The room displayed candlelit tables as each student performer clutched his or her acoustic instruments and the buzz of song choices echoed throughout the dimly lit space. Four times a semester, students gather to participate in Acoustic Kitchen, an open mic night created by two Columbia professors.

“Does anyone need my bongos?” asked David Dolak, a science and math professor, before the show began.

On April 27, Dolak and English professor George Bailey hosted the college’s monthly event in the Quincy Wong Center for Artistic Expression in the Wabash Campus Building, 623 S. Wabash Ave. The intimate, coffeehouse-style event began with Dolak and Bailey taking the stage as Dolak played “Where Do the Children Play?” by Cat Stevens, and Bailey playing an original song he wrote about his grandfather.

“This song is kind of environmental,” Dolak said. “Last week was the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Yes, I am old enough to remember. I think I was in 5th grade when people were walking around smelling flowers with gas masks on, and it really made an impact on me.”

According to Dolak, the Acoustic Kitchen event began in 2002 after he and Bailey met at a fall faculty retreat. After playing guitar with one another and other faculty members, they realized they wanted to host some sort of live music event geared primarily toward acoustic and folk musicians at Columbia.

The performers ranged from a variety of solo acts, male and female combos to a trio of Columbia physics professors. Each performance consisted of two to three songsets, with the majority of the performances including covers of artists as diverse as The Beatles, The Turtles and Jethro Tull, along with their own original songs.

Dolak said the open mic has evolved throughout the years to become a popular event, gaining anywhere from 15 to 17 performers in the three-hour span.

He added that he enjoys how students will sometimes meet one another at Acoustic Kitchen and later end up

performing together.

According to Dolak, for the past five years,  Acoustic Kitchen has held a special event at Manifest in which six performers, whom he and Bailey consider to be the best throughout the year, are offered a 30-minute time slot. This year’s special performances will be held on May 14 in the University Center, 525 S. State St., from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Kat Wyand, junior audio production and design major, has been playing on Acoustic Kitchen’s stage for the past three semesters and will perform in the special Manifest celebration performance. Wyand, who goes by the stage name “Hutchy,” a nickname derived from her middle name Hutchinson, played a cover of “Willie Goggins Hat,” by folk musician Jack Hardy, with a cigar box guitar  she built in Dolak’s Physics of Musical Instruments class.

Wyand said the majority of the inspiration for her music comes from nature and spirituality. She enjoys playing music with others and learning  what music they are into.  Wyand said she loves the openness of the Acoustic Kitchen performances and feels comfortable when she’s performing on stage.

“I love the variety,” Wyand said. “I also love the people who keep coming back and trying new things on the stage.”

Dolak said although the majority of the performers are music majors at Columbia, not all of the students who play Acoustic Kitchen are. This event gives those students the opportunity to channel their abilities in an open space.

“A lot are music majors showcasing music they are not required to perform in class, and it’s more for their own creative endeavor,” Dolak said. “Plus, it gives them exposure on stage, allows them to work on stage craft and deliver their material. Some of the students are not music majors but play music. To me, it’s a part of college life.”

Julian Bell, sophomore vocal performance major, said he met Natalie Alms, sophomore photography major, at a party when Alms told him she played guitar. The two, who have their work featured in online outlets such as Facebook, MySpace and iTunes, decided they wanted to start playing music together. The April 27 performance was the duo’s first time playing publicly together and they will also be featured in Manifest’s Acoustic Kitchen special event.

Bell said he gets the majority of his inspiration for his music from daily life and everyday situations.

“Something could happen or someone might say something that could be a good song title,” Bell said. “I recently wrote a song once about two of my friends after both their girlfriends broke up with them at the same time. It worked out pretty well.”

Alms said her last album had a similar flow to it.

“My first album was based on one person and all the feelings I’ve been through with that person,” Alms said. “The rest are just things people may say to me every day, or what I hear. I don’t know, lyrics kind of come to me in a rush.”

The two said they like the intimate and supportive atmosphere Acoustic Kitchen offers to the performers each month.

“It’s a relaxed setting with people your age, and you can get a good response as to whether people are feeling your song or not,” Bell said.

Alms agreed with Bell and said she felt at ease with performing at the open mic.

“I like how you can always try new things and they really support it,” Alms said. “I always bring my new songs here.”

Acoustic Kitchen is held four times per semester. Any student interested in performing in the open mic is asked to contact David Dolak at Ddolak@colum.edu. No dates are set for the fall 2010 academic year.