On March 31, 2008, WIU Oboist Hillary Brunner was selected as the winner in the national finals of the MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) Young Artist Woodwind Competition. She competed against woodwind finalists from seven regions of the United States and performed from memory, the Goossens Concerto in One Movement and the Pasculli Grand Concerto.
Ms. Brunner is a senior, and will graduate in May 2008 with degrees in Music Performance and Music Business. She is a student of Western Illinois University Oboe Professor Michael Ericson.
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John Cooper's CD "Baecker Jazz Worship Service" was reviewed by Christian Music Central. This Christian Music site reviews music from artists like Amy Grant. See the WIU University Relations press release. The Baecker Jazz Worship Service CD is receiving airplay on jazz stations all over the United States as well as in Austrailia and the Netherlands.
John Cooper will be in Detroit, Michigan at Wayne State University as a guest artist composer and performer. He will play with the faculty and the WIU Jazz Lab Band will be performing the entire Baecker Jazz Worship Service on a concert that will take place at Orchestra Hall's "Max Fisher" Theatre on April 11. He will be rehearsing the band and lecturing to students in the jazz program at WIU.
On the same trip he'll be performing with the University of Toledo Jazz Band on April 15. He'll also be a guest artist and performer on that concert and they will be performing the Baecker Jazz Worship Service. He will be performing the Baecker Jazz Worship Service on May 4 at St. Paul United Church of Christ in Pekin, Illinois with the John Cooper Jazz Orchestra. On June 6, he'll be performing the Baecker Jazz Worship Service with the John Cooper Jazz Orchestra for the Illinois United Church of Christ convention in Bloomington, Illinois.
Chung-Ha Kim and Lynn Thompson presented a guest faculty recital at Radford University in Virginia on February 12, and a combined masterclass on February 13.
The program "Yearning for the Beloved" included "An die ferne Geliebte" by Ludwig van Beethoven and "Dichterliebe" by Robert Schumann.
Two students of Chung-Ha Kim performed in a masterclass for Prof. Caleb Harris (University of Northern Colorado) on February 26: Nicole Peter (Junior, BM in Piano Performance) and Taejin Yoo (1st year, MM in Piano Performance). Taejin Yoo also performed the first movement of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 in the WIU Symphony Orchestra Concerto Winners Concert on February 29.
Anita Werling, music, presented an organ recital entitled "An American Panorama" on the historic Hinners organ at the Universalist Unitarian Church in Peoria on February 8. The recital was sponsored by the church and the Peoria Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
The WIU Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, a student and regional group, presented a concert of Music for Organ and Ensemble on February 24 at the First Presbyterian Church in Macomb. The program included the premiere of emeritus professor of music
Robert Sibbing's "Reflection and Ramble" for horn and organ, performed by Cristina Werling (MM in horn performance, 2007) and Anita Werling, faculty. Current organ students performing were Sarah Holland, Luke Kessler and Aaron Uphoff. Alumni performing were Linda Bliven Andrews (BA in organ performance, 1976) and Mark Ross (MA in organ performance, 1992.)
Jennifer Jones presented a research paper and a concurrent session at the American Music Therapy Association's national conference in Louisville, KY, in November. Her paper "Musicians versus Nonmusicians: Defining Musical Training and Resulting Abilities," investigated similarities and differences between persons with no music training and extensive music training on musical tasks. The concurrent session was "Applications of the Nashville Number System for Music Therapy." The number system is a short-hand for writing musical chord progressions. Jones also presented a session title "Music Therapy 101: Do you need one or should you be one?" at IMEA in Peoria in January to music educators from Illinois.
Bruce Briney co-presented a session at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic called "Musical Mentoring and the Trumpet Pedagogy of Vincent Cichowicz," in December 2007.
Terry Chasteen performed as the tenor soloist with the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra in performances of Handel's "Messiah" in December. The performances were held at the Chapel Auditorium on the campus of Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and at the Iowa Mennonite School Auditorium in Kalona, Iowa.
Douglas Huff presented an electronic poster session "WebCT, iSight and Quicktime Pro7 in the Applied Studio" at the Association for Technology in Music Instruction, College Music Society Pre-Conference Bootcamp in Salt Lake City in November 2007.