Fall 2012

 

Last spring, Northwestern College had the privilege of hosting singer, songwriter, and author Michael Card on campus for several events. He had many good pieces of wisdom for our community, but the quote that has stuck with me ever since is: "Work at the level of your own inadequacy so it won't succeed unless God shows up." As a performer, it is very easy for me to trust my own abilities. This misplaced trust quickly leads to pride. When that happens, it is right and proper for me to humbly turn back to God, the giver of my gifts, with gratitude. Another result of this inward focus is that it restricts my creativity. When I am preoccupied with myself, focused on my own giftedness, and trusting in my talents, my abilities become the boundaries of my creativity.

I took Mr. Card's advice and decided to create/perform at the very edges of my ability--a place where I feel very inadequate and artistically self-conscious. I performed on two gigs well outside my stylistic comfort zone this summer. (My comfort zone is admittedly a very small, cozy place, but still....). Once I signed on for the gigs, I did a whole lot of praying and practicing, but in the end, God showed up! I played fairly well, and what's more, I actually enjoyed creating outside my comfort zone! Now, you won't see me forming my own ska band anytime soon, but I'm looking forward to more opportunities to create outside my comfort zone!

Yours for Music,

Jeremy Kolwinska, D.M.A.

Chair, Department of Music 

Calling all Music students and Alumni, including all Music Ensemble and Faculty/Staff Alumni! You're all invited to a Music Department reunion (with dessert!) after our Homecoming Showcase concert on Friday, September 28, at 7 pm, in Maranatha Hall. The concert will highlight the College Choir, Symphonic Band and Orchestra performing a variety of American and patriotic pieces, including classical, choral, contemporary, film, gospel, and Broadway. Immediately following the concert, a dessert reception for all concert goers will be held in the second floor Graham Commons while a jazz combo performs. Music Department Reunion: There will also be a special reception for all Music Department & Ensemble students and Alumni on the same level.   TICKETS can be purchased at nwc.edu/tickets, and one $10 ticket will admit you to both the concert and the reception! (For current students and faculty/staff, tickets are $8.) We look forward to seeing MANY of you here for this year's reunion, reconnecting with old friends, colleagues and instructors.

Thursday - Saturday, November 1-3, 7 p.m.

Maranatha Hall

Welcome new faculty Fall 2012

Joel Alexander, percussion adjunct

Heather Hood, Music Ministry adjunct
Melody Johnson, online Intro to Music adjunct

Jeff Warren, online Intro to Music adjunct

Dr. John Benham delivered four presentations at the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Conference in Orlando in July as part of receiving their National Citation for his work in music advocacy. Benham is author of Music Advocacy: Moving from Survival to Vision, and his area of expertise is saving and restoring music programs in the face of budget cuts. Benham has been doing crisis intervention work saving school music programs that were facing cuts for the last 30 years. You can find out more about his work at www.save-music.org. His personal knowledge and experience provide unique understanding to help music advocates go before a school board and administration with language they understand and methods that work. He has taken his message from coast to coast in the United States and Canada. His methods are responsible for saving over $72 million in budgetary reductions in music, leading to the restoration of over 2,000 teaching positions and the continuation of music programs for over 500,000 students.

Roger (violin) and Michele Frisch (flute), appeared as soloists at the MasterWorks Performing Arts Festival in Indiana.  In addition to a recital and master classes, Roger and Michele performed Bach's Brandenburg V Concerto with orchestra.  Roger also performed Bruch's Scottish Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra.   

Dr. Cheryl Kelley (contrabassoon) performed with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for June concerts of Haydn's "The Seasons," and she also performed bassoon with the Minnesota Orchestra in July's Sommerfest concerts of Strauss works.

Dr. Jeremy Kolwinska (trombone) performed with the Skylark Opera's production of Leonard Bernstein's Wonderful Town. Summer Opera Festival performances were at E.M. Pearson Theatre at Concordia University

June 8-17, 2012.

Catherine McCord Larsen (soprano) taught and performed with Lutheran Summer Music once again this summer at Luther College (Decorah, Iowa) and also served as the Voice Department Chair.

Dr. Barbara Rogers completed a term as Chair of the Composers Group of the Minneapolis Music Teachers Forum, and continued as Advisor to the Judge Education and Certification Committee of the Minnesota Music Teachers Association.   

Rachel Bauske (flute) participated in the Walfrid Kujala (Chicago Symphony) Flute & Piccolo Class in Orchestral Performance in Chicago, IL.

Hannah Lindahl (senior vocal Music Education major) traveled to Ukraine (Cherkassy and Zolotonoshoa) from June 29 through July 15 with three other women (including Beverly Solberg, 2011-12 interim NWC Women's Chorale director) where she helped run an ESL music camp for junior high and senior high girls. The camp consisted of teaching English through choral pieces, Bible studies and fun activities, presenting the basic gospel message to the girls while also building relationships with the families during home stays and involvement in church services and events. A highlight for Hannah was the encouragement received from the believers in Ukraine, who live so passionately for Christ and reach out to their immediate neighbors, challenging Hannah in her own faith.

Pianist Seoyon Susanna Lim spent June 2012 in Los Angeles, CA, participating in the SongFest program.  There she participated and performed in numerous master classes and concerts, as well as rehearsals and coachings, working with nine different singers and learning from such greats in the collaborative piano field as Margo Garrett, Martin Katz, and Graham Johnson, as well as composers William Bolcom, Jake Heggie, Libby Larsen, and John Musto.
 

This summer Benjamin Osterhouse (cello) participated in the four-week MasterWorks Performing Arts Festival (Winona Lakes, Indiana), where he performed in the orchestra program, chamber music program, and took lessons from Allen Harrell, Fred Chao, Leo Altino, and Jake Muzzy. He also composed a short string quartet ("Festival at the Acropolis") and premiered it with NWC alumni Mikki Johnston ('10 Music Performance) and Julie (Powell) Guidry ('09 Music Education), violinists, and Benjamin Davis, viola, at the Fusion Arts benefit concert for the White Earth Indian Reservation.

Amanda Potts (flute) performed in the Aria International Summer Academy as a student of Bonita Boyd, in South Hadley, MA.

Katelyn Torell (flute) attended the MasterWorks Performing Arts Festival (Indiana) as part of the Woodwind Intensive program. She entered and won a photo "likes" contest on Facebook (below), which entered her into a drawing

for a $1,000 scholarship to MasterWorks (which, unfortunately, she did not win). However, she did get interviewed, which you can read on the MasterWorks blog.