Cando native releases album of praise music - Grand Forks Herald

Posted: 22 Dec 2020 12:00 AM PST

"I'd written some stuff before, but never as a project," said Belzer, a Cando, N.D., native who still has family ties to the farming community in southern Towner County.

"I was just writing songs; they mean something to me," he said "I didn't edit myself much -- I just sort of trusted that what came out was OK. I felt God was leading me down this path. I would just write these (songs) and keep going. I let myself keep going on it.

"The songs came out pretty quickly and easily," he said. "That was fun."

It has led to the release of his first album, "Living in the Light," featuring praise and worship songs -- performed in a contemporary, acoustic style -- that he hopes will "make listeners calmer and give them some peace."

"If that happens, it's the best kind of reward I could get from it," he said.

Based on feedback he's received from listeners of all ages, he's accomplished that.

"One of my cousins, who's been listening to the album daily for a few months, said: 'It gives me hope and helps me cope,' " Belzer said. "That works for me. That makes me happy."

From Cando to L.A.

Belzer,grew up as the seventh of eight children in Terry and Babe Belzer's musical family in Cando. After graduation from Cando High School in 1984, he went on to earn a bachelor's degree in theater, with a music minor, from Drake University.

"I've always been a pianist and accompanist and music director -- that's what my work-study jobs were in college, playing for voice students and the choir," he said.

Now in his 21st year as a faculty member in the UCLA theater department, he's also the pianist for several churches and, until COVID-19 hit, played one night a week at an Italian restaurant in L.A. He plays for Broadway shows and national tour groups when they're auditioning in Los Angeles and has toured extensively with performance groups throughout Europe.

Belzer also shares his talents with folks back home, returning often to his hometown in the summer to direct musical revues -- with anyone and everyone who's interested in participating, from high schoolers to an 80-year-old "who's my mom," and every decade in between, he said.

"I say, 'Just show up, and we'll make it work,' " he said. "It's so refreshing."

He never knows exactly what local talent will step forward -- he's seen retired people, farmers, teachers, doctors, nurses and a minister volunteer to perform.

The shows are presented in the town's 105-year-old Audi Theatre, which has been well maintained, according to Belzer, who plays the grand piano that was installed there the year the theater was built.

Early influences

Growing up in Cando, Belzer said, a vocal music teacher throughout his school years, Kathy Mohs, influenced his interest in music.

"I sang all through school," he said. "I just really liked her and I was really involved in everything, and that's how I started accompanying in fifth grade at school. And so, I really did learn my accompanying skills in school, starting from fifth grade."

At home, his mom, Babe Belzer, influenced all her children musically.

"My mom is very musical," he said. "We all were in band, we all were in choir at some point, and we all had to take piano lessons -- except my oldest brother" -- for as long as they were interested.

"At home, we sang a lot, so I was often having to sight-read a lot -- just, 'hey, let's sing this, play this, sing this' -- so my sight-reading has always been really good," said Belzer.

His mom had the greatest impact on nurturing his love of music and performing.

"One of my earliest memories," he recalled, "is when I was probably 5 years old, sitting on the piano bench beside my mom, looking up at her as she played and sang, 'I Don't Know How to Love Him,' which was a popular song on the radio at the time."

"The most influential person, without a doubt, has been my mom," he said. "(She was) 100% supportive of me and my artistic endeavors since day one. She is the one who had me start playing at church while I was in grade school. I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today were it not for her complete support and encouragement always."

For about 40 years, Babe Belzer directed the youth choir at the local Catholic church until her retirement from that position a few years ago, he said.

About the album

Belzer has been "a music minister pretty much my whole life, playing in churches," he said.

"I've been doing this kind of music my whole life. I love religious music, all forms of it -- classic and contemporary, and praise and worship music. I've always liked that -- we listened to Sandi Patti a lot growing up, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, people like that," Belzer said. "I was writing some more and, before you knew it, I had six or seven songs and I thought, well, why am I just going to write these, I need to do something with them .... It seems like that's what I'm supposed to do right now. So I kept going with it."

And now he's adding his voice to the community of contemporary Christian musicians. On the full-length album, "Living in the Light," he's joined by a backup singer, Kelsey Lee Smith, one of his former students at UCLA.

"She's great; she adds so much to it," said Belzer, adding that he hopes more people in his home state will hear his album. "I'm excited to share my music with my roots. I've had such positive feedback from people from Cando and so it's nice to connect it back there, so I really appreciate that."

The album is available on digital platforms including Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube and ReverbNation.

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8 of the best classical music tracks for testing speakers - What Hi-Fi?

Posted: 05 Jan 2021 08:20 AM PST

There are audiophiles out there who believe that hi-fi can only really be tested by using classical music. While we don't agree with that sentiment, there's no denying that the use of real, physical instruments rather than those of the electronic variety can be really helpful for comparisons.

Provided the recording is made with suitable care, criteria such as stereo imaging, tonality and dynamics are also well served by such classical music. The recordings tend to be less processed than other genres, and so can sound more natural – particularly when it comes to instrumental timbre and the acoustics of the recording venue.

As a genre, classical tends to be more instrumentally complex than your average pop or rock tune, and therefore demands more of the hi-fi it's being played on with regards to definition, control and organisation. If you're new to the field or just want a taster of the kind of classical music we use during our testing, here are some of the finest examples...

Stravinsky – The Rite of Spring

best classical music tracks for testing — (Image credit: Warner Classics)

Don't let the track's quiet beginning fool you; it isn't long before this piece bursts into life to become one of the most vivid and dramatic pieces of music that we know. The first performance of The Rite Of Spring was claimed to have caused a riot, and when you take a listen to its feral composition it's easy to understand why.

As such, it's a stern test of your hi-fi, from detail resolution and stereo imaging all the way through to rhythmic ability. If your set-up can make a hearty meal of the seismic dynamic shifts and massive crescendos (and you'll know if it does; you'll feel it), you're in for a treat – particularly if you can turn the volume up loud. This is half an hour's worth of some of the most challenging, and indeed compelling, music ever made.

Arvo Part – Tabula Rasa

After the dramatic excess of Stravinsky, Arvo Part's Tabula Rasa feels like an ocean of calm. This piece has two movements that use a pair of violins, a prepared piano and a chamber orchestra to deliver some of the most emotionally affecting music we've come across.

Each movement uses repetition that builds from subtle beginnings into something that's bold and immensely powerful. Thus, it's a fine test of system dynamics and clarity. The dense instrumentation can easily sound messy, while the violins can push all but the most refined tweeters into edginess. There's a lovely sense of space here, too, which many systems will struggle to capture.

This piece has an underlying religious feel, it inspires contemplation and even a little sadness, while all the time pulling at the heart strings in a way little else can manage.

John Williams – Jurassic Park

After all the seriousness of Tabula Rasa, let's move to dinosaurs. John Williams is the maestro of large-scale movie soundtracks and we think the theme to Jurassic Park is one of his best pieces ever. And considering he's written the memorable soundtracks to the likes of Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Superman, that's saying something.

It's majestic and powerful, and asks a lot from a system when it comes to scale and authority. A good level of detail resolution is a must if things aren't to sound confused, but your system will also need to excel in dynamics and be composed at high volume levels if you really want to enjoy this piece at its best. If you have larger speakers, the growling bass is a real treat.

This is perhaps about a commercial as classical music gets, but it's entertaining and fun – and in our book there's nothing wrong with that.

Dvorak – Symphony No.9 New World Symphony

People of a certain age in the UK will forever associate Dvorak's Symphony No.9 with a famous Hovis bread advert. But the piece was written in the 1890s and is about his feelings and experiences of being in the United States – which is why it's often referred to as his New World Symphony.

This is beautiful and melodic music that demands a system to have a strong grip on dynamics, scale and detail. But it's not just about your set-up having muscle; a great deal of finesse is required for the music's emotional message to come through. If your speakers are positioned well, you should get a sharply focused and layered soundstage with the orchestra clearly laid out in front of you.

Mahler – Symphony No.2

Mahler himself may divide opinion, but we can't get enough of his 2nd Symphony. This is demanding material filled with dynamic shifts and drama. It's a fine test of system's control and composure, with all aspects of sound quality put under the microscope. Your set-up will need to be insightful and organised to handle the dense mass of instrumentation. The ability to convey the interplay of instruments is vital, as is the ability to deliver a full dose of scale and authority when required.

As with most of our other selections on our list, any system limitations in terms of stereo imaging and tonality will be readily highlighted here. We find this a gripping piece of music that excites and intrigues.

Hans Zimmer – Like a Dog Chasing Cars

We make a point of testing equipment with music that most of our readers are likely to be familiar with, and we suspect there won't be many who haven't come across Hans Zimmer's encyclopaedic discography. We've been using his movie soundtracks during testing for years – not only does their make-up tend to be perfect test material, they are rather entertaining too.

Regular readers will know that we have a fondness for Zimmer's Gladiator and Inception soundtracks, but here we've chosen another favourite, The Dark Knight OST, and in particular the track Like A Dog Chasing Cars.

Lack of vocals apart, this is as perfect a classical music test track as we know. It thunders along, requiring plenty of punch and power from the hi-fi handling it. The dynamic swings are savage, made all the more demanding by the music's insistence on being played loudly. A special mention should be made of the low frequency aspect of this recording: at times it's as deep and powerful as we've heard on any other piece, and consequently is a stern test of bass definition, weight and attack.

Ólafur Arnalds - Raein

After the caffeinated bombast of Hans Zimmer we turn to the achingly beautiful and delicate Raein by Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Ólafur Arnalds. This is from the consistently excellent Found Songs album, a review staple for a number of years now.

Unlike most of the music we've recommended so far, this neo-classical piece is all about subtlety and finesse. If your system doesn't resolve low-level detail well, or deliver subtle dynamic shift with skill, you'll wonder what the fuss is about. It requires a system to sound fluid and with the knack to be able to reproduce music in a cohesive way. Clarity is important, as is the ability to convey the track's gentle momentum.

This is music to listen to quietly. Many speakers struggle to convince at lower volume levels, so it's a good test to see whether your system is up to the admittedly challenging task.

Debussy - Clair De Lune

Comprising only a solo piano, this piece of music would appear a doddle for systems to reproduce – but, alas, it isn't. In our experience, we find that most struggle to capture the harmonic complexities of the piano well and to deliver the instrument's dynamic envelope properly.

Even if a system does have the insight to do these things, it's the ability to get the temporal relationship between successive notes right so that the melody flows as it should.

There are subtle variations of force and timing in the way the piano keys are played that makes this piece so hard for some equipment to reproduce. This lovely piece of music is arguably the simplest one here, but many a hi-fi component that has entered our listening room has struggled to do it justice.

MORE:

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10 of the best tracks to test your headphones

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10 of the best movie scores to test your system

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