Music Theory/Composition and Music History Study at St

MUSIC THEORY/COMPOSITION

AND MUSIC HISTORY STUDY AT ST. OLAF COLLEGE The breadth of courses available in the areas of music theory-composition and music history-literature reflects the strong opportunities—academic and performance—opportunities at St. Olaf College. For all music majors, the core curriculum includes a rigorous four-semester sequence in theory and three semesters of music history-literature. In addition, elective courses are offered in advanced analysis of tonal and atonal music, instrumentation, period and topic courses in music literature, ethnic music and independent research. During the January Interim, special topic courses such as electronic music and jazz are offered. The Bachelor of Music degree offers a major in theory-composition., or a Bachelor of Arts in Music is offered with emphasis in history-literature or theory-composition. Recent graduates of the St. Olaf composition program have won a variety of prestigious awards, including the BMI Student Composer Award and several national band composition competitions, some while they were still students. St. Olaf alums have held residencies with The Schubert Club and The Rose Ensemble, received dozens of commissions and performances of their works; and, in both 2004 and 2005, a St. Olaf student was one of only three students selected from a national pool to participate in the National Band Association’s Young Band Composer Mentoring Project. A program committed to the support of young composers means there are many opportunities available for the performance of student works. This includes student composition recitals every semester, and performances on the St. Olaf Band, St. Olaf Choir, and St. Olaf Orchestra tour programs. The student group Musiko Nova advocates, supports and facilitates the performance of new music of St. Olaf students.

FACULTY: STEVEN AMUNDSON, Professor of Music: Theory, Aural Skills, Conducting and Conductor of St. Olaf Orchestra. B.A., Luther College; M.M. Orchestral Conducting/Music Theory, Northwestern University. Further study in orchestral conducting and musicology at University of Virginia and Aspen Music School. 1980 winner of the Hans Häring Prize in conducting in Salzburg, Austria. Active as clinician and guest conductor throughout the US, Amundson is also in demand as a composer, having written orchestral works with performances by major orchestras throughout the US and in Great Britain. DAVID CASTRO, Assistant Professor of Music: Theory and Aural Skills. B.M Music Education - Pacific Union College, M.M. Music Theory, - The University of Arizona, Ph.D., Music Theory, University of Oregon. His doctoral dissertation, advised by Jack Boss, was titled, “Sonata Form in the Music of Dmitri Shostakovich.” In it, Castro examines Shostakovich’s adroit handling of a tonal form while maintaining his own unique post-tonal voice. Castro’s analyses also support hermeneutic interpretations when such readings are appropriate. Castro continues to examine Shostakovich’s music, having presented numerous papers at music theory conferences nationwide. He is also conducting research into the employment of Schenkerian notions of prolongation to examine twentieth-century compositions, particularly for the works of those composers who employ neo-tonal compositional techniques, including non-functional triadic harmony and free counterpoint. CHARLES FORSBERG, Professor of Music: Theory and Composition. B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in theory- composition from the University of Minnesota. Student of Paul Fetler and Dominick Argento. Forsberg has Published works with G. Schirmer, Belwin- Mills, Augsburg, Schmitt-Hall and McCreary and Curtis Music Press. Performances of commissioned works by the Minnesota Orchestra. Member of the Minnesota Composers Forum and ASCAP. DAVID HAGEDORN, Artist in Residence: Percussion, Jazz, Theory, Aural Skills. B.S. in Music Education, University of Minnesota, where he studied with Marv Dahlgren and Paula Culp of the Minnesota Orchestra; M.M. in Percussion Performance, New England Conservatory, where he studied with Vic Firth, of the Boston Symphony; and D.M.A. in Percussion Performance, Eastman School of Music, where his principal teacher was John Beck. Hagedorn has recorded with the George Russell Living Time Orchestra on Blue Note Recordings, and also with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra on Teldec Recordings. Hagedorn regularly performs in a jazz oriented percussion duo with Dave Schmalenberg, and does both jazz and classical freelance work in the Twin Cities with groups such as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble, and Minnesota Composers Forum. ALICE HANSON, Professor of Music: Music History-Literature. B.A., summa cum laude with distinction in music, from Wells College, Aurora, New York; M.M. and Ph.D. in musicology from University of Illinois. Also studied at Universitat der Stadt Wien at Vienna, Austria, under a Fulbright-Hayes grant. Specialist in Classical-Romantic music. Member of AMS, Society of American Musicology, and Fulbright Alumni Association. Dr. Hanson has published a monograph on Music in Biedermeier Vienna for Cambridge Press, and articles in Music and Letters, Anterem, and in the Oxford Biographical Dictionary of Music. GERALD HOEKSTRA, Professor of Music: Music History-Literature. B.A., Calvin College; M.A. and Ph.D. in music history, The Ohio State University, under a University Fellowship. Hoekstra teaches music history and directs the St. Olaf early music ensembles, the Collegium Musicum and Early Music Singers. His area of specialization is music of the Renaissance, particularly the French and Flemish chanson, but he also has interests in medieval music, the music of Bach, and jazz history. As a performer he has studied trumpet, recorder, viola da gamba, and choral conducting. He has published articles in Early Music, Musica Disciplina, Speculum, and The Choral Journal, and he has published critical editions of music of Hubert Waelrant and André Pevernage, and most recently an edition of Pierre Phalése's Le Rossignol musical des chansons (Antwerp, 1597). He is General Editor of the Yale Collegium Musicum series, published by A-R Editions. Hoekstra is a member of the American Musicological Society, the Viola da Gamba Society of America, and Early Music America, and currently serves on the board of Early Music America and as chair the EMA Committee for Early Music in Higher Education. In 2002 EMA presented him with Thomas Binkley Award, an award recognizing outstanding contributions to early music performance in higher education.

TIMOTHY MAHR, Conductor of the St. Olaf Band and Professor of Music: Composition and Conducting. B.M.- Theory/Composition, B.A.-Music Education, St. Olaf College; M.A.-Trombone Performance, University of Iowa; D.M.A.- Instrumental Conducting, University of Iowa. Mahr, an internationally acclaimed composer, received the 1991 Ostwald Award in the ABA Band Composition Contest for his composition, The Soaring Hawk. He is also the principal conductor of the Twin Cities-based Minnesota Symphonic Winds. He was elected to the American Bandmasters Association in 1993. Former Director of Bands at University of Minnesota-Duluth and the Twin Ports Wind Ensemble, Mahr has been active as a clinician and guest conductor nationally and internationally. His recent commissions have included works for the United States Air Force Band, Music Educators National Conference, Kappa Kappa Psi/Tau Bet Sigma (national band fraternities) and the American Bandmasters Association. Over twenty of his works for band have been published, with many released on compact disc recordings and included on state contest lists. He is a past-president of the North Central Division of the College Band Directors National Association, and was a board member of the National Band Association and the Minnesota Band Directors Association.

JUSTIN MERRITT, Assistant Professor of Music: Theory, Composition and Aural Skills, Composer in Residence. B.M. - Music Composition Trinity University, M.M. and D.M., Music Composition, Indiana University. Merrit has studied composition withSven-David Sandström, Samuel Adler, Don Freund, Claude Baker, Timothy Kramer and electronic and computer music with Jeffrey Hass. Merritt was the youngest-ever winner of the ASCAP Foundation/Rudolph Nissim award in 2001 for Janus Mask for Orchestra. He is the winner of many other awards including the 2008 Copland Award, the 2008 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute Award for River of Blood, the 2006 Polyphonos Prize for Hay Días, the 2006 VocalEssence Essentially Chorale Competition for Adoro Te Devote, the 2000 Left Coast Chamber Ensemble Composition Competition Award for The Day Florestan Murdered Magister Raro, and the 2001 Kuttner String Quartet Competition for Ravening. Other works include music for orchestra, ballet, and opera. His music has been heard across North America, Europe, and Asia. Hear more music by Justin Merritt at www.mooneast.com CATHERINE RAMIREZ, Assistant Professor of Music: Flute. B.A Occidental College; Honors Diploma Boccherini Music Institute (Italy); M.A. flute performance Queens College; M.M., Yale University School of Music; D.M.A. (ABD) at Rice University. Her major teachers include Melissa Colgin- Abeln, Gary Woodward, Marzio Conti, Tara Helen O'Connor, Ransom Wilson and Leone Buyse. Ms. Ramirez made her New York recital debut in 2000 and has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at the Teatro del Giglio in Italy, Salt Lake City's Temple Square, the Chicago Cultural Center, Merkin Concert Hall, Symphony Space, Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, and at the Kennedy Center. Orchestral highlights as a principal flutist include performances with conductor Larry Rachleff, violinist Cho-Liang Lin and soprano Renee Fleming. Winner of the Sallie Shepherd Perkins Prize for Best Achievement from the Rice University Shepherd School of Music, Ramirez has gained recognition for her performances of both classical and contemporary music, as well as for her teaching. In addition to serving as an advocate for music education through outreach endeavors, she has been a guest artist/clinician at Brigham Young University, New Mexico State University, University of Utah and the University of Texas at El Paso.

CATHERINE RODLAND, Associate Professor of Music: Theory, and Organ. B.M., St. Olaf College. M.M. and D.M.A., Eastman School of Music, where she was a student of Russell Saunders. While at Eastman she earned the prestigious Performer's Certificate and the Ann Anway award for excellence in organ performance. Catherine has received awards in many competitions, including first prize in the 1998 University of Michigan International Competition, and prizes in the 1994 Calgary International Organ Competition, and both the 1994 and 1998 American Guild of Organists Young Artist's Competition. As a result of these competitions, Dr. Rodland has concertized in many locations across the country, including Woolsey Hall at Yale University, and the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. Prior to her arrival at St. Olaf, Rodland worked for many years as a choir director in Connecticut. Known for her work with children’s choirs she has published a manual entitled Chorister's Training Program through the Royal School of Church Music and GIA publishing, and has conducted workshops on children's choirs at the United Church of Christ Musicians Association and American Guild of Organists regional conventions.