Music News

In the late 1980’s while on sabbatical, both John and Catherine completed their doctorates at the University of Arizona; his in trombone performance and hers in clarinet. In 1990 he became the conductor of the Lake Agassiz Concert Band, a local ensemble that services the community members of the surrounding Fargo/Moorhead area. He will continue to hold this position into his retirement.

During his tenure as Director of Bands, John took the MSUM Wind Ensemble on many tours throughout the nation and internationally, including trips to China, Spain, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Canada. He has also been active as both a conductor and performer, appearing with the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Tucson Symphony

Orchestra, the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, the Arizona Opera Company, the Northern-Plains Brass Quintet, and the Colorado Clarinet Choir’s European Tour. He played principal trombone with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony for 30 years. Dr. Tesch has appeared as a guest soloist, clinician, and conductor throughout the upper Midwest region. “There’s been a strong tradition of low brass in the FM community,” states former student and current Lake Agassiz trombonist Lee Hofsommer, “with high level university and high school educators playing great music. I think a part of what attracts them to our region and brings them together is what John has done.” Dr. Tesch has expressed his joy at working with the many wonderful students over the past 38 years stating, “It has truly been an honor and a privilege.”

Dr. John TeschA Caretaker of Music

In the nearly 40 years Dr. John Tesch has been a part of the music department at MSUM, he has come to consider himself

a “caretaker of music;” a position he takes very seriously. His mission has always been to perform the best possible literature with the students at the highest level possible.

John began his career as a public school music teacher in Medicine Hat, MT. His wife, Catherine, taught music and math in the nearby town of Antelope, MT. In 1976, he was offered the positions of Director of Bands and Professor of Low Brass at MSUM. His duties not only included conducting the bands and teaching music education and conducting courses, but also taking on the low brass studio. Throughout his tenure at MSUM, he has also taught many other courses.

spring 2014

MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY MOORHEAD

Music Department Alumni Newsletter

Help us honor a couple who has given so much to MSUMA wine and dessert reception to honor

John and Catherine Tesch and to help

launch the “John and Catherine Tesch

Endowed Instrumental Music Scholarship”

▸ Tuesday, April 29, 2014 • 8:30pm

▸ Speakeasy Restaurant, Moorhead, MN (immediately following John’s Faculty Trombone

Recital in MSUM’s Weld Hall at 7:30pm)

Please RSVP to the MSUM Music Department:218.477.2101 or email “music@mnstate.edu”

If you cannot attend but would still like to contribute to the scholarship, send a check to:MSUM Music Office

“John and Catherine Tesch Scholarship”1104 7th Ave. SouthMoorhead, MN 56563

OR visit the MSUM Alumni Giving webpage:donate.mnstate.edu and select “College of Arts, Media, and Communication”

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Percussion & Choir

Music and Theatre Departments Merge

Percussion and Choirs Shine

The Music Department and Theatre Arts Department have merged at Minnesota State University Moorhead. The merger

will build on the existing collaborative efforts of the two programs and create new opportunities for students and faculty.

“The collaborative work of our Music and Theatre faculty has resulted in more efficient use of facilities and equipment,” said Tim Borchers, Dean of the College of Arts, Media

I was 26 when I packed my music, my wife and my cat and moved to Los Angeles to take my “shot” at being a

working professional in one of the busiest markets in the world. I had a couple degrees. I knew how to play and write (or so I thought). What could go wrong?

30-plus years later, the realization of what was missing from my education coupled with the unique possibilities presented by collaborating with our one-of-a-kind Music Industry Program is the impetus for the new Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies degree at MSUM. It’s based on the simple premise that while music is, indeed, an art form, it is also a “science” that requires some mastery before any “art” can occur. For those who desire a life in the world of the jazz/commercial musician, music is also a BUSINESS where one has to have an astute knowledge of contractual/legal issues AND it is ALSO a place where EVERYONE has to have an understanding of how live sound reinforcement and

studio recording technologies function to effectively work with those professionals.

During their freshman year, jazz majors take Jazz Fundamentals; the “science” course of the curriculum if you will. Expanding on skills developed in first-semester theory, students explore the harmonic and scalar structures common to jazz and commercial styles. “Armed” with these skills, students are ready to go to higher level, more specific coursework that develops the artist within.

In the MSUM Jazz Studies Program, students study jazz and commercial arranging concepts for both instruments and voices that prepare them for the common opportunities they’ll face. The new Orchestration/Choral Arranging course that is part of the revised theory core for all music majors teaches fundamental scoring skills that can go directly to the studio or the concert hall.

Because the theoretical foundations have been put in place by the Jazz Fundamentals course, the three-semester improvisation sequence of classes can focus on developing creative, musical individuals who get to the true heart of improvisation; spontaneously created melody. These concepts are further bolstered in the private lesson studio where lessons focus on technical as well as artistic/musical development.

Attending to those musical concepts isn’t what makes our Jazz Studies degree unique. Several programs across the country (though NONE in our region of the country) have jazz degrees with those courses. What makes our program significant is the addition of training done in collaboration with the Music Industry Program. Students take courses in live and recorded sound as well as the business of music to equip them for an ever-changing marketplace.

The MSUM Jazz Studies graduate will be empowered with the skills and education I wish I’d had when I got in that car at age 26. We shouldn’t let them leave without it.

–Dr. Allen Carter, Professor of Music

The MSUM World Music and Percussion Ensemble, “Fuego Tropical,” directed by Dr. Kenyon

Williams, participated in three exciting events this year. During the fall semester, Fuego was invited to perform at the MSUM Hjemkomst Center for the “Pangea: Celebrate our Cultures” community event. At the concert, they performed drumming and dance music from Ghana, West Africa for a full house. In December, the Fuego steelband was asked to perform as featured guest artists with the Fargo Moorhead Symphony for their annual

“Christmas Pops” concerts in both Fargo and Fergus Falls, MN. “It was a lot of work,” recalled student performer Daniel Rasmussen,

“but the audience reaction made it worth it.” The ensemble performed a variety of holiday selections with a Caribbean twist that thrilled the packed auditoriums, leading to standing ovations after each performance. “My family and I went to the Holiday Pops concert on Saturday and were delighted to hear and see Fuego Tropical,” remarked audience member Ken Foster. “We go to a lot of musical events, and we agreed that Fuego Tropical was the most exciting performance we’ve seen in a long, long time. It was fantastic!”

During the spring semester, the MSUM Concert Choir, directed by Dr. Daniel Mahraun, received the honor of being invited to perform along with the MSUM Percussion Ensemble at the 2014 North Dakota Music Educator’s Mid-Winter Conference in Bismarck, ND. This convention represents the largest annual gathering of music educators in North Dakota and will feature both ensembles performing together for the top high school musicians and educators in the state. The Choir and Percussion Ensemble will take to the road over spring break and perform in schools and auditoriums across North Dakota and South Dakota, including a day of fun with visits to ski slopes, Mount Rushmore, and historic

Deadwood, SD. “We knew that we wanted to include excerpts from two masterworks for the percussion-choir combination: Darius Milhaud’s Les Choéphores and Minnesota composer Dominick Argento’s I Hate and I Love,” noted Dr. Mahraun. “We were quite pleased that the other music we found--after examining works by both living and deceased composers from all over the world–contains such variety. The audience will receive a sampling of neoclassical, neoromantic and minimalist compositions in addition to folk and folk-influenced music.”

See the MSUM Concert Choir and Percussion Ensemble on Tour!Moorhead, MN, MSUM Hansen Theatre: Thursday, Mar. 13th, 7:30pm

Rapid City, SD, Rapid City High School: Monday, Mar. 17th, 7:30pm

Dickinson, ND, Dickinson High School: Wednesday, Mar. 19th, 8:15am

Mandan, ND, Mandan High School: Wednesday, Mar. 19th, 7:00pm

North Dakota Music Educators Conference, Bismarck, ND, Bismarck Civic Center: 7:00pm

and Communication. “Music faculty and students perform for Theatre productions and we have a very strong program in Musical Theatre due to this collaboration.”

Future collaborative efforts could lead to new programs, such as an Arts Management degree, and exciting productions that bring together the talented students and faculty of both departments. The merger will also help achieve efficiencies in administration, recruitment, and fundraising.

New Jazz Degree Beefs Up Department’s Jazz Program

Argentos

5Music Spring 2014Music Spring 20144

Moorhead Students Earn Degree By Running Record Label, Booking Concerts

Eric Jensen spends countless hours in the recording studio trying to create new tunes, the kind of work that could help him make it

in the music business.

Jensen is enrolled in a Minnesota State University-Moorhead program in which students earn a degree by booking concerts and producing records.

Although the university has offered the Music Industry and Entertainment Studies program for 30 years, a new generation of students is using it to gain real-world experience in a rapidly changing industry.

Jensen, a senior from Jamestown, N.D., recently worked on a recording of rapper O’Shay Neal included on a sampler released by the student-run label last spring.

“Some of the instruments are actually digital instruments so we actually created them inside the computer,” said Jensen, who plays guitar. “Other instruments we recorded. The guitar is a real instrument. Actually I think that might be the only real instrument we have in this.”

For students in the program, the assignments are a little unusual: search for local music talent, record and produce a new CD and manage the release for student-run Undeclared Records.

“The record company is meant to be a working laboratory for them,” said Program Coordinator Ryan Jackson who runs a production company. He said students select the artists, sign the contracts and record and produce the music.

Jensen said doing so has helped him learn that the music industry is all about connections.

“I like to try and help everyone,” he said, “So that someday if they become somebody, they’ll say ‘Hey, this guy, he helped me back in the day. He’s a good guy. We should help him out.’”

The music industry program typically has about 80 to 90 students. They experiment with and embrace new technology, using iPads and apps to create and produce music, while collaborating with film students on music videos. They also study business, music theory, law and communication.

Alex Johnson, a senior from Mott, N.D., hopes to become a professional recording engineer. He knows exactly what he’s looking for in the bands he works with: strong musical skills, a sense of organization, good finances and the ability to work well with others.

“Those are all things I look for because if you’ve got a bunch of guys that have no drive or motivation they just sit around and dink around all day,” he said. “Nothing gets done, and then it’s not worth anyone’s time.”

Outside of the recording studio, students manage performances on campus and at local concert venues.

Most of the students have some musical training or experience playing in bands or are somehow involved in the resurgent local music scene in Fargo-Moorhead.

Jackson said the students give the local music scene a boost but also benefit from it. He said they want to promote quality musicians.

“It’s nice to see it kind of swing back to that as opposed to the uber-produced pop star,” he said.

“These guys are actually seeking people that can play, which is really refreshing for me. It’s not surrounding a look; it’s surrounding a quality that can only be achieved by hard work and practice.”

The program’s ability to help students become versatile is important, Jackson said, because the music industry is looking for people with a wide range of skills.

“Specialization in the industry is really in a downturn,” he said. “They need to be able to produce; they need to be able to play. If a musician gets sick they need to be able to step in and say, alright, I can actually cover this part. “

Jackson said he’s made a lot of mistakes in 25 years working in the music industry. But he learned from them.

That’s why he prefers to stand back and let students make most of the decisions as it’s best for them to fail while they have a safety net. He said the on-the-job experience makes the transition to a real job much easier. Many of the program’s students have found music industry jobs in Los Angeles, Nashville, Minneapolis and Fargo.

“Coddling isn’t going to work,” Jackson said. “I’d rather those experiences for these students be here where they’ve got me on text and speed dial so I can help them, rather than when their career, their families, or their livelihoods are in the balance.”

–Dan Gunderson, dgunderson@mpr.org 

Copyright (c) 2014 Minnesota Public Radio. Reprinted by permission.  All rights reserved. Dan Gunderson is based in Moorhead, Minn.

7Music Spring 2014Music Spring 20146

CD, A Toast To Prohibition. The disc, which Mahraun helped edit and for which he researched and wrote extensive jacket notes, consists of music of the American Temperance Movement of the 19th Century and music of the Prohibition Era. He also performed with the group on a series of CD-release concerts at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. Mahraun presented an interest session at the North Central Division conference of the American Choral Directors Association entitled, “’What Language Shall I Borrow…?: Singing In Translation.” With Dr. Kenyon Williams he was invited to present a combined performance of the Concert Choir and Percussion Ensemble at the North Dakota Music Educators Association In-Service Workshop. Additionally, his arrangement of a traditional Breton carol, “What Sound Is Heard On Earth,” will be published by MorningStar Music later this year.

Professor and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies Dr. Terrie Manno has been active as a soloist and collaborative pianist throughout the year. Her project with MSUM faculty cellist Elise Nelson resulted in chamber music recitals at local retirement communities and at NDSU and MSUM. She has also begun to compose and arrange music as part of her recent collaboration with poet and MSUM English Department faculty member Kevin Zepper. They gave their debut performances in fall, 2013. They are developing repertoire for more elaborate performances within the next year. Dr. Manno will culminate the 2013-2014 academic year with a trip to Italy as an invited guest artist. She will work with students at conservatories in Urbino and Torino, and will perform recitals that feature American piano music composed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Dr. Raychl Smith (Music Education) took music education students to two conferences this semester.  Students from MSUM’s newly formed NAfME chapter attended both the National Association for Music Education Conference in Nashville, TN, and the Minnesota Music Educators Association Conference in Minneapolis, MN.  In March, Dr. Smith will be presenting research on cultivating commu-nity through improvisation at the New Directions in Music Education Conference at Michigan State University.  In April, Dr. Smith will be presenting workshops on Creative Motion pedagogy at the University of Iowa.  She will also be presenting research on an ethnographic study of the classroom culture in a unique elementary music meth-ods course that focuses on shaping perceptions of musical identity through improvisation at the National Association for Music Educa-tion Research Conference in Saint Louis this spring

Dr. Kenyon Williams (Percussion) recently completed a very busy sab-batical semester. In January, he traveled to Trinidad to perform with the Birdsong Steel Orchestra for the Panorama Steelpan Competition. This historic event marked the largest international contingent of per-formers ever to share the stage during the island-wide competition and featured performers from Trinidad, the U.S., Canada, France, Spain, Japan, Denmark, Taiwan, and Martinique. In February, Dr. Williams helped to compose and orchestrate original music for the Bethel Evangelical Free Church of Fargo’s production of “The Seal of Elyus.” In March, he traveled to the small village of Kopeyia, Ghana for three weeks of intensive West African drum and dance instruction at the Dagbe Cultural Arts Institute. During the summer of 2013, Dr. Wil-liams released his first solo CD, a collection of newly-commissioned works for percussion entitled “Homage.” During the fall of 2013, Dr. Williams directed and performed with MSUM’s “Fuego Tropical” World Music and Percussion Ensemble as they performed a variety of Dr. Williams’ original steelband and orchestra arrangements during the Fargo Moorhead Symphony’s “Christmas Pops” holiday concert series and tour. This spring, he will perform as a marimba soloist in Gene Koshinski’s “Concerto for Marimba and Choir” alongside the MSUM Concert Choir and Percussion Ensemble during their joint spring tour across the upper Midwest.

Faculty NewsProfessor Julie Adams, (voice) served as the Chorus Master for the 2013 FM Opera produc-tion, The Merry Widow.  

Dr. Allen Carter (jazz, music theory) has been busy with a variety of projects. The new jazz studies degree he was integral in creating is now functioning including his new Jazz Fun-damentals course that all students take before Improvisation and Arranging. Along with his 17-piece Monday Night Big Band, he has been performing with the likes of Stefon Harris and Tierney Sutton on the Giants of Jazz Concert Series. Carter is busy writing several commissions as well as material for his next CD slated for release in the summer of 2015 and two new textbooks that will be done this coming summer.

Professor Dain Estes is serving in his first year as an Assistant Professor of Music Industry and Entertainment Studies at MSUM.  Profes-sor Estes has a diverse background as a song-writer, musician, recording artist, and music industry professional. Born in Kansas City, he signed his first record deal at the age of 19 and went on to release several nationally distribut-ed recordings on various independent labels. Dain’s songs have been licensed to numerous television shows, films, and commercials. As a touring musician, he has supported a diverse group of artists including the legendary rock act Journey, the Gin Blossoms, and Gram-my nominee Abra Moore. After his touring career ended, Dain received his undergrad-uate degree from the University of Kansas and his Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In 2011, he co-founded the Vinefield Agency, an artist management firm based in Denver, CO. Dain has spoken at various music industry events, consulted creative businesses on intellectual property issues, and has worked with a number of mu-sicians. Recently, he has donated his time as an event consultant for An Evening with the Rents: Parents with Children with Autism Share Their Funniest Insights and Experiences.   What makes this event unique is that the comics are all par-ents of children with autism that have worked with local comedians to craft the equally crass, hilarious, and touching stories about their lives.  The event has been featured on NPR news and press outlets throughout the mid-west

> Julie Adams

> Dr. Allen Carter

> Dr. David Ferreira

> Dain Estes

> Dr. Monte Grisé

> Dr. Tiana Grisé

> Ryan Jackson

> Dr. Michael J. Krajewski

> Dr. Daniel Mahraun

> Dr. Terrie Manno

> Dr. Raychl Smith

> Dr. Kenyon Williams

This past August, Dr. David Ferreira (Snowfire, Jazz Piano) appeared as guest artist at the Cascais Jazz Club, in Lisbon, Portugal. After a brief rehearsal with a Portuguese drummer and bassist, the first evening featured jazz standards in a piano-trio format. The second evening, Ferreira sang and played piano with a bassist, showcasing vocals made famous by such artists as Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. The success of the event was capped by an invitation to return to the club and, in addition, to appear in concert. The rest of the 10-day trip was spent with a wonderful family of an exchange student, Beatriz Leal (a pre-med stu-dent at MSUM), listening to Fado, travelling to castles, museums, cathedrals and family gatherings. It was especially meaningful since David Ferreira’s great-grandfather emigrated from the Portuguese Island of Madeira in the mid-1800’s and several members of the host family shared his family name making it quite possible that they are distant relatives! All in all it was an event of a lifetime.

Dr. Monte Grisé (Director of Bands), enjoyed a busy and successful year with the ensem-bles at MSUM. This included a consortium premiere of Andrew Boysen’s Star Crossed; a work composed for Wind Band with Video Art by Erik Evensen. Grisé also took twelve music students to the MMEA convention in Minne-apolis this past February. Six of the twelve were selected to perform in the Minnesota CBDNA Intercollegiate Honor Band, while the others participated in the conference workshops. Dr. Grisé has also had a busy year conducting and adjudicating around the state. In the fall he conducted the Minnesota Subsection 6-3A High School Honor Band as well as judged at the Parade of Champions marching band competition in Harrisonburg, VA. This spring he conducted the Minnesota Band Directors Association Northwest Region 9-10 Honor Band in Fergus Falls for the second time, and was the honor band conductor and large ensemble clinician for the Ada-Borup Band Festival in April.

In August 2013, Dr. Tiana Grisé was invited to become a part of the faculty at Minnesota State University Moorhead as the new instructor of flute. At the same time, she was asked to join the faculty at Concordia College as interim instructor of flute while their flute professor was on sabbatical. In the last year, she has been

become increasingly sought-after as a performer and collaborator, appearing on faculty recitals with colleagues at both MSUM and Concordia. In her ongoing collaborative effort with guitarist Dr. Annett Richter, Duo Fluitarra presented a community concert for the Minnesota Guitar So-ciety in March 2013, and has again been invited to perform in May 2014 for the Society’s annual Guitarathon in Saint Paul. In June, Dr. Grisé will return to the International Music Camp for her second year as a flute instructor.

Professor Ryan Jackson has been busy changing the way that Music Industry students study by introducing and helping to coordinate MSUM’s first iPad initiative within our department. This year, all music industry students were issued an iPad that they have been using for all of their Mu-sic Industry courses to great effect. Jackson says,

“It allows a much more interactive and immersive experience for our students. It also allows them to experience several of the growing number of apps that are used in the industry on a daily basis so they are prepared for their careers.” Jackson has also expanded the services of his professional studio to include acoustical design, finishing several local/regional projects as well as creating a broadcast room design for his former employer and radio legend, Art LaBoe in Palm Springs, CA. In addition to continuing to record and produce local artists, Jackson has been working with Audio Houndz Publishing group in San Fran-cisco.  Owned by MSUM Music Industry alum, Troy MacFarland, Audio Houndz exists to offer an affordable publishing avenue for new and upcoming artists. To date, Jackson has digitally mastered a number of tracks from their artists, including T-Mac, Kris Searle and Konnundrum Spittz, to name a few. 

Dr. Michael J. Krajewski (Guitar) was invited to present a lecture at the national College Music Society and Association for Technology in Music Instruction conference in Boston, MA, October 2013. His lecture on “Creating Interactive Course Content with iBooks Author” received rave reviews. In February 2014, he was invited to present on this topic again at Ohio Music Educators Association and the Technology in Music Instruction confer-ence in Columbus, OH. Later in March 2014, Dr. Krajewski will present a masterclass on impro-visation at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. Also, in April 2014, Dr. Krajewski will serve as an Artist in Residence at the University of Northern Iowa where he will give masterclasses on jazz and classical guitar topics as well as perform in concert. During the spring 2014 semester Dr. Krajewski has organized the visitation of two renowned guest artists to the MSUM campus: Steve Cole (saxophone) on March 5 and Tony Grey (bass) on April 16. Both of these artists will be on campus providing masterclasses to music students and performing with the Jazz faculty.

Dr. Daniel Mahraun (Director of Choral Activi-ties) sang with The Rose Ensemble on their latest

Music Department1104 7th Avenue SouthMoorhead, Minnesota 56563

Upcoming Concert Events at MSUM(all concerts are at 7:30pm unless otherwise noted):

Tues, April 1st Commercial Ensemble, Gaede Theatre

Wed, April 2nd Wind Ensemble Chamber Concert, Gaede Theatre

Tues, April 10th University Orchestra, Hansen Theatre

Wed, April 11th Percussion Ensemble presents “Inuksuit” Epic Landscape Music, Campus Mall

Fri, April 12th Snowfire Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Weld Hall

Thurs, April 24th Jazz Ensemble, Hansen Theatre

Fri, April 25th All Choirs, St. Joseph’s Church, Moorhead

Mon, April 28th Tri-College Jazz Combos, Fox Recital Hall

Tues, April 29th John Tesch Faculty Trombone Recital, Weld Hall

Sun, April 4th Wind Ensemble, Hansen Theatre, 3pm

Minnesota State University Moorhead is an equal opportunity educator and employer and is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.