UW-Superior Music Department's News and Events

11 music majors perform with Wisconsin National Band Association Collegiate Honor Band

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:31:02 +0000

Eleven students majoring in music at the University of Wisconsin-Superior were chosen to take part in the Wisconsin National Band Association Collegiate Honor Band.

The students participated in rehearsals and a concert Jan. 19-20 in Wisconsin Rapids along with students from 14 other Wisconsin universities. Conductors for the band included Dr. Pamela Bustos, associate professor and director of bands at UW-Superior, and four other Wisconsin university band directors.

The UW-Superior students are pictured at right.

Front row from left:

Dr. Pamela Bustos
Tara Yrjanainen of Solon Springs, Wis., majoring in music education- instrumental, performing on flute.
Emily Borra of Side Lake, Minn., majoring in instrumental performance, performing on French horn.
Chelsey Pavlovich of Poplar, Wis., majoring in music education-instrumental, performing on percussion.
Sara Broshofske of Ogilvie, Minn., majoring in music-general, performing on clarinet.
Olivia Krause of Cochrane, Wis., majoring in music-general, performing on percussion

Back row from left:

Katlyn Stoinski of Moose Lake, Minn., majoring in music education-general, performing on bassoon.
Jessie Peterson of Wrenshall, Minn., majoring in music education-instrumental, performing on clarinet.
Stacey Coggon of Elroy, Wis., majoring in music education-instrumental, performing on euphonium.
Richard Wehmas of Clear Lake, Wis., majoring in music education-instrumental, performing on tuba.
Cory Coffman of Blaine, Minn., majoring in music education-instrumental, performing on percussion.
Michael Ugrich of Bovey, Minn., majoring in music performance, performing on guitar and percussion.

Student Recital - Michael Ugrich, guitar

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:04:47 +0000

Webb Recital Hall, Holden Fine Arts

7:30 p.m.

Free Admission

Map: http://www.uwsuper.edu/aboutuwsuperior/maps/mapimage.cfm

Student Recital - Amy Isreal, piano

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:03:40 +0000

Webb Recital Hall, Holden Fine Arts

7:30 p.m.

Free Admission

Map: http://www.uwsuper.edu/aboutuwsuperior/maps/mapimage.cfm

Student Recital - Tara Yrjanainen, flute; Cory Coffman, percussion

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:02:38 +0000

Webb Recital Hall, Holden Fine Arts

7:30 p.m.

Free Admission

Map: http://www.uwsuper.edu/aboutuwsuperior/maps/mapimage.cfm

Student Vocal Recital - Danielle Kannenberg and Kayla Krenz

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:00:23 +0000

Webb Recital Hall, Holden Fine Arts

7:30 p.m.

Free Admission

Map: http://www.uwsuper.edu/aboutuwsuperior/maps/mapimage.cfm

Student Recital - Ian Deterling, composition; Gabby Anderson, saxophone

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:58:01 +0000

Webb Recital Hall, Holden Fine Arts

7:30 p.m.

Free Admission

Map: http://www.uwsuper.edu/aboutuwsuperior/maps/mapimage.cfm

Junior Recital - Melody Kosobucki, piano

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:56:25 +0000

Webb Recital Hall, Holden Fine Arts

7:30 p.m.

Free Admission

Map: http://www.uwsuper.edu/aboutuwsuperior/maps/mapimage.cfm

Student Recital - Jacaly Schlies, oboe; Karyn Pederson, bassoon

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:53:11 +0000

Webb Recital Hall, Holden Fine Arts

7:30 p.m.

Free Admission

Map: http://www.uwsuper.edu/aboutuwsuperior/maps/mapimage.cfm

Senior Recital - Aaron Wainman, voice

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:52:14 +0000

Webb Recital Hall, Holden Fine Arts

7:30 p.m.

Free Admission

Map: http://www.uwsuper.edu/aboutuwsuperior/maps/mapimage.cfm

UW-Superior vocal groups prep for Italy tour

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:24:43 +0000

Choirs perform music for Italian tour

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:32:33 +0000

The UW-Superior Acappela Choir and Chamber Choir present two special concerts in the Twin Ports to preview the music they will perform during their January tour of the Vatican and other locations in Italy.

The performances are:

Monday, Jan. 9
7:30 p.m.
First Lutheran Church
1100 E. Superior St. in Duluth

Tuesday, Jan. 10
7:30 p.m.
Cathedral of Christ the King
Belknap Street and Baxter Avenue in Superior

Works to be performed include selections of "Requiem" by Guiseppe Verdi, "May We Joy" by Malcolm Archer,m and "Lux aurumque" by Eric Whitacre.

Works that the choirs will perform in the Vatican include "Crucifixion" by Adolphus Hailstork, "O quam gloriosam" by Tomas Luis de Victoria and "My Soul's Been Anchored" arranged by Moses Hogan.

Admission to the concerts is free. Donations will go toward the cost of the tour.

About 60 students who perform with the choirs will travel through Italy from January 11 to 19. Their tour includes performances and cultural visits in Rome, Siena, Montecatini, Assisi, Florence, and Tuscany.

UW-Superior voice faculty Dr. Vicki Fingalson and Dr. Jeffrey Madison along with UW-Superior graduate and organist Rachel Kresha will lend their talents to the tour, particularly to sections of Verdi's famed "Requiem." The choirs and guest artists will perform under the direction of Choral Director Dr. Matthew Faerber.

Acappella and chamber choirs to perform at the Vatican during Italian tour

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:33:14 +0000

By Elizabeth Reichert
University Relations student writer

To sing in the Vatican and hope for a glimpse of the pope is a rare opportunity, but members of the University of Wisconsin-Superior Acappella Choir and Chamber Choir will have that experience in January.

(Hear the choirs perform their tour repertoire in special performances Jan. 9 in Duluth and Jan. 10 in Superior.)

UW-Superior voice faculty Dr. Vicki Fingalson and Dr. Jeffrey Madison along with UW-Superior graduate and organist Rachel Kresha will lend their talents to the tour, particularly to sections of Guiseppie Verdi's famed "Requiem." The choirs and guest artists will perform under the direction of Choral Director Dr. Matthew Faerber.

One of music's wonders
Kylie Cochran of Superior, a junior majoring in Choral Music Education and Vocal Performance, said she's really excited about performing excerpts from the "Requiem."

"Dr. Faerber compares it to the Seven Wonders of the World," she said. "It's one of the great musical pieces."

All the pieces in the choir's tour repertoire are sacred music because all performances will take place in cathedrals. The choirs have prepared multiple pieces so they can sing different songs at the various locations.

More demanding rehearsals
Choir members have been talking about the tour for 14 months and have been preparing musically for the past three. Cochran said practices have been different than usual this semester.

"For our first concert, we usually have some easier pieces to build the choral sound, but with an international tour, we've been working on hard pieces from the get-go," she said. "We've had to do a lot of outside learning and outside listening to speed up the learning process."

Tobi Taylor of Duluth, a senior majoring in math education, agreed that the choir members have had to learn and memorize a lot of music.

A stronger choir
Aaron Wainman of Blaine, Minn., a senior majoring in vocal performance, added that this tour positively impacts the choir.

"It definitely makes us stronger as a choir," he said. "It gives us something to strive for before going."

Students and faculty are excited for various aspects of the tour.

Wainman said he's excited to spend a week getting to know and bonding with the people in the choir.

"I enjoy going to choir every day," he said. "Most of my social network is in choir."

Performing in cathedrals
Faerber said he looks forward to seeing students' reactions as they visit historic places and to making music with them in the cathedrals. Cochran also is excited about performing in the cathedrals, particularly St. Peter's Basilica.

"It's probably one of the greatest honors for a choir to audition and be able to perform at a mass in St. Peter's Basilica," she said. St. Peter's Basilica, located in the Vatican in Rome,is the burial site of Saint Peter and is one of the holiest sites in the Catholic faith.

The students not only will have the opportunity to sing in famous cathedrals but also will learn about the Italian culture and themselves.

Learning about culture and themselves
"They experience first-hand another culture, another language, another people. They see things they would never see otherwise," Faerber said. "They begin to understand the awesomeness of the world and the largeness of the world."

Taylor hopes the tour experience will affect the choir members as individuals. "You get to grow as a world citizen and understand the world out there," she said. "We pick up such diverse experiences and are able to bring it back and share with our classmates."

Wainman agreed. "It's a chance to experience something outside of your own culture, your own understanding," he said. "It can really cause a person to grow."

The choral tour to Italy is just the latest in the Music Department's efforts to take students abroad every few years. Past international trips include a choral trip to Austria and Slovakia in 2002; a band, jazz band, orchestra and chorus tour in Brazil in 2005; a choral and chamber orchestra trip to China in 2008; and a band tour to Costa Rica in 2010.

Celebration of the Season concerts

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:28:00 +0000

The University of Wisconsin-Superior choirs double your holiday pleasure when they present the 14th edition of their popular Celebration of the Season concert at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, and again at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, in Cathedral of Christ the King in Superior.

The concerts feature traditional and contemporary Christmas music performed by the UW-Superior Acappella Choir, Chamber Choir and Men's Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Matthew Faerber, and the UW-Superior Camerata and Festival Orchestra with conductor Dr. Erin Aldridge.

Featured performers include Rachel Kresh as organist. Featured vocalists include soprano Vicki Fingalson and baritone Jeffrey Madison, experienced opera singers and members of the UW-Superior voice faculty.

This year's performances include traditional and contemporary carols, including works by Tomas Luis de Victoria, Eric Whitacre, Malcolm Archer, and Mack Wilberg.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for seniors and students. For more information, call (715) 394-8115. Cathedral of Christ the King is located at Belknap Street and Grand Avenue.

Senior Recital - Larissa Flint, voice

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:22:32 +0000

Webb Recital Hall, Holden Fine Arts

7:30 p.m.

Free Admission

Map: http://www.uwsuper.edu/aboutuwsuperior/maps/mapimage.cfm

Dr. Erin Aldridge to be featured in DSSO performance

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:11:35 +0000

By Elizabeth Reichert
University Relations student writer

Dr. Erin Aldridge will take on the roles of both concertmaster and soloist in the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra's "Dazzling Endings" concert on Oct. 1 when she is featured performing Beethoven's only violin concerto.

The Beethoven concerto is approximately 42 minutes long, making it one of the longest violin concertos.

"It's a concerto that really pushes the boundaries of musicality and musicianship," said Aldridge, associate professor of music and orchestra director at UW-Superior. "You really have to explore and find how you want to express yourself in the music, because there's so much to do with it."

Many steps in preparation

Aldridge employs multiple steps in her preparation, including exploring the music to find her expression. First, she learns the notes and solidifies them into her fingers. Then she works on the technical aspects of the music, and after that, the musical features, such as phrasing. She next listens to great violinists performing the same piece to assemble possibilities of ways she could perform the piece similarly but in her own flavor.

Her next steps involve others. She first learns the orchestra part, which sometimes involves looking at scores, but other times means asking Dr. Beth Gilbert, a colleague in UW-Superior's Department of Music, to play a scaled-down arrangement of the orchestra on the piano. Finally, she'll play the piece for colleagues and some students to gain practice performing in front of others.

A performance edge

Aldridge noted how the last step is significant to building confidence, which can be the first thing to go when nerves arrive. She said that the more performances she has under her belt, the more she can rely on them and the work she's done when concert time arrives.

"It gives you a better edge when you're performing," she said.

Even though she's excited for the opportunity to perform a solo, the experience can be more intimidating than her usual role as the orchestra's lead violinist.

"With a solo performance, you're kind of out there," she said. "There's no one who covers that part. That's a little scary."

Anxiety and excitement

Even though Aldridge feels some anxious anticipation, she believes she's been practicing enough and that she's ready for this concerto. Above all, she is excited.

"It's an honor, and it's a really fun thing to do," she said. "It's a chance for me to express my musical point of view."

Dr. Erin Aldridge will perform the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra at 8 p.m. October 1 at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Student tickets are $10 per performance.