Improv concert celebrates artists

On Thursday, Mar. 3, the Dance Program showcased an improvisational music performance by affiliate artists Michael Chorney and Ron Rost in the Dance Theatre. The duo, known as “The Miscellaneous Regulars,” celebrated their 25 years at the College by demonstrating their musical prowess, performing an hour-long improvisational piece using a wide and eccentric variety of instruments.

The duo’s instruments ranged from the traditional to the antique to the bizarre. Chorney played guitar and baritone saxophone, while Rost displayed his talent playing drums, chimes, gongs, piano, a 1970s synthesizer and a strange piano-harmonica hybrid called a melodica, to name a few.

The performance consisted of a single improvisational piece composed of various movements featuring different instruments; the musicians did not stop once for either applause or rest. Chorney’s choppy, eerie guitar and Rost’s stark, off-beat drumming started off the performance with an eerie vibe. The atmosphere then took a turn for the mystical as Rost implemented a gong and chimes, with Chorney still plucking haphazardly away at the guitar. Following this introduction was a bit of experimental piano playing, a segment featuring the heavy beats and drones of a 40-year-old synthesizer, a humorous “battle” between Rost’s tuba and Chorney’s sax and a finale featuring a melodica solo to finish out the hour-long improvisational piece. Throughout the performance, the lighting would change and shift as each ‘movement’ came and went, creating an ambiance that suited the current mood of the improvisational music.

The sounds produced from the combination of these varied instruments were oftentimes discordant yet oddly soothing. For an improvisational piece, the notes flowed eerily well together — a testament to the two musicians’ skill and multifaceted talent.

Chorney and Rost have accompanied dance classes, choreographed, performed with faculty and students, and co-taught the bi-annual Performance Improvisation course for 25 years. As part-time staff, they were often budgeted as “Miscellaneous Regulars” on the staff roll. While the title has since disappeared, the musicians remain, and this concert was held to celebrate their 25 years of contribution to the College’s Dance Program and other music projects.