Country’s only magic major performs in Alumni Hall

Magic major Jordan Goldklang presented his magic show Tuesday in Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union to an audience of about 300.

The show was his final project for his Individualized Major Program.
Goldklang, the only student in the U.S. majoring in magic, opened the show with a poker chip he made “fall up.”

It appeared to jump from his bottom hand to his top hand.

He then introduced himself as “The Great Jordini, the Bachelor of Magic,” wearing his signature black top hat, black suit and purple shirt.

“The bachelor part refers to getting my bachelor’s degree, not my marital status,” he said.

It was an example of the humor he used throughout the show, which the audience responded to enthusiastically with laughter and applause.

In between his different illusions, Goldklang described how he got to IU and how he became a magic major.

He explained how he originally came as a violin student in the Jacobs School of Music, even though he had looked for a school with a magic program, which he could not find.

With every story, he expressed how much he has enjoyed being a magic major.

“Being a magician,” he said, “it’s just as cool as you think it is.”

Goldklang started his shows with tricks he did alone, such as making a rope turn into two ropes, then one, then two again, and finishing the illusion by cutting the rope with his fingers.

As the night went on, Goldklang asked for volunteers.

 One volunteer was Karen. Goldklang asked her to write her name and date on a card she picked from the deck.

When she put it back, Goldklang asked her about her card.

“Karen, look at the ceiling,” he said. “Do you see your card there? “

“No,” she replied.

Goldklang laughed. “Yeah, that would have been amazing.”

But then Goldklang threw the deck of cards at the ceiling, and Karen’s card stuck. The audience could see Karen’s writing on it, showing the card belonged to her.

The audience erupted in applause.

It was the favorite of audience member Sarissa Michaud.

“It was definitely a showstopper,” she said.

Goldklang ended the performance with a trick involving soy milk and five crystal glasses.

Each glass was a different size and each was supposed to represent a time in his life.
He began pouring the milk in the smallest cup, then poured the milk from the previous cup into the next size up.

The larger cup became full. He continued moving the milk until he got to the last one, the biggest of all.

It, too, became full of milk, even though Goldklang did not add any more.

At the end of the show, Goldklang walked off stage then returned to take a bow.
He wrapped up the show by telling the audience how much he enjoyed his major and how the opportunity to create it was amazing.

He also thanked everyone for supporting him throughout the years. After the show, audience members could attend a reception in the Solarium.

Many came up to congratulate Goldklang, and some asked for autographs. Like his guests, Goldklang was happy with the end result.

“I thought it went really well,” he said, “and the reason is the audience seemed to enjoy it. As long as the audience has a good time, that’s what makes a great show.”

One of Goldklang’s advisers, Jacobs School of Music horn professor Jeff Nelsen, said he was also impressed by Goldklang’s one-man production.

He said he was most impressed with the audience connection and how Goldklang went beyond the technical aspects of magic. Which Nelsen said they worked on and talked about before.

“It was above all that,” Nelsen said. “It was above the story he was telling. That’s when the magic happened.”