Guest Artists 

The U.S. Army Blues Jazz Combo

Guest Artist Concert
Thurs., Sept. 16, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
Phillips Recital Hall

Master Class
Fri., Sept. 17, 2010, 12 noon
Rm. 139

Haas Fine Arts Center
UW-Eau Claire

All Events Free & Open to the Public

Five members of the U.S. Army Blues will be featured in this performance as part of their tour of Wisconsin and Iowa. The group began informally in 1970 and has become an official part of the U.S. Army Band, evolving into the premier jazz ensemble of the U.S. Army. It is one of the few remaining professional big bands working today, comprising alumni from prestigious music schools and veterans of the professional music industry.

"We are ecstatic that the premier military combo in the country would visit our university and give a concert," said Robert Baca, professor of music at UW-Eau Claire.

The Army Blues is active in schools across the nation, serving as musical ambassadors for educational outreach and recruitment. They perform at the White House, State Department and various high-profile military venues and international jazz festivals, and members volunteer to perform in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait during the holiday season in support of their fellow soldiers stationed overseas.

The performance is sponsored by the UW-Eau Claire department of music and theatre arts and the department's wind and percussion division. For more information contact Robert Baca, professor of music, at 715-836-4371 or bacarj@uwec.edu.

Darren K. Woods, opera

General Director of the Fort Worth Opera

Thursday, September 30, 2010
5:00-7:30 p.m. Audition Masterclass: Featuring UW-Eau Claire
    Students, Gantner Concert Hall

Friday, October 1, 2010
9:00 a.m. Guest Speaker in MUSI 345: Voice 
    Pedagogy, Rm. 159 HFA
11:30-1:00 p.m. Lunch with Darren Woods, 
    Dulany Inn, Davies Center (buy your own)
1:00-2:00 p.m. Lecture:"Young Artist Programs,"
    Phillips Recital Hall
4:00-6:30 p.m. Individual Auditions for Seagle 
    Colony or feedback, Phillips Recital Hall
    (not open to the public)
7:00 p.m. Casual conversation with Darren 
    Woods, location TBA

Haas Fine Arts Center, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
All Events Free & Open to the Public (except as noted)
(Call 836-3711 for more information)

Sponsored by the UW-Eau Claire Department of Music & Theatre Arts, Opera Workshop Ensemble, NATS Student Chapter, and the Newman Parish

Darren Keith Woods is an American opera general director and operatic tenor. A graduate of the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, he made his professional debut at the Santa Fe Opera as Don Curzio in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. Some of his performance credits include appearances with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, the Connecticut Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Seattle Opera, with frequent performances at the Santa Fe Opera throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Woods became the Artistic Director of both the Shreveport Opera and the Seagle Music Colony in upstate New York. He retired from the stage in 2001, at which time he left his post in Shreveport to assume the position of Artistic Director of the Fort Worth Opera.

Iowa Reed Trio

Andrew Parker, Oboe
Maurita Murphy Mead, Clarinet
Benjamin Coelho, Bassoon

Guest Artist Recital
Tues., Oct. 5, 2010
7:30 p.m.
Phillips Recital Hall

Master Class
Wed., Oct. 6, 2010
10:00 a.m.
Gantner Concert Hall

Dr. Andrew Parker has been recently appointed Assistant Professor of Oboe at the University of Iowa. After receiving his Bachelor's degree at the Eastman School of Music and Master's degree at Yale University, he finished doctoral studies at the University of Michigan where he was the Graduate Student Instructor. In his time at the University of Michigan, Andrew was a finalist in the concerto competition and was asked to represent the university by performing at the illustrious Conservatory Project, a recital series at the Kennedy Center. He also had the opportunity to collaborate with many of the faculty including Nancy Ambrose King, Jeffrey Lyman, Donald Sinta, and Amy Porter among others. He has studied under Jeannette Bittar, Richard Killmer, and Nancy Ambrose King, as well as Elaine Douvas and Robert Walters.

Andrew has also taught and coached chamber music at various international music festivals, including the FEMUSC festival in Brazil, the Hartwick Festival in New York, and the Kinhaven Music School in Vermont. In 2009 he was appointed the English horn Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival where he performed on a faculty chamber music recital with Elaine Douvas, Joaquin Valdepenas, Nancy Goeres, and Nadine Asin. He has also attended other workshops and summer programs such as the Sarasota Music Festival, the Carnegie Hall Orchestral Workshop for Winds and Brass, and the Pine Mountain Music Festival.

In addition to his experience as a teacher and chamber music coach, he has performed with many orchestras in the US, including the Florida Orchestra, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Aspen Festival Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, the Ann Arbor Symphony, the Flint Symphony, the New Mexico Symphony, the Santa Fe Symphony, the Great Falls Symphony, and the Plymouth Symphony. Andrew is currently the interim principal oboe of the Quad Cities Symphony.

Maurita Murphy Mead is the artist performer and teacher of clarinet at The University of Iowa. She is an active performer, receiving many invitations both nationally and internationally to perform Brazilian music, for which she has grown a strong passion. Her Brazilian concerts with Rafael Dos Santos include International Clarinet conferences and the National Clarinet Symposium of Brazil, as well as at many universities in the United States and abroad. It is her desire to promote and educate the public about Brazilian music and her passion for it. Also an active chamber player, she has performed with many string quartets, including an invitation from the internationally acclaimed Cleveland Quartet. Her more recent performance travels to the "Klassik auf der Alp" Music Festival in Switzerland, Ohio State University (honoring her teacher, Professor Emeritus Stanley Hasty of the Eastman School of Music), and Tanzania, Africa, have all included the sharing of her passion for Brazilian music. She was a featured guest solo artist at the International Clarinet Symposium at the University of Oklahoma and performed an all Brazilian recital along with guitarist Juan Tony Guzman, a native of the Dominican Republic and faculty member at Luther College, Décorah, Iowa. Her trip to Tanzania, Africa, sparked a new path of research. Dr. Mead was invited to present scholarly papers at international conferences in Greece and Ireland on "The Brazilian Choro: Race, Class, and Nationalism in Brazil", along with demonstrations from her Red Hot & Brazilian CD.

Benjamin Coelho, professor of bassoon, has been at The University of Iowa since 1998. He has appeared as soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician, teacher and clinician in several countries including the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Portugal, France, Romania, Australia, Canada and Czech Republic.

Rob Auler, piano

Guest Artist Recital
Sun., Oct. 10, 2010
7:30 p.m.
Gantner Concert Hall

Master Class
Mon., Oct. 11, 2010
10:00 a.m.
Phillips Recital Hall

Haas Fine Arts Center
UW-Eau Claire

All Events Free & Open to the Public

Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Academic Affairs Professional Development Program, and the Department of Music & Theatre Arts.

Robert Marshall Auler is an award-winning American concert pianist who maintains a national and international performing career. Auler has won numerous competitions, including the Society of American Musicians First Prize. Following his success in the Young Keyboard Artists’ Association Piano Competition, Auler was invited to perform throughout Germany, France, the Netherlands and Denmark. He has also presented concerts throughout Venezuela, most notably at Caracas’ Festival A Tiempo. In April 2008, Auler presented concerts throughout Austria, including an appearance on the Alte-Shmeide Gallery Series in Vienna, as well as a concert at the international Ignaz Pleyel Museum in Ruppersthal.

Auler has also appeared in concert throughout the United States, including appearances on the Xavier Piano and Guitar Series (OH), at City College of New York, as a featured artist on the MTNA Convention’s Rising Star Series, and on the Dame Myra Hess series in Chicago, with a live simulcast on Chicago’s WFMT-FM Radio. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in June 2004. Rob is entering his seventh year as piano professor at SUNY Oswego.

Rob is quite active as a chamber musician as well. He has recently appeared with the Ying Quartet, the MIRO Quartet, cellist Julie Albers, and violinist Irina Muresanu, and has been the resident pianist for the Michigan City (IN) Chamber Music Festival for the past eight years. As a concerto soloist, Rob has appeared with the Northwest Florida Symphony, the Arc Ensemble (OH), the Champaign-Urbana Symphony (IL), the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Simon Bolivar Orchestra (VZ), the Blue Lake Festival Orchestra (MI) and the LaPorte Symphony (IN).

He is a keen advocate of new music, having worked with William Bolcom, Steve Reich, Leslie Bassett, Martin Bresnick, Rudolf Haken, and Frederic Rzewski, Jonathan Pieslak and Carter Pann. Festival performances have included appearances at the Aspen Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, the MUSIC 200x Series in Cincinnati, and Brave New Works-Ann Arbor. His recent compact disc release, American Century, features music of the last 100 years influenced by the American vernacular.

David K. Barton, composition and electronic music

with Boyd Nutting - PLATO and the Western Tradition

Wed., Oct. 13, 2010
11:00 a.m., Rm. 133
   Presentation: "The Theremin" 
   by Boyd Nutting 
   (See video of Leon Theremin 
    playing his invention.)

5:00 p.m., Rm. 273 (MIDI lab)
   Workshop: "Electronic Music 
   Improvisation" by David K. 
   Barton

Thurs., Oct. 14, 2010
1:00 p.m., Phillips Recital Hall
   Lecture: "Electronic Music" by David Barton
7:30 p.m., Phillips Recital Hall
   Guest Artist Recital: David K. Barton with Boyd Nutting - PLATO and the Western
   Tradition, "Music and Video"

Haas Fine Arts Center, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
All Events Free & Open to the Public

For more information see the News Bureau press release.

Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Academic Affairs Professional Development Program, and the Department of Music & Theatre Arts.

David K. Barton earned the BA (1968), MA (1972), and PhD (1975) degrees in Music with major emphasis in Composition, all from the University of California, Santa Barbara.  He also studied in the Faculty of Music, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, as part of his undergraduate training.  He has been a member of National Institute for the Humanities Summer Seminars at Brandeis University (1979), Harvard University (1983 and 1997) and New York University (1988), and participated in a Computer Music Seminar at the University of Chicago (1985). He has held teaching positions in the College of Creative Studies and Department of Music, University of California, Santa Barbara (1971-74), and the College Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati (1974-76). From 1976-2010 he was on the faculty of Indiana University South Bend, where he presently is Professor of Music, Emeritus. During his tenure at IU South Bend he served the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts as Director of the IU South Bend Computer Music Studio (1976-2010), Music Area Coordinator (1990-2009), and Assistant Dean and Director of Instruction (1998-2003) and Director of Graduate Studies (2003-2009).   Barton's specialty as a composer/performer is computer-assisted electronic music improvisation.  Since 1988 he has been the coordinator of a performance ensemble, PLATO and the Western Tradition, which performed regularly at IU South Bend, and which has performed at many other venues in Michiana and elsewhere in the United States.  This ensemble has recorded more than 2,025 improvisations.  Beginning in 1992, Barton involved IU South Bend students in electronic music improvisation with the IU South Bend Electronic Music Ensemble. From 1991 to 2010 Barton was the producer of the annual Michiana Improvisational Music Festival. Barton has a catalogue of 75 conventional instrumental and vocal compositions, plus nearly 300 electronic music compositions and recorded solo improvisations.  He also has created a number of video pieces, usually to be presented as adjuncts to improvisation performances.

Boyd Nutting has worked in many trades, but has always been a film and video artist and electronic musician.  He spent some years as a student in the film program at William James College in Michigan, but left when the university ended the film program and advised him to finish his degree as a sculpture major.  He was the cofounder of PLATO and the Western Tradition, and also was the founder of the improvisation ensemble CONCRETE that eventually specialized in creating "new" soundtracks for classic silent films. The first of these projects, a "score" for the 1925 silent Russian film classic Battleship Potemkin, first performed live in July 1998, attracted the attention of Roger Ebert, who subsequently included performances by CONCRETE in several of his Overlooked Film Festivals in Urbana, Illinois. CONCRETE also created musical scenarios for other classic films such as The Last Laugh, Krimhield's Revenge, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Metropolis, and Faust.   Boyd is an analog electronic music enthusiast—preferring to work with oscillators, filters, envelope generators and other modules that can be manipulated in real time by the improvising performer.  He has become a skilled, if unconventional, performer on the theremin, the electronic musical instrument invented by Leon Theremin in 1918, and later modernized and popularized by Robert Moog.      

Jeri-Mae Astolfi, piano

Guest Artist Recital
Sun., Oct. 17, 2010
2:00 p.m.
Gantner Concert Hall

Haas Fine Arts Center
UW-Eau Claire

All Events Free & Open to the Public

Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Academic Affairs Professional Development Program, and the Department of Music & Theatre Arts.

Pianist Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi, a native of Canada, has been engaged in an active and diverse musical career from an early age. An avid performer of repertoire ranging from the renaissance era to the present, her keen interest in new music has led to the commission, premiere, and performance of many new works, both solo and collaborative, which have been featured on live radio broadcasts and on recordings of music by Phillip Schroeder (Music for Piano and Songs of My Affinities) as well as various recordings for the Society of Composers Inc. Performers Recording Series including the inaugural disc, Mélange: New Music for Piano and its successors, Sonance: New Music for Piano and Chroma: New Music for Piano. Lauded for her “versatile artistry,” reviewers have further described her playing as “brilliant,” “phenomenal,” “jaw-dropping,” and “a pleasure to listen to."

Her passion for the creation and integration of new works has been recognized by invited participation in professional regional and national forums where she has lectured on, performed, and premiered new literature for piano. Astolfi also frequently serves as a clinician, adjudicator, coach, and masterclass instructor and is an active member in various local, state, and national music associations including her role as College Faculty Representative for the Wisconsin Music Teachers Association. In addition, she serves on the Board of Directors of PianoArts, a North-American piano competition, festival, and fellowship program.

The recipient of numerous awards, scholarships, and grants, Astolfi's professional activities have taken her throughout Canada, the United States, and abroad. Advanced studies in piano performance were with pianists Helmut Brauss (University of Alberta), Tom Plaunt (McGill University), and Lydia Artymiw (University of Minnesota) with whom she completed doctoral studies. Currently a member of the music faculty at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Astolfi previously taught at Henderson State University in Arkansas.

Tu Dance, Dance/Choreography
Artist-in-Residence October 18-22, 2010

TU Dance  will conduct a week-long residency in cooperation with the UW-Eau Claire dance program. 

Dance Master Class

Artists Series Performance

Monday, April 4, 2011
7:30 p.m.
Gantner Concert Hall
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Contact the University Service Center 715.836.3727 for ticket information.

Founded in 2004 by Toni Pierce-Sands and Uri Sands, TU Dance is a Minnesota-based company that reaches across dance styles, drawing from traditions ranging from contemporary ballet to modern and traditional forms. The young company’s work aims to reveal the connective power of dance, celebrating a beautiful diversity on stage. TU Dance has premiered a compelling repertory of new work by Uri Sands, named as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to watch” and recipient of the inaugural 2005 Princess Grace Award in choreography. The company has also premiered work by leading American choreographers including Dwight Rhoden and Ronald K. Brown. More information: www.tudance.org

Pro Arte Quartet

Artists Series Concert
Mon., Oct. 25, 2010
7:30 p.m.
Gantner Concert Hall
(Contact the University Service Center, 715-836-3727, for ticket information.)

Master Class
Mon., Oct. 25, 2010
2:00 p.m.
Gantner Concert Hall
Free and Open to the Public

One of the world’s distinguished string quartets, the Pro Arte Quartet maintains a three-fold commitment to the performance of chamber music. The quartet promotes an exciting balance of old and new repertoire, seeking opportunities to commission and premiere works of living composers in a variety of contemporary styles.

The Pro Arte Quartet forges a passionate connection with audiences of diverse backgrounds through a full schedule of concerts, tours, recordings and broadcasts. The Pro Arte Quartet also honors its past as the first ensemble-in-residence at a major American university, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

More information: proartequartet.org

Sean Botkin, piano

Guest Artist Recital
Mon., Nov. 1, 2010
7:30 p.m.
Gantner Concert Hall
"All Rachmaninoff"

Master Class
Tues., Nov. 2, 2010
10:00 a.m.
Gantner Concert Hall

Haas Fine Arts Center
UW-Eau Claire

All Events Free & Open to the Public

Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Academic Affairs Professional Development Program, and the Department of Music & Theatre Arts.

Pianist Sean Botkin began studying the piano at age five with his mother, making his first orchestral appearance four years later with the Honolulu Symphony. He went on to study privately with Neal O’Doan at the University of Washington and, under his direction, performed with the Seattle Symphony, Spokane Symphony, and Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra. Sean has garnered prizes in an impressive list of international piano competitions: William Kapell International Piano Competition, Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, Busoni International Piano Competition, Cleveland International Piano Competition, World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, Dong-A International Music Competition of Korea, International Music Competition of Japan and the Washington D.C. International Competition. A graduate of Stanford University, the Juilliard School, and Indiana University at South Bend, Sean has studied with eminent artists Adolph Baller, Martin Canin, and Alexander Toradze.

Sean has performed extensively in the United States, Europe, Central and South America, Asia, and Russia. Concerto and recital performances include St. Petersburg, Russia; Tbilisi and Kutaisi, Georgia; Salzburg Festival, Ravenna Festival, Stresa Festival, Ruhr Klavier Festival, Gilmore Festival, London, Rome, Florence, Bologna, Palermo, Lisbon, Tokyo, Seoul, Bogotá, and San Jose (Costa Rica). He made his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall performing Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Juilliard Symphony, conducted by Carl St. Clair. Most recently, he made a CD recording of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor and performed a series of concerts in Europe sponsored by Alexander Rachmaninoff and the Rachmaninoff Foundation. Upcoming performances include recitals in Switzerland and France. Reactions to Sean’s performances typically are expressed with phrases such as “multidimensional talents”, “superb musicianship”, and “beautiful and rare musical experience”. A professor at the University of Northern Iowa, Sean is also a performer and faculty member of the Aloha International Piano Festival in Hawaii and a member of the esteemed Toradze Piano Studio.

Steven Mead, euphonium

Artist-in-Residence

Master Class
Tues., Nov. 2, 2010
4:00 p.m., Gantner Concert Hall

Master Class
Wed., Nov. 3, 2010
6:00 p.m., HFA 143

Guest Artist Performance
Thurs., Nov. 4, 2010
7:30 p.m., Gantner Concert Hall
Steven Mead, euphonium, and Barbara Young, piano with the UW-Eau Claire Wind Symphony, Peter Haberman, conductor

Haas Fine Arts Center
UW-Eau Claire

All Events Free & Open to the Public

Sponsored by Besson Musical Instruments, the Royal Northern College of Music, The Euphonium Store, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Academic Affairs Professional Development Program, and the Department of Music & Theatre Arts.

Steven Mead is widely regarded as one of the most successful professional euphonium soloists in the world today, performing over 75 concerts per year with some of the leading orchestras, wind bands and brass bands in the world.  In recent years he has played solo concerti with symphony orchestras, including:  Germany (Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra) Norway (Trondheim Symphony Orchestra) , Finland (Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Helsinki Philharmonic), Poland (Capella Cracoviensis), USA (Minneapolis Pops Orchestra) and the Japan Chamber Orchestra.

He has been a featured guest at all the major brass and wind band festivals and low brass festivals, including several at European Brass Band Championships and National Brass Band Festivals as well as at similar events in Norway , the Netherlands , Belgium , Sweden , USA and Japan and the MidWest Band Clinic, Chicago.

There have been world premiere performances of over 175 solo works for euphonium including the premiere performances of euphonium works by Philip Sparke (both of his concerti for solo euphonium), Martin Ellerby (euphonium concerto), James Curnow, Tadeus Kassatti, Torstein Aagaard Nilsen (concerto for euphonium and orchestra), Robert Jager, Vladimir Cosma (concerto for euphonium and wind orchestra), Rolf Wihelm (concertino for euphonium), Arthur Butterworth, John Reeman, Thomas Dos, Yasuhide Ito, Marco Putz, Rolf Rudin (concerto for euphonium and symphony orchestra), and  just last summer UW-Eau Claire's Ethan Wickman's "Summit" for five euphoniums and piano.

He is the most recorded euphonium artist in the world, with 54 CDs where he is featured as soloist or guest soloist, including the World of the Euphonium Series (five volumes) the Euphonium Magic series (three volumes) of multitrack recording, five CDs with the British Tuba Quartet (1991-2000) which he formed in 1991.

Steven is a founding member and solo euphonium of the Brass Band of Battle Creek, USA since 1992, the leading fully professional brass world in the world.

More information...

Minnesota Opera

Mary Dibbern, piano
Angela Mortellaro, soprano
Rodolfo Nieto, bass-baritone
Jamie Andrews, speaker

Tuesday, November 9, 2010
4:00-5:30 p.m. Masterclass: Featuring UW-Eau Claire
    Students, Gantner Concert Hall
5:30-7:00 p.m. Dinner with Guest Artists 
    Off Campus (buy your own)
7:30 p.m. Recital:  Mary Dibbern, piano & Angela Mortellaro, soprano
    Phillips Recital Hall

Haas Fine Arts Center, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
All Events Free & Open to the Public
(Call 836-3711 for more information)

Sponsored by the UW-Eau Claire Department of Music & Theatre Arts & Opera Workshop Ensemble

Bass-baritoneRodolfo Nieto most recently appeared as Don Alfonso for Cedar Rapids Opera Theater's production of Così fan tutte. Other roles for that company include the Imperial Commissioner in Madame Butterfly and Pooh-Bah in The Mikado. During the 2008 season he was an Opera Colorado Young Artist, where he sang the roles of Don Magnifico and Alidoro in Cinderella and Godofredo in La Curandera for its outreach program. In 2007, Mr. Nieto appeared as Gravitas in the world premiere of Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings at Theatre@Boston Court.

Mr. Nieto attended Northwestern University, where he performed as Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte and Simone in Gianni Schicchi. At Luther College, he has sung the title role in The Marriage of Figaro, the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte. As a resident artist for the Minnesota Opera last season, Mr. Nieto appeared as the Third Inquisitor and Spanish Captain in Casanova's Homecoming, the Friend of Nottingham in Roberto Devereux, Colline in La bohème and the First Guard in Salome. This season he returns to sing Dr. Grenvil in La traviata and Joseph in Wuthering Heights.

Jamie Andrews received his bachelor's in music education from UW-Eau Claire in 1998. He was a music teacher for Forest Lake Public Schools from 1998-2000 and Lester Prairie Public School from 2000-02. Andrews became the education director for The Minnesota Opera in 2002.

As education director, he developed Project Opera, a program made up of students in grades 4-12 who rehearse weekly to gain skills in vocal technique, acting and foreign languages. He also started Opera Summer Camp, a residential camp for teens to gain exposure to opera and coOPERAtion! an award wining in-school residency program. This program has led to residencies around the state, from inner city high schools to rural communities. He also created Opera Boxes and the Opera Academy, resources and a workshop for K-12 educators. In addition, he organizes an adult education lecture series based on The Minnesota Opera main stage productions.

Andrews has created and led numerous workshops on opera and opera education in the Twin Cities and at national conferences. He developed opera-based curriculum materials for educators for national distribution through OPERA America. He has worked with the Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Schubert Club, Weisman Art Museum, Walker Art Center, Germanic-American Institute, Italian Cultural Institute and numerous libraries to present opera-related community events.

Eric Rombach-Kendall, Band Conductor

Artist-in-Residence November, 2010

Eric Rombach-Kendall will work with the UW-Eau Claire Symphony Band and Wind Symphony prior to their Nov. 21 concert and guest conduct on the concert.

Concert:  Sunday, November 21, 2010
5:00 p.m., Gantner Concert Hall
Symphony Band, Phil Ostrander, conductor, and the Wind Symphony, Peter Haberman, conductor with guest conductor Eric Rombach-Kendall

Eric Rombach-Kendall is Professor of Music at the University of New Mexico where he has served as Director of Bands since 1993.  Prior to his appointment at UNM, Mr. Rombach-Kendall held conducting positions at Boston University and Carleton College and taught in the Washington State Public Schools for six years.

Mr. Rombach-Kendall currently serves as President Elect of the College Band Directors National Association.  He has been a guest conductor and clinician throughout the United States and Canada and has published articles in The Instrumentalist, New Mexico Musician, and Teaching Music Through Performance in Band.   

Mr. Rombach-Kendall's bands have received national acclaim through their performances at the College Band Directors National Association National and Southwest Division Conferences, the MENC National Conference, North American Saxophone Alliance, Society of Composers, Inc., and the New Mexico Music Educators Conference.  Mr. Rombach-Kendall is the conductor and co-producer of four recordings with the University of New Mexico Wind Symphony on Summit Records:  Fandango, featuring Philip Smith, Principal Trumpet of the New York Philharmonic, and Joseph Alessi, Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic, Illuminations, featuring Mr. Alessi, Classic Solos for Winds, featuring woodwind faculty members at the University of New Mexico, and Fascinating Ribbons.

Matt Pivec, jazz saxophone

UWEC Alum, Director of Jazz Studies at Butler University

Guest Artist Performance with Jazz Ensemble II

Concert: Thursday, November 18, 2010
7:30 p.m.
Gantner Concert Hall
Contact Service Center, 715-836-3727) for ticket information.

Jazz Saxophone Clinic
Friday, November 19, 2010
3:00 p.m.
Rm. 139, Haas Fine Arts Center
Free & Open to the Public

Master Class:  Maximizing the Benefits of Solo Transcription
Friday, November 19, 2010
4:00 p.m.
Rm. 139, Haas Fine Arts Center
Free & Open to the Public

As a performer of jazz and popular music, Matt has worked with Ray Charles, The Temptations, Dave Rivello, Bob Brookmeyer, Peter Erskine, Maria Schneider, Julia Dollison, Melvin Rhyne, the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Pops Orchestra, and the national touring companies of Hairspray, 42nd Street, and The Producers. As a band leader and soloist, Matt has performed at jazz festivals and venues throughout the United States. His most recent CD, Live at Snider Hall, was released in the spring of 2008 to critical acclaim.

Matt received the Doctor of Musical Arts (Saxophone Performance and Literature) and Master of Music (Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media) degrees from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. While at Eastman, Matt studied with Ramon Ricker. He performed with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, the Eastman Graduate Saxophone Quartet, and served as lead alto saxophone of the Eastman Jazz Ensemble. He received several student honors including the outstanding blues/pop/rock soloist from Downbeat magazine, the Arts Leadership Certificate, and the outstanding Teaching Assistant award. Matt received the Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. There, he performed with the UWEC Wind Ensemble and served as lead alto saxophone of the nationally acclaimed Jazz Ensemble I, which was recognized twice as the top collegiate jazz ensemble by Downbeat Magazine.

Currently, Matt is the director of jazz studies at Butler University where directs the Jazz Ensemble 1 and teaches courses in the jazz studies curriculum. In February 2009, Matt founded the Butler Youth Jazz Program, a select jazz ensemble comprised of students from the Indianapolis area. Prior to his appointment at Butler, he taught at CSU, Stanislaus and Cornell University. In 2006 he was named "Junior Faculty Member with Exceptional Promise" by the CSUS College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences. In 2006 Matt founded the Stanislaus Youth Jazz Orchestra, a select jazz ensemble comprised of high school students from Stanislaus County. A committed educator, he enjoys teaching saxophone and jazz to students of all ages. More information about Matt can be found on his website, www.mattpivec.com

Connie Evingson, jazz vocalist

Guest Artist Performance with Jazz Ensemble I

Concert:  Friday, December 3, 2010
7:30 p.m.
Gantner Concert Hall
Contact Service Center, 715-836-3727, for ticket information.

• Performing music from Connie Evingson's "The Secret of Christmas" CD

Jazz vocalist Connie Evingson appears in theaters, concert halls and nightclubs around the world. She has been a featured guest artist with the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Doc Severinsen, the Toronto Symphony, Vocalessence, Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion and the JazzMN Big Band. She appears regularly at the nationally renowned Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis and is the featured artist on the Jazz at the Jungle concert series at the Jungle Theater, also in Minneapolis. Connie has been featured on the Smithsonian's Jazz Singers radio series and NPR's Fresh Air, and is on numerous compilation discs including Jazziz Magazine's Vocals on Fire and New Sirens of Song along with Diana Krall, Stacy Kent, Janis Siegel and others. Her 8 CDs on Minnehaha Music have all charted in the Top 50 in the U.S. and Canada and can be heard on radio stations worldwide. In 2005, the JazzWeek radio programmers group nominated her for Vocalist of the Year along with artists Tierney Sutton, Madeline Peyroux, Stacey Kent and Curt Stigers. Connie is a two-time recipient of the McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians (2000-01; 2005-06).

Karis Sloss

Dieter Hennings, classical guitar

Guest Artist Recital
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
7:30 p.m.
Phillips Recital Hall

Haas Fine Arts Center
UW-Eau Claire

Free Admission

Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Academic Affairs Professional Development Program, and the Department of Music & Theatre Arts.

Dieter Hennings's musical endeavors span from new music on guitar to early music for lute, baroque guitar, and theorbo.  Mr. Hennings has been a soloist with Canada’s New Music Concerts Ensemble, Eastman BroadBand Ensemble, Eastman School Symphony Orchestra, the University of Arizona Philharmonia, and the Orquesta Juvenil de Sonora, Mexico. Mr. Hennings has won several prestigious competitions including the 2008 Aaron Brock International Guitar Competition, 2005 Eastman Guitar Concerto Competition, the 2002 Villa de Petrer, Alicante (Spain) International Competition, the 2001 Portland Guitar Competition, among others.

Mr. Hennings is an active proponent of new music, particularly that of Latin America, having recently worked with composers Mario Davidovsky, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Juan Trigos and Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon. Mr. Hennings has recently premiered works by composers Jake Bancks, Wes Matthews, John Aylward, Beth Wiemann, Hebert Vazquez, Luca Cori, Juan Trigos and Scott Worthington. He recently performed Synchronisms no. 10 for guitar and tape for Mario Davidovsky in a concert dedicated to the composer's work. Mr. Hennings has received grants from the Howard Hanson Institute for American Music and the Fondo Estatal para la Cultura y las Artes to commission and premiere contemporary works for guitar.

Recent engagements include concerts with pop-singer Natalie Merchant and baroque vioinist Monica Huggett as well as appearances at the Mexican Embassy in Rome, Festival SpazioMusica of Cagliari, Conservatorio de las Rosas in Morelia, Mexico, University of Chicago, Festival Internacional de Chihuahua, New York’s Joyce Theater, Julliard’s Paul Hall, and New England Conservatory. Mr. Hennings is a resident artist at the East Coast Composers Ensemble and the Eastman Broad Band Ensemble, with whom he maintains an active performing schedule.

In 2005 and 2007 he participated in the modern premieres of the baroque operas "Apollo and Daphne" and “La virtù de’stralli d’Amore” by Francesco Cavalli, both directed by Paul O'Dette. Mr. Hennings recently performed recitals on baroque lute and guitar at Milan’s Spazio Tadini, the Arizona Early Music Society and the Rochester Early Music Society among many others.

Current recording projects include an album of works by Silvius Leopold Weiss for baroque lute and the guitar works of composers Juan Trigos and Luca Cori. Recently he collaborated in a recording project with singer Natalie Merchant which also featured musicians like Winton Marsalis, Medeski, Martin and Wood, and producer Anders Levin.

Dieter Hennings received a Bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona School of Music in Guitar Performance in 2004. The following year he was awarded a Master’s degree in Early Plucked Instruments with world-renowned lutenist Paul O'Dette at the Eastman School of Music. He has recently completed the residency for his Doctoral degree in both Guitar Performance and Early Plucked Instruments at Eastman.

Since August of 2009, Dieter Hennings has been an assistant professor of music at the University of Kentucky where he teaches Classical Guitar.

Nirmala Rajasekar, Indian Veena (South Indian classical lute)

Guest Artist Concert
Mon., February 28, 2011, 7:30 p.m.
Schofield Auditorium
Admission Free

Guest Artist Lecture
Tues., March 1, 2011, 11:00 a.m.
    World Music Class
Tues., March 1, 2011, 1:00 p.m.
    Women in Music Seminar

Funding has been provided by the Visiting Minority Scholars Grant Program, representing a collaboration between the departments of Music and Theatre Arts, Philosophy and Religious Studies, and Geography and Anthropology.

(See a video of Nirmala Rajasekar in concert on the Twin Cities Public Television web site.)

Nirmala Rajasekar, Indian Veena virtuoso, will perform in concert with Thanjavur Murugaboopathi (Mridangam—an Indian drum), Balaji Chandran (Ghatam-claypot), and Sriram Natarajan (Khanjira-tambourine).  Nirmala Rajasekar is a vocalist, veena player, educator and composer in the South Indian Carnatic style of music. She is a world-renowned performer and a teacher of Carnatic Music as well. The press has often described her as a "Carnatic Ambassador" as  she has introduced Carnatic Music to many other art forms of the world. She feels that "...music is the universal language of the world..." and sharing it can only lead to more understanding among cultures and peoples of the world.

Nirmala Rajasekar began her training in Veena at age 6 in Chennai from well known practitioners such as Sri Deva Kottai Narayana Iyengar and Smt. Kamala Aswathama. After moving to Bangalore, she learned at the Gana Mandira School in Basavangudi Smt. G Chennama and Smt. E. P. Alamelu.



At this time, the violin Vidwan Sri A. D. Zachariah also guided her, and she began her career as a soloist at age 13. Later in Chennai, she was guided by the revered veena vidushi Smt.Kalpakam Swaminathan with whom she continues to study. Her vocal Gurus are Sri B.Sitarama Sarma and Sri T.R. Subramanyam.



Rajasekar has performed in many prestigious venues such as the United Nations and Carnegie Hall, New York City, USA; Northrope Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN; Walker Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN; BBC, London, England; Kongresshaus, Zurich, Switzerland; Musee Rietberg, Zurich, Switzerland; Bali, Indonesia; Music Academy, Chennai, India; Naradha Gana Sabha, Chennai, India; Chembur Fine Arts, Mumbai, India; Bangalore Gayana Samaja, India and the Ravindra Kalakshethra, Bangalore, India.

Nirmala is the artistic director of the school Naadha Rasa, Center for Music. The words 'Naadha Rasa' means the 'essence of tone.' Her ensemble performs to great aaclaim all over the state of Minnesota and at other venues around the country bringing Carnatic Music wherever invited to perform.



Nirmala travels  around the world teaching and performing Carnatic Music vocally and on her veena She is active collaborator with other forms of art as well including western Classical music, Jazz, Chinese poetry, creating music along with Jazz bands, dance and poetry.



Nirmala has received much recognition for her contributions to the music world, for not only performing and teaching Carnatic Music, but also for introducing it to other art forms in the world. Today, she is one of the leading veena artists.
Learn more about Nirmala at her web site.

Kristín Jónína Taylor, piano

Guest Artist Lecture-Recital
"Icelandic Piano Music"
Mon., March 7, 2011, 7:30 p.m.
Phillips Recital Hall

Haas Fine Arts Center
UW-Eau Claire

All Events Free & Open to the Public

Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Academic Affairs Professional Development Program, and the Department of Music & Theatre Arts.

Kristín Jónína Taylor is an Icelandic-American pianist who has been enthusiastically received for her performances of Nordic piano works, including the North American premiere of Jón Nordal’s Piano Concerto in 2003 and programs by invitation in Washington D.C. for the Ambassador of Iceland and President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. She has performed widely in the U.S. as well as in Reykjavík, Paris, Prague, Belgium, and Austria. Her playing has been described as “genuine and straightforward while at the same time moving, sincere and exceptionally affectionate” (Jónas Sen, Classical music critic, Morgunblaðið, leading newspaper in Iceland).

As a foreign student in Iceland when she was 16, Kristín studied piano with Halldór Haraldsson. At the University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory of Music, her mentors were Joanne Baker and Richard Cass. In June of 2006 she received her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at the University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music where she studied with Eugene and Elizabeth Pridonoff. In addition, she has studied with John and Antoinette Perry in the United States, and in Europe with Diane Andersen, Daniel Blumenthal, Jacques Lagarde, Perfecto Garcia Chornet, Vit Gregor, and Einar-Steen Nokleberg.

Kristín was the recipient of a Fulbright grant to Iceland from the U.S. government to conduct research for her doctoral thesis on Jón Nordal’s Piano Concerto. Additionally, she was the Grand Prize Winner of the Naftzger Young Artist Competition and a national finalist in the Music Teachers’ National Association Young Chang Collegiate Competition. In 2003 she was invited to give a performance at the Classical Hall of Fame in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was a soloist with several orchestras, including the Independence Symphony, the Jefferson City Symphony, and the UMKC Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, she was featured with the University of Cincinnati College – Conservatory Philharmonia as winner of the Brahms d minor Concerto Competition and performed the Falla Nights in the Gardens of Spain by invitation with the same orchestra the following year. In addition to her performing career, Kristín lectures widely on Icelandic and Nordic music, which is her great passion.

Kristín is an Assistant Professor of Piano at Waldorf College.  Learn more about Krstin at: 

Stanislava Varshavski and Diana Shapiro Piano Duo

Guest Artist Recital
Tues., March 8, 2011, 7:30 p.m.
Gantner Concert Hall

Haas Fine Arts Center
UW-Eau Claire

All Events Free & Open to the Public

Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Academic Affairs Professional Development Program, and the Department of Music & Theatre Arts.

Stanislava Varshavski was born in Kharkov, Ukraine. After receiving her initial musical training at Ukraine, she proceeded with her studies at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy in Israel. There, at 1998, she together with Diana Shapiro established Varshavski-Shapiro Piano Duo. Within few years the duo won first prizes at series of international competitions, leading to a set of appearances at three continents. After studying with legendary Israeli duo Tamir-Eden, and Prof. Victor Rosenbaum in Boston, in 2008 Stanislava started her Doctoral degree studies with Prof. Martha Fischer at the UW-Madison. Besides her collaborations with leading instrumentalists, Ms. Varshavski has been also pursuing active piano education career, including teaching at number of music schools and colleges in Israel, Massachusetts and Wisconsin. In 2008, Stanislava was granted the "Extraordinary Abilities in the Arts" permanent U.S. residence, as one of a small percentage of those who have risen to the top in their field of endeavor.

Diana Shapiro was born in Moscow, Russia. At the age of 17 she moved to Israel and started her studies at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy with Prof. Berkovich. At one of her classes in the Academy, she was encouraged by Prof. Alexander Tamir to try playing as a piano duo with Stanislava Varshavski. The collaboration turned to be a real success, bringing them to the top at numerous competitions worldwide, including world's biggest competition in their field - Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition. At 2005 the duo moved to Boston where they studied with Prof. Victor Rosenbaum. Currently, Diana pursues Doctor of Musical Arts degree with Prof. Martha Fischer at the UW-Madison on Collins Fellowship. Besides being part of the piano duo, Ms. Shapiro appeared with multiple leading instrumentalists and singers in Israel, New England and Wisconsin. She also works as a piano instructor at college and pre-college level. In 2009, the US Government granted Ms. Shapiro special visa status for “Persons with Extraordinary Achievements and Abilities” - a rare immigration category reserved for outstanding scientists and internationally renowned artists.

Learn more about the Varshavski-Stanislava Piano Duo at:  http://www.piano-4-hands.com/index.htm