swliederkranz.org

Southwest Liederkranz 2008

Clinician

Morten Johannes Lauridsen, Composer-in-Residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1994-2001 and Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music for more than thirty years, occupies a permanent place in the standard vocal repertoire of the Twentieth Century.  His seven vocal cycles -- Les Chansons des Roses (Rilke), Mid-Winter Songs (Graves), Cuatro Canciones (Lorca), A Winter Come (Moss), Madrigali: Six "FireSongs" on Renaissance Italian Poems, Nocturnes, and Lux Aeterna -- and his series of sacred a cappella motets (O Magnum Mysterium, Ave Maria, O Nata Lux, Ubi Caritas et Amor and Ave Dulcissima Maria) are featured regularly in concert by distinguished ensembles throughout the world.   O Magnum Mysterium, Dirait-on (from Les Chansons des Roses) and O Nata Lux (from Lux Aeterna) have become the all-time best-selling choral octavos distributed by Theodore Presser, in business since 1783.  In speaking of Lauridsen's sacred works in his book, Choral Music in the Twentieth Century, musicologist and conductor Nick Strimple describes Lauridsen as "the only American composer in history who can be called a mystic, (whose) probing, serene work contains an elusive and indefinable ingredient which leaves the impression that all the questions have been answered...  From 1993 Lauridsen's music rapidly increased in international popularity, and by century's end he had eclipsed Randall Thompson as the most frequently performed American choral composer."

His works have been recorded on over a hundred CDs by ensembles including the Robert Shaw, Dale Warland and Donald Brinegar Singers, the San Francisco, Cleveland and Dallas Symphony Choruses, Pacific Chorale, Seattle Pro Musica, the Los Angeles and San Francisco Chamber Singers, Choral Cross-Ties, Chicago a cappella, New York Concert Singers, Germany's Nordic Chamber Choir, Finland's Lumen Valo and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.  Maestro Paul Salamunovich and the Los Angeles Master Chorale received a Grammy nomination in 1998 for their CD of his compositions entitled Lux Aeterna on RCM Records.  His principal publishers are Peermusic (New York/Hamburg) and Peer's affiliate, Faber Music (London).

A recipient of numerous grants, prizes and commissions, Mr. Lauridsen chaired the Composition Department at the USC Thornton School of Music from 1990-2002, and has held residencies as guest composer/lecturer at over two dozen universities.  His most recent commissions have been from Harvard University, the San Francisco Bay Brass, and the Raymond Brock Memorial Commission for the American Choral Directors Association's 2005 national convention in Los Angeles.

Raised in Portland, Oregon, Mr. Lauridsen (b. February 27, 1943 in Colfax, Washington) attended Whitman College and worked as a Forest Service firefighter and lookout (on an isolated tower near Mt. St. Helens) before travelling south to attend USC, where he studied composition with Ingolf Dahl, Halsey Stevens, Robert Linn and Harold Owen.  He divides his time now between Los Angeles and his summer cabin on a remote island off the northern coast of Washington.

Visit his website at: http://homepage.mac.com/kennesten/lauridsen/index2.html

Camp Tontozona is a special getaway nestled in the Ponderosa pines of the Tonto National Forest two hours north of Phoenix, near Payson, Arizona. On April 25, 1951, the property was deeded to the Arizona Board of Regents and the State College of Arizona. The name "Camp Tontozona" was adopted in 1958. Tonto Creek runs alongside the football field, so the name combines Tonto with Arizona to make "Tontozona."

Website: http://campt.asu.edu/

Organizer

James Stegall (D.M.A. University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music; M.M. and B.M. Stephen F. Austin State University) is Professor of Music at Western Illinois University.  As Director of Choral Activities he conducts University Singers and Concert Choir and teaches graduate and undergraduate choral conducting, choral methods, and choral literature.  Dr. Stegall is also advisor to three student organizations: Choral Union, Vocal Jazz Ensemble and the WIU Student Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association.

 Most recently, the Western Illinois University Singers, under the direction of Dr. Stegall, were personally chosen by internationally acclaimed composer Kirke Mechem to perform a retrospective of his choral works at the 2007 American Choral Directors Association National Convention in Miami.  With a natural approach to voice--rooted in the study of vocal science--Dr. Stegall instructs his choirs in artistic singing while encouraging vocal health.  The Western Illinois University Singers have performed for the Illinois Music Educators Association State Conference (2007, 2005, 2003, 1997, 1992), the Music Educators National Conference (2001, 1997, 1996, 1993) and the American Choral Directors Association national and regional conventions (2007, 2000, 1998, 1997).  On January 11, 2008,  Dr. Stegall presented his research "On Nature and Spirituality: an Interdisciplinary Concert" at the International Conference on the Arts and Humanities in Honolulu, Hawaii.  He is a frequent presenter at Illinois Music Educators conferences, particularly on the topics of “Conducting” and "Motivation."  The Illinois Music Educators Association recently presented Dr. Stegall with the "Mary Hoffman Award of Excellence" during the opening ceremonies of the 2008 All-State Conference.

At WIU, Dr. Stegall has received the Outstanding Teacher in the College of Fine Arts Award, three Outstanding Student Organizational Advisor Awards, two Faculty Excellence Awards, and two Professional Achievement Awards.  He has also received the Outstanding Music Alumnus Award from Stephen F. Austin State University.  As a doctoral student at UMKC, he was the recipient of the Kemper Doctoral Fellowship, Graduate Academic Achievement Award, and Graduate Teaching Award.

He is a former high school choral music educator in Houston, Texas during which time he served on the board of the Texas Music Educators Association, and sang professionally with the Houston Concert Chorale under such notable conductors as Thomas Dunn, Michael Korn, Dale Warland and Richard Westenburg.

Dr. Stegall makes frequent appearances as a guest conductor and lecturer on vocal production and choral conducting throughout the country.  He is member of the Illinois Music Educators Association, MENC - The National Association for Music Education, American Choral Directors Association, National Association of Teachers of Singing, College Music Society, the Society for American Music and a founding member of Southwest Liederkranz.

 On a personal note, James Stegall resides in Macomb, Illinois with his wife Erin, a junior high choral director and four year old son, Evan.  He enjoys road and off-road biking, fishing, backpacking and racquetball.

Websites: www.wiu.edu/choirs 

 General
Schedule

Friday, September 26

7p - Informal meeting to share repertoire and ideas

        Bring your favorite snacks / beverages will be provided.

Saturday, September 27

8a - Breakfast at Camp Tontozona

9-11:30a - Session I

Noon - Drive to Christopher Creek for Lunch

2-4:30p - Session II

6p - Drive to Payson for Evening Meal

Sunday, September 28

8a - Breakfast at Camp Tontozona

9a - Wrap-up / planning session

10a - SW Liederkranz concludes

Clinician

Kirke Mechem is a prolific composer with a catalogue of over 250 works. He enjoys an international presence, as ASCAP recently registered concert performances of his music in 42 countries. Born and raised in Kansas and educated at Stanford and Harvard Universities, Mechem conducted and taught at Stanford, and served as composer-in-residence for several years at the University of San Francisco. Mechem also lived in Europe, spending three years in Vienna where he came to the attention of Josef Krips, who later championed the composer's symphonies as conductor of the San Francisco Symphony. He has been honored and recognized for his contributions from such organizations as: the United Nations; the National Endowment for the Arts; the National Gallery; the American Choral Directors Association; the Music Educators National Conference, and was presented with a lifetime achievement award from the National Opera Association.

Mechem's compositions cover almost every genre, but vocal music is the core of his work. His three-act opera, Tartuffe, has been staged 300 times and performed in six countries. Songs of the Slave — a suite for bass-baritone, soprano, chorus and orchestra from his opera, John Brown — has toured to over 40 US cities. His extensive choral works have garnered him the title of "dean of American choral composers." Upcoming opera premieres include: his comic opera, The Newport Rivals (an American update of Sheridan’s classic play, The Rivals) to be premiered in 2007 by Lyric Opera San Diego, and the large-scale dramatic work based on American abolitionist John Brown, to celebrate Lyric Opera Kansas City's 50th anniversary and the opening of its new performance space. Mechem is currently composing an opera based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Further Information: http://sai-national.org/phil/composers/kmechem.html

Organizer

Dr. Gregory Gentry is the newly appointed Director of The Phoenix Symphony Chorus.

Dr. Gentry has prepared choirs for Gunther Schuller, John Rutter, Richard Westerfield, Eph Ehly, Shinik Hahm, and George Lynn. His choirs have toured nationally and internationally, with guest performances in such varied venues as The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Cleveland, Music Educators Southern Regional Conference in Savannah, St. Andrew’s Church in Plymouth, UK, and The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

In addition to Dr. Gentry’s 2004 choral recording contract with Concordia Publishing House, his choral editions have been published by National Music Publishers and Musica Russica. His edition of Jean‑Philippe Rameau’s “Cor meum et caro mea” from Quam dilecta tabernacula was premiered in February 2005 at the American Choral Directors Association National Convention in Los Angeles, while his edition of Vasilii Titov’s Seventeenth‑Century Russian Baroque Liturgical Choral Concerto for 24 voices “Dnes Khristos” was premiered by the Oregon Repertory Singers in 2001. Among several sub‑specialty areas, Dr. Gentry has an exceptional affinity for Russian choral music, particularly of the Russian Synodal School and its performance practice.

Dr. Gentry made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut in 1994. His technique has been primarily guided by his studies with Eph Ehly, as well as his work with Brian Priestman, Dale Warland, and Gary Hill. Both a singer and percussionist, Dr. Gentry has performed under the baton of Aaron Copland, Jorge Mester, Dave Brubeck, Karel Husa, and Robert Shaw.

Dr. Gentry teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting and literature at Arizona State University’s Katherine K. Herberger College of Fine Arts. He is the former Director of Choral Activities at the University of Alabama School of Music. He earned his BME from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver, and the degrees Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the Conservatory of Music, University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Among many professional organizations, Dr. Gentry is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association, Chorus America, the National Association for Music Education, the National Collegiate Choral Organization, and a founding member of Southwestern Liederkranz.

Currently, Dr. Gentry is the Director of Music Ministries at the First United Methodist Church in Gilbert, Arizona. Together with his wife, Anna Gentry, he leads varied music endeavors.

website: http://www.gregoryrgentry.com/

Pictures
from
2006

Links

• Arizona State University  http://www.asu.edu/
• The University of Colorado http://www.colorado.edu/
• Western Illinois University http://wiu.edu/choirs
• Choral Public Domain Library http://www.cpdl.org
• Choralnet  http://www.choralnet.org
• International Federation for Choral Music http://ifcm.net/
• Musica http://www.musicanet.org/
• American Choral Directors Association http://www.acdaonline.org/
• Music Educators National Conference http://www.menc.org/
• JW Pepper  http://www.jwpepper.com/catalog/welcome.jsp
• National Public Radio http://www.npr.org/
• Chorus America http://chorusamerica.org/
• Mussica Russica http://www.musicarussica.com/
• NAMM  http://www.namm.org/
• Sheet Music Plus  http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/
• Mollard Batons http://www.mollard.com/
• Tempowatch http://www.tempowatch.com/
• Gamble Music Company http://www.gamblemusic.com/

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