Thursday, January 27, 2022

Name: Charlie Darveau
Hometown: West Des Moines, Iowa
Year: Junior
Field(s) of Study: Cinema, minors in American Studies and German
SCOPE Position: Graphic Designer

Hi! My name is Charlie, I am a junior and this is my first year in SCOPE, and I will be taking over as the graphic designer this semester (hence the new selects graphic). I am super excited to get going and I can’t wait for all the cool projects that SCOPE has in store.

Three Favorite Albums:

  • Einstein on the Beach - Philip Glass
  • Sunshine of Your Love - Ella Fitzgerald
  • Blonde - Frank Ocean

Spotify Playlist

Groove to Charlie's playlist!

Listen to SCOPE Selects: Charlie Darveau on Spotify

Favorite Concert Experience:

I probably joined the wrong student org but I honestly don’t go to many concerts. I’m going to take an (extremely) broad interpretation of this question and say that my favorite “concert” was a performance by the Alonzo King Lines Ballet company at Des Moines Performing Arts.

Hobbies/Interests/Fun Facts/Campus Involvement:

You can probably guess that, as a cinema major, I spend a lot of my time watching movies. My favorites include Arrival (2016) by Denis Villeneuve and Agnes Varda’s masterpiece of the French New Wave Cléo from 5 to 7. I am getting ready to spend this upcoming semester abroad in Dortmund, Germany, which I am super excited about. That’s about all the interesting things to say about me.

The Deep Cuts:

As is often the case for scopers, my music taste is kind of bonkers. I spent a solid 15 years training in classical ballet which has left me with a higher-than-average appreciation/obsession with classical and neo-classical music. The late Johann Johannson is one of my all-time favorites, particularly his albums Orphée and 12 Conversations with Thilo Heinzmann. The latter, written for string quartet, was released shortly after his death, and it marks a stark stylistic departure from his other works, lacking his signature experimental, electronic additions, and it makes it sound hollow, echoey, and all-the-more mournful. Philip Glass’s works, in particular the fever dream of an “opera” that is Einstein on the Beach, have a way of scratching that itch in the back of my brain that nothing else can reach. Even after performing in The Nutcracker for 10 years in a row, Tchaikovsky never misses, and lately I’ve been enjoying exploring some of his non-ballet work. Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Recomposed, Max Richter’s masterful remix of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

In terms of non-classical, normal-person music, I will listen to just about anything. Frank Ocean’s Blonde and Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. are both masterpieces (duh). I will always have the time for Lizzo and Lorde, and lately I’ve been listening to a lot of classic ‘90s hip hop too. I’ve tried to include a variety of styles on the playlist, so just hit shuffle and sorry if it gives you whiplash.