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ALUMNI NEWS
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Ami Andersen ('09) recorded an album of hymn texts with new melodies, entitled Shelter: Hymns Resung, joined by
Northwestern alumni
and student Jared Sells. The album is available on her website(amiandersen.com). Currently she is a staff accompanist for The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Boyce College in Louisville KY, as well as The Louisville Ballet School.
JUNE ACCENT CORRECTION: Nikkia Hall graduated from the University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee.
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STUDENT NEWS
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Shayla Woods, new Music Ministry Student, recently released her new single "Dwell In Me." Woods has ministered with many praise teams and groups, leads worship at New Creation Worship Center, and
earned her Associates Degree of Music Performance from McNally Smith College of Music. She is pursuing a Bachelors in music ministry with a minor in child and family studies at the University of Northwestern.
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PIANO INSTITUTE
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The University of Northwestern hosted its annual summer Piano Institute this July 29 - August 3 in the Totino Fine Arts building. The camp is designed to stimulate, motivate and encourage students in their piano studies and provide opportunities for attending and participating in performances. This year 37 students between the ages of 11 and 18 participated in the camp. Activities included private lessons, theory, improvisation, topics classes, Mozart classes and master classes. Students performed a duet on a Friday afternoon recital, and a solo work for a Saturday morning recital. In addition, three evening recitals were presented by seasoned artists from various parts of the country. The Institute will be held again July 28 -August 2, 2014.
For more information, contact Dr. Richard Lange at 651-631-5242.
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Dear Accent Readers,
For many professional musicians, our initial pull toward that vocation was the thrill we received when performing. Playing in band, orchestra, or as a soloist was exhilarating. We couldn't wait for the next performance. However, over time, performing can become a very lonely and self-centered existence. Nothing is more emblematic of this than a typical practice room -- if spending hours on end alone in a very small room isn't isolating enough, there is often a mirror on the wall to reinforce the self-focused nature of the experience!
I run into many professional musicians who are burned out or unfulfilled, and I went through a similar period in my own life. This summer, I saw performances by Tim Hawkins and Michael Jr., two Christian comedians. Each took time during the performance to talk about a similar crisis moment in their career. Both of them came to the same conclusion -- their calling (as Christian comedians) is not to get laughs (the usual goal of comics), but to give laughs. This has been a life-giving realization for both of them, and for Michael Jr. that has meant taking his comedy to places where laughter is needed most, such as homeless shelters and prisons.
For me personally, I re-discovered my joy in music-making through teaching. That is because teaching is outward-focused and it serves others. Teaching is not about our own accomplishments, and it is rarely just about the accomplishments of our students. The most rewarding moments in teaching are when a student masters a difficult concept or a new technique. The fulfillment I experience in those moments comes from knowing I had at least a small part in that success.
I'm still learning that being a performer isn't so much about what I get out of the experience, but what I give my audience. If I remain self-absorbed and only focus on my own enjoyment, the audience will see and hear and sense that. We all know when a performer is engaging the audience or when they are simply there for themselves -- it doesn't matter what the genre is.
Each of us longs to be Christ like. My challenge to you is to remember what the gospels say: "Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve..."
Leadership is serving others. Teaching is serving others. Performing is serving others.
Jeremy Kolwinska, D.M.A.
Chair, Department of Music
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September
27 7:00 p.m. Showcase(MH) and Dessert Reception (GC)*
30 11:00 a.m. Christmas at Northwestern tickets go on sale.*
October
3 12:50 p.m. Guest Artist: John Ferguson, piano (NC)
3 2-4 p.m. Piano Master Class: John Ferguson (NC)
9 11:00 a.m. Oklahoma! tickets go on sale to the general public.*
14 7:30 p.m. Faculty Artist Series: Hymns of the Faith - With a Twist
John S.Herlihy, trumpet & flugelhorn, Janet Scovill,
piano, and other music faculty, students and alumni (NC)
19-22 Piano North Central Iowa Tour (OC)
24 12:50 p.m. Piano Tour Homecoming Recital (NC)
31 7:00 p.m. Musical Theatre Production: Oklahoma! (MH)*
November
1-2 7:00 p.m. Musical Theatre Production: Oklahoma! (MH)*
7-9 7:00 p.m. Musical Theatre Production: Oklahoma! (MH)*
15 7:30 p.m. Symphonic Band Concert (MH)
18 7:30 p.m. Women's Chorale, Varsity Men's Chorus, and
Jazz Ensemble Concert (MH)
25 7:00 p.m. Chamber Ensembles Recital (NC)
December
6 7:30 p.m. Christmas at Northwestern (MH) *
7 7:30 p.m. Christmas at Northwestern (MH) *
8 4:00 p.m. Christmas at Northwestern (MH) *
8 6:30 p.m. Christmas Dinner (BR) *
MH=Maranatha Hall, NC=Nazareth Chapel, GC=Graham Commons,
BR=Blue Room, OC=Off Campus location
All events are free (except as noted *) and open to the public.
*Tickets available in Ticket Office at 651-631-5151 or unwsp.edu/tickets.
All events subject to change. Up-to-date info at unwsp.edu/music (events).
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Showcase is an exciting Homecoming tradition for many of our alumni, students and parents. The Showcase concert will take place on Friday, September 27, 7 p.m., in Maranatha Hall (Totino Fine Arts Center) and features three of University of Northwestern's performing ensembles: Northwestern Choir, Orchestra and Symphonic Band. This year's homecoming theme is "Welcome to a new U," celebrating our new name and continued mission of honoring Jesus Christ in all we do. The evening will feature a wide variety of worship and Americana music, including the Orchestra's American Salute, "Gabriel's Oboe" (from The Mission), and Music from Apollo 13; Northwestern Choir's Light of a Clear Blue Morning, Esti Dal, and Blessed Assurance; and the Symphonic Band's selections from West Side Story, Galop from The Comedians, and Russian Sailor's Dance. The evening will conclude with Henry Charles Smith conducting America, the Beautiful. Following the concert, the audience and performers will head over to the beautiful Billy Graham Commons for a dessert reception in the second floor dining hall, while being serenaded by the Jazz Ensemble from the lower foyer.
This event is open to the public, as well as alumni, students and their families. Tickets for this concert include both the concert and the dessert reception, and they can be purchased at the Ticket Office online, or by calling 651-631-5151.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN - ST. PAUL
Alumni Honorees for Homecoming 2013 include:
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MUSIC HALL OF RECOGNITION
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Henry Charles Smith
Conductor & Trombonist
Highlights of Henry Charles Smith's distinguished musical career include
twelve years as Principal Trombone of the Philadelphia Orchestra and a 1969 Grammy Award for "Classical Album of the Year" with the Philadelphia Brass Ensemble. Maestro Smith's connections to Northwestern include conducting the Maranatha Orchestra, a professional Christian orchestra which appeared on the Northwestern Fine Arts Series. In the 1980's, he also conducted the United Bethel/ Northwestern Orchestra, a collaboration between Northwestern College and Bethel College. Read more.
In his own words:
Music and the arts make us different from the animals. They give us identity. Music helps us to find out who we are and why we are. Music helps to define and articulate our friendships, our allegiances and our loyalties. Music gives us disciplines we can apply to all the other areas of our lives. Music enables us to react to the world and to each other with creativity and sensitivity. Music is a safe haven where we can meet those who are different from us to celebrate our shared humanity. Music is a vehicle for praise and worship. Music celebrates life and love and faith. Music is a lifelong friend and companion. Music and the arts are lifelines of sanity and goodness in a crazy world. I hope that great music will always be your good friend.
TERRY ESAU
CLASS OF 1978 | B.A. IN MUSIC
Terry Esau has written and produced thousands of pieces of music for TV  commercials -- from Target to McDonalds, Pepsi to Perkins, Harleys to Hondas, and Golden Grahams to Billy Graham. In 2001, he wrote Blue Collar God/White Collar God and started telling stories about the one product he knew could change people's lives -- a relationship with Jesus. He has since written other books, speaks at churches throughout the country, leads a Branding Think Tank, and is founder of a non-profit called Free Bikes 4 Kidz (accepting donations of used bikes, refurbishing and giving them away to kids in need). Read more.
In his own words:
Northwestern gave me a lot of things. I met my wife walking through the tunnel from Riley to Nazareth. I discovered a passion for music that grew into a career. I developed a faith and came to own it.
To the current crop of UNW students I would say: Take risks, fail fast, don't settle, pursue even the unlikeliest of passions, and refuse to be anything other than totally original, because God only made one of you. When the road in front of you splits, feel for the Holy Spirit's nudge, then take the courageous step because the God of your future holds you in His hands.
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New adjunct faculty: Welcome to our newest faculty members
Ericka Forsberg (Online Intro to Music); Lindsey Thompson (Online Intro to Music and Academy of Music Assistant); Gil Fruchey and Sam Cook (Music Ministry); Stephanie Trump (Women's Chorale); Dana Maeda (oboe).
Roger and Michele Frisch taught and coached for a new orchestral week at Credo Summer Institute at Oberlin Conservatory. Rehearsals for this outstanding chamber music festival culminated in concerts in Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra. UNW student Amanda Potts was part of the flute section. In addition, Roger took the opportunity this summer to record all of the unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas of J.S. Bach, all in Nazareth Chapel late into the evening to maximize silence.
Catherine McCord Larsen served as a member of the MRAC (Metropolitan Regional Arts Council) arts education grant voting panel in late May. Then from June 23 to July 21, she taught private voice, coached small vocal ensembles and performed in faculty recitals and "Bach Cantata Sunday" at the Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival, held at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.
Dr. Phil Norris, professor of music, and alumnus and faculty member Matt Wilson were invited to perform with the Locked-out Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra on Sunday and Monday, September 15 and 16. The concerts were at Lake Harriet and the Minneapolis YMCA and featured Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5.
In July, Director of Choral Activities Timothy Sawyer co-presented with Minnesota composer Linda Tutas Haugen at the American Conference of Cantors convention in Minneapolis. Their presentation detailed a fruitful American Composers Forum Faith Partners composer residency with Colonial Church and Mt. Zion Temple in St. Paul and several premiered compositions. He also spent a week as a professional chorister with the Minnesota Beethoven Festival Chorale under the baton of legendary choral conductor Dale Warland in concerts at the Chapel of Mary of the Angels in Winona, Minnesota. In August, he attended the UNW Eagle football Breakaway and began his twelfth year as the team's vocal coach.
Jan Possehl Scholl has two upcoming solo performances as the new principal clarinetist of Encore Wind Ensemble and will be performing the Weber Concertino, Opus 26 for their season opening concerts on Oct. 6 (4:00 PM at King of Kings Lutheran Church, Woodbury) and Oct. 27 (3:00 PM at Spirit of Christ Lutheran Church, Ham Lake).
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If you have noteworthy news to share with us about students or alumni, please send your comments to labunce@unwsp.edu.
God Bless you,
Lori Bunce
Project & Events Coordinator
University of Northwestern
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