Congratulations to our Music graduates! We are proud of your accomplishments and can't wait to see what God has planned for you. |
Bachelor of Arts/Science in Music
Sarah Frisk (Magna Cum Laude)
Aria Strauss (Magna Cum Laude)
Bachelor of Science in Music with an Emphasis in Music Ministry
Mason Kupfer
Anna Lapshina
Bachelor of Music in Composition
Isaac Turley
Bachelor of Music in Performance
Joshua Choi (Cum Laude)
Katherine Strand (Summa Cum Laude)
Bachelor of Music Education
Grace Friesen
Aimee Klejwa (Cum Laude)
Anna Lapshina
Certificates and degrees are awarded upon successful completion of all certificate and degree requirements. Listing of students' names does not guarantee certificate or degree completion.
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Listed top to bottom:
Joshua Choi, Grace Friesen, Aimee Klejwa, Sarah Frisk
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Music & Theatre Spring Commencement
Listed L to R:
Jacob Berggren, Jonah Smith, D'Lorah Roberts, Mason Kupfer, Zachary Hedner, Isaac Turley, Camry Dunker, Katherine Strand, Aria Strauss, Anna Lapshina, (Haley Sargent not pictured)
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FROM THE ASSISTANT DEPT CHAIR |
What a blessing to continue making music and learning together in person through the pandemic! The 2020–2021 academic year gave us many opportunities to practice cheerfulness and flexibility. We are so proud of our students, faculty, and staff, who cared for each other and persevered despite quarantines, unconventional rehearsal arrangements, and lots of changes. One of those changes included Dr. Kirk Moss moving into the position of Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, while continuing part-time in the role of department chair with me joining him as assistant chair.
In this edition of Accent, we look back on the past year with gratitude and forward to the new year with hope in our God who is always faithful.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.
Great is Thy faithfulness...
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
(Thomas Chisholm)
Kristen Bugos, Ph.D.
Assistant Chair, Department of Music & Theatre
Coordinator of Music & Visual Art Education
Associate Professor of Music
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.................HIGHLIGHTS................
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Throughout the pandemic, UNW Music mitigated risks of virus transmission through distancing, instrument bell and face coverings, hand sanitizing, and air treatment to present 40 in-person concerts and recitals! |
Every rehearsal, whether from the seating area of Knight Performance Hall with our instrumental ensembles or outdoors in the Nazareth Hall veranda with our choirs, gave an opportunity to celebrate God's faithfulness to us through music. |
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Cassandra Bechard, D.M.A.
Director of Bands
Assistant Professor of Music
Dr. Cassandra Bechard serves as Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music at University of Northwestern – St. Paul and artistic director and conductor of Seward Concert Band in Minneapolis. She received a doctor of musical arts in wind band conducting from University of Minnesota, holds a master’s degree in bassoon performance from Bowling Green State University, and dual bachelor’s degrees in music education and music performance from Central Michigan University. During her doctoral studies she conducted the Maroon Campus Band for three years, a non-auditioned concert band comprised of 80 students, and also at U of M guest conducted Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Pride of Minnesota. Her previous appointments include a similar position at University of Dubuque and assistant band director at Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she concurrently served as adjunct bassoon professor at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. Cassie and her musically talented husband Dave have two children, Jackson and Annabelle, two small rescue dogs (weighing an incredible 19 lbs combined), and several fish.
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Chris Weldon, D.M.A.
Piano, Artist in Residence
Dr. Chris Weldon is a pianist, teacher, chamber musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer who joins University of Northwestern – St. Paul as Artist in Residence: Piano. He has performed in prestigious venues including Walt Disney Concert Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Phillips Collection, Ordway Center, and HOAM Art Hall (Seoul, South Korea). He was a featured soloist at the International Chopin, Verbier, and Aspen music festivals, has performed concertos with Buffalo Philharmonic, Brno Chamber Orchestra, Aspen Concert Orchestra, and the symphonies of Juilliard, Evanston, and St. Cloud. He completed his doctorate at The Juilliard School where he took first prizes in both Juilliard’s concerto and Gina Bachauer piano competitions as a student of Abbey Simon. His primary teacher was Dr. Paul Wirth, founder of the Wirth Center for the Performing Arts (WCPA). In the summer of 2019, Dr. Weldon became the new artistic director of the WCPA, transitioning from the role of worship director at a large church in Los Angeles, where he produced weekly events for over 2,000 people and oversaw the production of two music albums, to which he contributed original music and arrangements.
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Emma Troff ’21, piano, and Brenna Coons ’23, soprano, were named winners of the 2021 Concerto-Aria Competition in the Instrumental and Vocal categories, respectively. Honorable Mentions went to Katherine Strand, harp, and Emma Davis, soprano. Winners performed as featured guests with the UNW Orchestra in May. Adjudicators for the competition were acclaimed mezzo Dr. Karen Leigh-Post, Professor of Music and Co-Chair of the Voice Department at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, Wisconsin, and harpist Dr. Mallory McHenry who operates out of Austin, Texas where she works for the Austin District Music Teachers Association and runs the McHenry Suzuki Studio, offering both harp and piano lessons to aspiring musicians of any age.
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Elijah Hager ’22, baritone, won Second Place in the 2020 Minnesota Sings Virtual Contest (13 to 20-year-olds division). His cash award was sponsored by the Optimist Club of Roseville.
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Emma Davis '23, Zach Hedner '21, Caleb Hustedde ’21, Mackenzie Kroll ’23, and Sydney Lanning '23 were named Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Region 5 finalists for the Musical Theatre Intensive to celebrate and recognize outstanding musical theatre students and offer educational opportunities to work with musical theatre professionals.
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Music minor Isaac Karpenske '20, Pastoral Ministry; M’22 M.Div. student, published his first article, “Divine Inspiration: What it Means and Why It Matters.” Isaac received the Society of Professors in Christian Education (SPCE) Scholastic Award for 2020–21. SPCE is a leading scholarly guild for evangelical academicians in the field of practical theology, particularly in the disciplines of education, discipleship, and ministry leadership.
Emma Davis ’23, Vocal Performance, Music Composition, and Media Film & Video triple major, won first place in Thursday Musical’s Virtual 2021 Young Artist Competition. Winners were honored with a virtual recital performance in April. At UNW’s 15th-annual Five16 Film Festival, Davis’s film, The Narrator, won the comedy category.
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Row 1: Sydney Lanning, Elijah Hager
Row 2: Emma Davis, Joy Jasik, Willow Skidmore
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Congratulations to UNW’s MN-NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Singing Auditions participants, voice teachers, and pianists including:
FINALISTS: Sydney Lanning '23 (1st place, Lower College Music Theatre Treble); Joy Jasik '23 (2nd place, Lower College Classical Treble); Willow Skidmore ’23 (3rd place, High School Treble Classical)
SEMI-FINALIST: Emma Davis '23 (Upper College Classical Treble)
UNW has annually sent singers to MN-NATS for 32 years.
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.............FACULTY NEWS..............
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Josh Bauder’s hymn setting of “What God Ordains Is Always Good” will appear in the new hymnal Christian Worship (Northwestern Publishing House, WELS) under the title RODIGAST NEW.
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Kristen Bugos serves as Secretary/Treasurer for the Minnesota state unit of the Society for Music Teacher Education (MNSMTE), a society of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). She was also appointed Collegiate Chapter Chair for the Minnesota Music Educators Association.
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Natalie Cromwell ’10, BME, signed as an exclusive songwriter with Tennessee-based Daywind Music Publishing. Natalie teaches songwriting private lessons to Northwestern students. In addition to songwriting, Cromwell leads worship at Grace Church in Eden Prairie.
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Carol Eikum, Doreen Hutchings, and Melody Johnson adjudicated the online 2020 MN-NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Student Auditions, held during the month of November.
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KSTP TV sent a camera crew to campus on February 20 and aired a segment about our COVID-mitigated production of Jane Austen’s Emma on the 10:00 p.m. news. Congratulations to Jennifer Hunter, Director and Costume Designer; Doreen Hutchings, Vocal Director; David Kozamchak, Musical Director and Conductor; and Iris Dodge, Technical Director and Scenic Designer.
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Garrett Krohn completed his Doctor of Musical Arts in the Field of Contemporary Music with a Specialization in Performance from Bowling Green State University. His dissertation examined “Horn and Live-Electronics: A Survey of and a Performance Guide for a Neglected Repertoire.”
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Richard Lange, along with faculty campus wide, completed instructional technology sessions and workshops to engage students in virtual and hybrid modalities to better meet their needs, including students studying piano from their homes in China.
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Kirk's prerecorded string pedagogy session, “Teaching String Techniques Has Never Been So Easy," was broadcast during the 2021 Virtual American String Teachers Association National Conference in March. His chapter titled, “You are the music while the music lasts,” appears in Rehearsing the High School Orchestra by Meredith Music Publications, 2021.
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Benjamin Osterhouse '13, BMus, played cello in Minnesota Opera’s production MNiatures: Xylem, one of a number of short operas recently commissioned by Minnesota Opera.
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Tim Sawyer was the featured guest clinician and adjudicator for a choral festival held at New Life Academy in Woodbury in April.
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Phil Norris, full-time to adjunct (1993)
Dr. Norris has served as Professor of Music at Northwestern for 28 years, teaching courses in instrumental music education, music theory, music technology, music history, trumpet, and wind instruments. In 2004, he received Northwestern’s “Excellence in Teaching Award,” and in 2014, his 24-flight/3-month sabbatical took him to Mainland China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore, where he taught and performed in seven universities and five international schools. His recitals featured a musical setting of John 3:16 that he composed to provide a straightforward opportunity to share the story of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, as Phil looks to what God has next, this is no retirement. He is part of a leadership team that has started a new fellowship, Christ Bible Church. We look forward to seeing Phil on campus as an adjunct instructor and learning more about how God is leading in his life and the life of his church.
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Julie Johnson, Director Music Tours/Academy of Music (2001)
Julie began her work at Northwestern in 2001 as the Music Office Coordinator, one of the faces of the department when you walked into the Music Office. She later became the Ensemble Music Tours Coordinator in 2004 and Director the following year in 2005. Julie’s first music ensemble tour was to Seattle in 2005 with the College Choir. Since then, she has organized over 100 ensemble tours. Also in 2005, Julie accepted the position of Director, Academy of Music, where she has seen the numbers of students taking private music lessons increase to more than 700 students taking lessons each year. It’s incredible when you stop and think about how many people’s lives have been enriched over the years through the musical opportunities Julie has facilitated.
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Jan Scholl, clarinet (2002)
“I will miss working with the students and faculty, but feel now is a good time to let someone else take on this mission. Please let the faculty know that I have enjoyed being their colleagues all these years and have the utmost respect for their work.”
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Paul Wirth, piano, Artist in Residence (2015)
“I have been honored to be of service to the piano department and to work with Dr. Lange for these past years. The only reason that the idea of resigning arose was because of the opportunity to bring in Dr. Chris Weldon, whom I know would bring increased excellence to our mission.”
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Richard Gaynor, trombone (2020)
“I enjoyed my time [back at UNW], love the campus, the students, the atmosphere, but I've had a bit of a career change. God's plans are not always our plans, and I am very thankful for his blessings.”
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Jenny Cvek, Music Communications & Recital Coordinator (2020)
With appreciation for her dedication to Northwestern, we said goodbye to Jenny Cvek ('19) on May 21. Due to budget adjustments, Jenny’s Music staff position was eliminated. Jenny looks forward to developing her photography business.
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Mikayla (Brandenburg) Liu, BME ’19, earned a Graduate Assistantship in the vocal performance master’s program at University of Iowa, where she will begin this fall.
Peter Liu, BMus ’19, earned his master’s in piano performance at University of Iowa, where he will continue his Graduate Assistantship to begin doctoral studies in piano this fall.
Simone Currie, BMus ’19 earned a Graduate Assistantship for piano performance in the master’s program at Western Illinois University, where she will begin this fall.
Music minor/IDS Ancient Studies major Katie Streckert ’19 co-wrote an article with Dr. Boyd Seevers and Dr. Mark Hassler for In the Highland’s Depth, a peer-reviewed journal published in Israel about an ancient fortification tower and military remains found in Israel.
Sarah Joy [McCord] ’18, Vocal Performance, Theatre, and Bible triple major, is entering her third season with "Smoke on the Mountain Gospel Musical Comedy" at Branson’s Little Opry Theatre. She also performs in the All Hands on Deck! Show at the Dutton Family Theater, in addition to being a singing server with Grace Lugo '18, Theatre and Bible, at Mel's Hard Luck Diner.
Benjamin Valine, BMus ’15, returned to UNW to play banjo for Theatre’s Bright Star production. Valine holds two master's degrees in music performance (commercial guitar and classical viola) from Belmont University and is an adjunct music faculty member at Belmont University, Concordia University, and Judson University, as well as UNW’s Academy of Music.
Matthew Hagestuen, BMus '13, earned the master of music degree in orchestral conducting from Baylor University, his second master’s degree from Baylor. Hagestuen is an Emmy-nominated video director and editor currently employed by Arts Laureate, where he does video directing and editing of virtual performances with the Kansas City Symphony and other arts organizations around the United States. He previously worked with the Berlin Opera Academy in tandem with Opernfest Berlin.
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Seoyon Susanna Lim MacDonald, BMus ’13, completed a graduate diploma in collaborative piano-vocal from The Juilliard School after earning a master of music degree in collaborative piano from New England Conservatory. MacDonald was accepted into the doctor of musical arts degree in piano at University of Southern California in Los Angeles. MacDonald served as a staff pianist at New England Conservatory, a rehearsal pianist at Boston Ballet, a choir pianist for the MIT Women's Chorale, and a staff pianist for Lowell House Opera at Harvard University.
T. Hastings Reeves, BMus '13, bass-baritone, received the doctor of musical arts in vocal performance from University of North Texas in Denton. Recent performances include The Dallas Opera, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, and Tanglewood Music Center.
Lesley (Rushton) Earles, BME '11, teaches Music at Edison High School in Minneapolis Public Schools. She recently won a donation from the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation for her students to receive flutes, clarinets, bassoons, and other instruments worth nearly $33,000. Earles also started a Northeast Music Festival, bringing together elementary and middle schools to perform.
Carlee Van Duzer, BME ’11, was awarded the 2020 Green-Orr Award at Westminster Schools of Augusta, Georgia. Criteria for the award included showing clear evidence and consistent support and advancement of Westminster's mission; demonstrating significant impact on students through regular contact via teaching, coaching, and/or mentoring; providing a positive Christian role model; and having completed at least five years on the faculty at Westminster.
Wade Schroeder, BME and Bible '03, led Northwestern's Symphonic Band as Adjunct Associate Director of Bands for spring semester 2021. Schroeder serves as the full-time Director of Bands at Park Center High School in Brooklyn Park.
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If you have noteworthy news to share with us about students or alumni, please send your update to music@unwsp.edu. We look forward to seeing you at one of our many music events throughout the academic year.
May the LORD bless you,
Music Faculty & Staff
University of Northwestern – St. Paul
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University of Northwestern – St. Paul provides an environment that fosters musical and academic excellence, Christian community, and exceptional preparation for the next generation of musicians and leaders. We hope you enjoy our newsletter, published annually. We apologize for any errors or omissions. Please like UNW Music on Facebook and follow @unwmusic on Instagram to keep up with the latest Music news.
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