Student Animators and the Conway Symphony Orchestra’s Peer Gynt

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By Scott Meador, Professor of Art »

Time-Based Media students collaborated with Israel “Izzy” Getzof, conductor of the Conway Symphony Orchestra (CSO), to create animations that played along with the CSO’s performance of Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite no. 1 on October 29th, 2023. The students learned some background on Henrik Ibsen’s play “Peer Gynt” and Greig’s accompanying music. They then paired up based on the pieces they connected with the most. As a pair, they decided on the content and visual style for their animations and spent four weeks learning techniques and creating the work. The animators were:

  • Morning Mood: Isaiah Merriwether, Nic Miles
  • Aase’s Death: Jaxton Johnson, Yudai Sakurai
  • Anitra’s Dance: Len Adair, Bruce White
  • In the Hall of the Mountain King: Avery Moore, Scott Meador

Before each movement, Chris Fritzges, Associate Professor of Theatre, performed text from the play. The performance marks the first CSO show in the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts and the first collaboration between all three residents of the Windgate Center: CSO (Music), Art & Design, and Theatre, in the same production.

Frame from Morning Mood by Isaiah Merriwether, Nic Miles

Frame from Morning Mood by Isaiah Merriwether, Nic Miles

Frame from Morning Mood by Isaiah Merriwether, Nic Miles

Frame from Morning Mood by Isaiah Merriwether, Nic Miles

Frame from Aase’s Death by Jaxton Johnson, Yudai Sakurai

Frame from Aase’s Death by Jaxton Johnson, Yudai Sakurai

Frame from Aase’s Death by Jaxton Johnson, Yudai Sakurai

Frame from Aase’s Death by Jaxton Johnson, Yudai Sakurai

Frame from Anitra’s Dance by Len Adair, Bruce White

Frame from Anitra’s Dance by Len Adair, Bruce White

Frame from In the Hall of the Mountain King by Avery Moore, Scott Meador

Frame from In the Hall of the Mountain King by Avery Moore, Scott Meador

Frame from In the Hall of the Mountain King by Avery Moore, Scott Meador

Frame from In the Hall of the Mountain King by Avery Moore, Scott Meador

Photo of the CSO performance of Aase’s Death from the Concert Hall Control Booth by Scott Meador

Photo of the CSO performance of Aase’s Death from the Concert Hall Control Booth by Scott Meador