UPCOMING EVENTS
The 16th Annual Holiday Festival of Choirs
Under the artistic direction of
Dr. James Stegall, this spectacular multi-ensemble choral event will be presented at 7:30 PM on Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5 at St. Paul Catholic Church located at 309 W. Jackson in Macomb, IL. The concert features the nationally recognized Western Illinois University Singers and Madrigal Singers, James Stegall, conductor; along with the WIU Concert Choir, Doug Thompson conductor. Also on the program will be the Macomb High School Madrigal Singers, Melanie Butcher, conductor and a special appearance by the 60-voice Macomb Holiday Festival Children's Honor Choir comprising treble singers in grades 4 through 8. Gayle Cooper will again be the organist for this year's performances.
Come join in celebrating a wide variety of traditional holiday music such as Carol of the Bells and Little Drummer Boy. Guest performers include
Mike Erikson, oboe, for John Rutter's musical setting of Psalm 23, french hornist
Randall Faust, for Paul Basler's jubilant Alleluia, and tenor
Terry Chasteen for the traditional setting of Shalom Rav.
"General admission only" tickets are $15 (free to WIU students with valid ID) and can be purchased through the Hainline Theatre Box Office, 309/298-2900, Monday through Friday, Noon to 5:00 PM. This concert usually sells out, so be sure and purchase your tickets soon!
The Holiday Festival of Choirs Concert Program can be viewed at:
Choirs website.
WIU Opera Theatre's Amahl and the Night Visitors
Friday, December 11 and Saturday, December 12, 7:30 PM, Hainline Theatre.
Public $15; Senior Citizens/WIU Students $12. Hainline Box Office, 309-298-2900, NOON to 5:00 PM, Monday thru Friday.
Amahl and the Night Visitors, a one act holiday opera for the whole family, answers the question "what could have transpired if the Three Kings had stopped to rest at a poor boy's home on their journey to Bethlehem?"
The title role of Amahl, sung by two of Macomb's own elementary school children, Evan Baker (St. Pauls Elementary) and Sophie Walker (Edison Elementary), is a crippled boy with an overactive imagination. He is always meeting unusual creatures and seeing fantastic sights, so when he tells his mother, sung by Chelsea Maroney and Nicole Lanier, about the great star in the sky and the three kings knocking on their door, she only scolds him for his tall tales. The three kings enter into Amahl's world and change it forever. Composer, Gian Carlo Menotti, fills his score with graceful and emotional music. He also throws in a dash of humor with his depiction of the three kings: the childlike Kaspar, sung by Samuel Essling; the compassionate Melchior, sung by Daniel Reem; and Daniel Brakefield and Denver Murphy are double cast as the more practical Bathazar. Chrystopher Wilson performs the role of the Kings' Page.
The chorus of villagers is sung by WIU's Madrigal Singers under the direction of Dr. James Stegall. Dancers, Keri Dahm and Eileen O'Connor with child dancers Bella and Gibson Blankenship, perform the Villagers' Dance with choreography by Denise Brakefield.
This production of Amahl and the Night Visitors, with stage direction by
Rebecca Abram Kreider, and conducted by
Dr. Richard Hughey with Western's University Orchestra, is made possible by the generous donations of the
Performing Arts Society and
Citizens Bank.
Amahl and the Night Visitors was the first opera ever to be commissioned for television. It made its debut on NBC on Christmas Eve 1951. It was so well received that it became an annual Christmas tradition, broadcast every year until 1966.
The role of Amahl is written for a 10-12 year old boy soprano. Last April WIU Opera Theatre began its search for the perfect Amahl. After an extensive audition process, the role was awarded to Evan Baker and Sophie Walker, both 10 years old. This began months of preparation which included weekly vocal lessons with WIU's voice professor, Terry Chasteen. "He kept helping me until I got it. I learned to breathe and you get a lot bigger sound that way," says Sophie Walker when asked about her voice lessons.
Evan and Sophie began rehearsals with the WIU Opera Theatre singers in September. "I like acting and singing with the Three Kings the best. They're funny, especially Kaspar," says Evan Baker. Sophie likes acting because "I get to be a different person." On playing a boy she stated, "It's kinda cool seeing what it's like to be a boy. I'm already sort of a tomboy so it doesn't feel that different."
Both Evan and Sophie are looking forward to performing for an audience. "I'm going to be a little nervous but the theater doesn't seem as big when you're on the stage," says Evan. "My mom taught me a trick – act like the audience isn't there," Sophie suggests.
At both performances WIU Opera Theatre will raffle off two 3-Box Gift Sets containing the "original gifts of Christmas:" gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Each gift set is authentically sourced from the Mideastern Arabian regions that were the historical origin of the Kings' gifts. All proceeds from the raffle will go to the McDonough County Loaves and Fishes organization.
Amahl and the Night Visitors will be performed in the Hainline Theatre Friday and Saturday, December 11 and 12, 2009, at 7:30 PM. For tickets, contact the Hainline Theatre Box Office at 309-298-2900.
STUDENT NEWS
Nicole Peter, senior BM-Piano Performance major, Ogden, IL, and student of
Dr. Tammie Walker participated in a masterclass in Moline, IL in October. The event was sponsored by the Steinway Company, and featured master teacher and International Steinway Performing Artist Stephen Swedish. Nicole performed the second piano sonata of Grazyna Bacewicz for the masterclass.
MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) Collegiate Competitions
Four WIU students competed in the MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) Collegiate Competitions, held at Eastern Illinois University's Doudna Fine Arts Center, Charleston, IL in November:
- Kyungrae Cho: piano, Graduate Student, South Korea
Amber Dean: horn, Senior, Moline, IL
- Katherine Massa: horn, Senior, Woodbridge, IL
- Rebecca McGuire: oboe, Sophomore, Springfield, IL
WIU had more students compete in the Collegiate Competitions than any other institution in the state of Illinois this year. Special congratulations goes to
Amber Dean, horn student of
Dr. Randall Faust, who won the brass competition and who will represent Illinois at the Division Competition January 15-17 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Congratulations Amber!
Congratulations also goes to
Katy Massa, who placed Alternate in the brass competition, and
Rebecca McGuire, who placed Alternate in the woodwind competition. If the winner is unable to compete in Stevens Point in January, the Alternate is called upon to represent the state.
While
Kyungrae Cho (piano) did not receive a formal award, she also deserves congratulations for "holding her own" in a pool of 15 collegiate pianists this year; the piano competition was forced to run over two days, which was a first for our state and an exhilarating process.
Courtney Blankenship reports that Tony Lapsansky, senior music business student from Chicago, did an internship last summer with Tycoon Percussion in CA. His experience was so successful, the company is launching an internship.
WIU SOM Student Intern Inspires Internship Program
Tycoon Percussion launches intern program
Hands-on experience for music business students possible
Following the 'graduation' of their first-ever intern, Western Illinois University Music Business major Tony Lapsansky, Tycoon Percussion establish a series of four-month intern positions beginning in January, 2010. With the intern program Tycoon intends to provide advanced college students with hands-on experience in the business side of music.
The intern program will cover the important parts of today's business world, including sales, marketing, artist relations, research and development, finance, warehouse/inventory management, website management, and more.
David Kelley, BA 1993, current Vice President of Tycoon Percussion who studied, played and taught drums before joining the sales and marketing departments of major companies such as Yamaha, Sabian and MARS Music, states:
"I would not be where I am today if I had not had been given the opportunity to do an internship at Percussive Arts Society (PAS) in 1993. Working as an intern allowed me to develop a network of contacts and gave me a variety of career choices within the percussion industry." Like David Kelley, many of today's leading drum industry executives began their careers as musicians and entrepreneurs and most had to make the transition without a business background or formal education in the field. As the drum business has expanded in size and sophistication over the last few decades, the growing availability of college degrees in Music Business has given music students a higher level of training and a wider range of career options.
Internship positions have also improved the talent pool by bridging the gap between classroom training and on-the-job training in real-world situations with experienced mentors and advisors. Tony Lapsansky comments: "During these challenging economic times many companies unfortunately cut back on these kinds of programs. Tycoon Percussion views these internship opportunities as a smart and important investment towards creating well-rounded, better-trained business people for the percussion industry. From an intern's perspective, I can say that the position provided an experience that definitely helped me develop my skills and refine my goals."
Read the story in the http://www.drummerszone.com
FACULTY NEWS
Matt Warnock spent the week of October 5 in residence at Universities in Montreal and Ottawa, Canada. During his residency Matt taught guitar masterclasses, private lessons and gave clinics at Vanier College and Concordia University in Montreal as well as Carleton University in Ottawa. Matt also presented a lecture titled "Improvisation in Modern Modal Music for Guitar" to the advanced composition class at Concordia University. Matt was also featured as the headlining artist for the monthly jazz series at the Cafe Paradiso in Ottawa.
On October 18, 2009
Virginia Broffitt and
Jeffrey Brown presented a recital at the Illinois Valley Community College.
The recital was preceded by a masterclass given by Ms. Broffitt and included music by John LaMontaine, Christopher Caliendo, Samuel Zyman, Jennifer Higdon, and Eugene Damare.
The event was sponsored by Opus 111 Music Studios in LaSalle, IL and the Illinois Valley Community College.
Rich Cangro presented a well-received session at the Wisconsin Music Educators Association State conference in Madison, WI entitled "Developing long lasting musicianship in band and orchestra." He also has been appointed the chair for the Mentoring program for the Illinois Music Educators Association. He will develop programs, provide vision and leadership, and solicit professional development for music educator mentors and mentees in Illinois.
Mike Fansler guest conducted the Normal West High School Wind Ensemble in concert on October 29th in Bloomington, Il. He has been invited to continue assisting the students of the Normal West Wind Ensemble as they prepare for their exhibition performance at the Illinois Music Educators Association All-State Conference in January, 2010.
ALUMNS News
News from a Recent SOM Alum
From Patrick Downing.
After graduating from WIU in May 2009, I am now employed at West Music Co. in Moline, IL where I work as a Piano Sales Consultant. Along with working retail in the piano showroom, I also assist the Quad Cities community with their musical needs-particularly schools, churches, and private piano teachers.
I am proud to work at the Quad Cities' exclusive retailer of Steinway & Sons pianos - often regarded as the finest pianos in the world. Since joining West Music in mid-July, I was honored to attend the Steinway Factory Orientation at the Steinway & Sons headquarters in New York. It's a thrill to work with so many piano teachers and music educators throughout the Quad Cities area and beyond. The most rewarding part of my position is enriching peoples' lives with music, whether they are beginning piano students or concert artists. I am truly thrilled to be at West Music.
School of Music Website.
