing showcase, the students receive real experience in producing a video for a professional artist and viewers are treated to an entertaining and innovative music video.
–Kyle Bagenstose

New study shows that music therapy may assist in the recovery of stroke patients

Music therapy  may help to improve movement in stroke patients, according to a systematic review by Temple researchers published in the Cochrane Library.

The results suggest that rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) may be beneficial for improving gait parameters in stroke patients, including gait velocity, cadence, stride length and gait symmetry.

This is the third music therapy study developed by researchers in Temple’s Arts and Qualtiy of Life Center to be included in the Chocrane Library,  an international network of people helping healthcare providers, policy makers, patients,  make well-informed decisions about human health care by preparing, updating and promoting the accessibility of Cochrane Reviews.

To read the study visit The Cochrane Library online.

- Jazmyn Burton

In the piece, “Global Brands Contend With Appreciation for the Local,” Simon contends that while global brands are a powerful phenomenon, just as powerful is the consumer push back against the global brands in the form of rebellion against sameness.

According to Simon, the rapid spread of global brands around the world raises the value of the unique and the locally-made product.  He concludes that the local and global may be inextricably intertwined.

Bryant Simon is the director of the American Studies program at Temple University and the author of Everything but the Coffee: Learning About America From Starbucks.

To listen to Simon discuss Starbucks and his recent book:

–Kim Fischer

One obstacle is the perception that addicts get what they deserve and the only way to treat addiction is abstinence. Another obstacle: Politicians don’t want to be seen as being seen as soft on crime. And even if they support the idea, with state budgets under a crunch, treatment can start to look expendable.

Steven Belenko, a professor of criminal justice at Temple, says people who work in prisons don’t necessarily think that way: “Correctional professionals recognize the importance of these types of services,” Belenko said.

To read more about this topic and what Belenko has to say, check out Newsweek’s The Case for Treating Drug Addicts in Prison

–Kim Fischer

Traditional Japanese wood carvings (shown above) by Yasujiro Yamakawa (1865-1941) were recently discovered in a collection acquired by Temple’s Anthropology Laboratory in 2004 from the former Philadelphia Commercial Museum.

Existing creations of Yamakawa are rare today, but highly admired by connoisseurs of Japanese dolls and crafts for their unique quality. These particular pieces are now in Tokyo being restored and displayed in celebration of Yamakawa’s work.

The Commercial Museum held items exhibited worldwide in various world’s fairs, including the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, and the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. It’s buildings, later part of the old Philadelphia Civic Center and since torn down, were first built for the National Export Exhibition of 1899.

By the turn of the 20th century, the Philadelphia Commercial Museum was among the biggest museums of any kind in the nation.  It functioned both as a popular destination for locals and tourists, and as a valuable resource for American businessmen wanting to learn more about foreign trade and economics in order to expand to overseas markets.

As the great age of the world’s fairs came to a close in the 1920s, the original mission of the museum became less and less relevant.

When the city of Philadelphia recently dispersed the remainder of the museum’s artifacts, various groups and universities were invited to add items to their own collections. The Yamakura dolls are among a number of unique pieces acquired by Temple’s Anthropology lab.

–Kim Fischer