Arts

Jasper String Quartet of Rice University in Houston won the $5,000 grand prize in the third annual Plowman Chamber Music Competition. The third annual Plowman, which began Friday, attracted 26 ensembles representing 20 universities from across the country.

Members of the Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe reveal their bruised and swollen hands after a demonstration of traditional Japanese puppetry. The strings and pulleys used to manipulate the puppets’ limbs cause visible wear and tear on their skin.

“They can be kind of hard to manipulate for 40 minutes on end when you’re just holding it up with one arm,” said troupe member and MU senior Brett Windhausen.

A blank sheet of paper waits for Jerry Thompson’s wet paintbrush in a neatly organized studio built above his garage. In two hours, the white paper transforms into a watercolor painting of a foggy pasture scene infused with light and and color.

The widely popular video game Guitar Hero has spurred tournaments, been featured on TV and given many the chance to feel what it’s like to be a rock star. But for guitar players, the game has a slightly different draw.

Singer-songwriter Samuel Combs was traveling throughout New Zealand and working at various organic farms in September when he realized he wanted to devote more time to growing as an artist. Earlier in the year he had met Lizzie West, co-founder of Holy Road Tours Union, and learned about the Holy Road House in Columbia, that serves as a boarding house for developing artists who need space to further explore their craft. Wanting ample time to perfect his music, Combs moved to Columbia in January and later became the Holy Road Tours Union tour director.

As the candles are blown out for composer Samuel Adler’s 80th birthday this month, he will be celebrating the landmark in the same fashion in which he has lived his entire life: by dedicating his time and energy to the composition of American music and the education of music students.

On Monday, Adler will visit MU at the invitation of the Esterhazy Quartet, a string ensemble that will perform four of his compositions in honor of the occasion. On Tuesday, Adler will give a free master class, open to the public, that will feature the work of MU student composers.