Music Department
Symphony Orchestra
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AUDITIONS for The University Symphony Orchestra - January 2011
2010-2011 USO Orchestra Brochure
In December 2007, MSUM's Choirs and Orchestra performed a mariachi-style cantata,
La Fiesta de la Posada (The Festival of the Inn), by jazz great Dave Brubeck.
The Minnesota State University Moorhead Symphony Orchestra (University Symphony Orchestra) consists of Minnesota State University Moorhead and North Dakota State University students as well as Fargo-Moorhead community members dedicated to learning string and symphonic music from the 18th century to the present by composers of varied nationalities and both genders. The orchestra presents at least four concerts annually, including collaborations with professional soloists, university choral ensembles, and the winner(s) of the annual Student Concerto/Aria Competition.
We invite all university students who play an orchestral instrument, regardless of major, to audition. We also invite qualified Post Secondary Option students, F-M community members, and collegiate faculty and staff to join us. Past orchestra students have majored in a variety of subjects including music, elementary education, psychology, computer science, engineering, biology, foreign languages, art, nursing, and many other disciplines.
Rehearsals are held on Tuesdays from 7:00-9:30 p.m. and Thursdays from 4:30-6:00 p.m. in the MSUM Roland Dille Center for the Arts, Room 0100. After 4:30 p.m., parking near the building is free (in Lot "C").
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EXPECTATIONS
In order to maintain a performance level appropriate for a university ensemble, members of the University Symphony Orchestra must possess sufficient musical independence and instrumental technique to perform standard orchestral repertoire. Those who audition with serious performance deficiencies may be required to concurrently enroll in private lessons on their instrument or be denied admission. |
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STRING AUDITIONS
Near the beginning of each semester, university string players play an audition for seating placement. The audition may include a prepared piece, scales, and/or sight-reading. Musical considerations such as tone, intonation, rhythm, and technical facility determine the seating. The Music Director will consider previous musical experiences. Community members do not need to audition for chair placement. The Music Director names a principal player in each section. Principal players sit first chair and have additional leadership responsibilities (bowings, fingerings, leading sectionals, etc.).
WIND & PERCUSSION AUDITIONS
Wind players and percussionists join the orchestra based upon the recommendation of their respective studio instructor and an audition. After this process, any remaining openings will be made available to other university students not currently in studio, interested community members, or music faculty.
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MSUM student Monica Johnson performed during the |
ANNUAL CONCERTO/ARIA COMPETITION A Concerto/Aria Solo Competition is held near the end of the fall semester to identify the finest student soloist(s) and to provide the opportunity of performing with the orchestra on a spring semester concert. The competition is open to all MSUM and NDSU junior, senior, and graduate music majors (including double majors) currently in studio. Students who have already won may not compete again. Concerto/Aria Solo Competition Audition Application Forms will be available in the music office by mid-September. Due dates are strictly enforced. Adjudicators will rank the auditions on the basis of high performance standards, without regard for instrument or voice. Multiple winners may be named. Likewise, if none of the auditions meets a national standard, the competition may end without a winner. |
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In March 2006, award-winning electric violinist Mark Wood performed concerts with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, the Moorhead Public School Orchestras, and the University Symphony Orchestra (pictured). |
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Dr. Brian St. John, D.M.A. (Orchestra, String Education) Brian St. John is Assistant Professor of Music at Minnesota State
University-Moorhead where he directs the University Symphony Orchestra.
St. John spent the years 1995-2008 in Boulder County, Colorado, where he
was Resident Conductor for the Longmont Symphony Orchestra and Music
Director of the Longmont Youth Symphony as well as Music Director for
the Niwot Timberline Symphony. In addition to conducting hundreds of
concerts in that span, St. John wrote and premiered seven original
ballets, a piano concerto, a concertino for String Bass and Orchestra
and a double concerto for Mandolin, Mandola and Strings. Prior to his
years in Colorado, Brian was assistant conductor for the State Ballet of
Missouri (now the Kansas City Ballet) and assistant conductor for the
Philharmonia of Kansas City. Brian was also Assistant Conductor for the
Colorado MahlerFest orchestra from the years 1993-1999. |
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Concertmaster of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Sung is also a faculty member at both Minnesota State University Moorhead and North Dakota State University, and Artistic Director of the Cheryl Nelson Lossett Performing Arts Series at MSUM. The 2009-10 season will see Sung in concert in Brazil at Festival Virtuosi de Gravata and Festival Inverno de Garanhuns, open the FM Symphony’s season as soloist in the Chaconne from John Corigliano’s Red Violin, appear with the Arsenal Trio in December performances of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, and collaborate with composition faculty at Seoul National University in workshops and performances of new music. Together with pianist Jihye Chang, he is one of the 2009 recipients of the prestigious Aaron Copland Fund Recording Grant. Sung has performed as soloist with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, Texas Music Festival Orchestra, the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, and the Solistas do Virtuosi of Festival Internacionale de Musica in Recife, and has appeared as Guest Concertmaster of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra in Norway. He is a past winner of the Starling Award competition of the Eastman School of Music and the Violin Fellowship competition of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, and was recipient of the Gladys Gingold Scholarship at Indiana University. Sung has recorded the music of composers Steve Rouse and Marc Satterwhite for Centaur Records. Sung holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Oleh Krysa, and Master’s and Doctorate degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, from the studio of Nelli Shkolnikova. Sung has participated in the Professional Training Program at Carnegie Hall, the Lucerne Festival Academy, the New York String Seminar, and the Chamber Music Residency at The Banff Centre. He has also studied with Fredell Lack, Sonya Monosoff, Yair Kless, and Mitchell Stern. Benjamin lives with his wife Jihye in Fargo, where he enjoys running, playing pool and snooker, and everything that comes out of Jihye’s kitchen. |
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Jon Larson is an Adjunct Professor of Violin at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He holds the Masters in Education from the University of Minnesota and the BA in Music Education from Bethel College, St. Paul. His principal violin teachers include Steven Majeske and Mark Bjork. Jon leads the Moorhead High School Orchestra, a program that currently enrolls over 200 string students. In 2006, the Moorhead schools earned the MNSOTA Meritorious Orchestra Program Award. Jon previously directed the Bemidji High School Orchestras. He has served as an adjunct string instructor for the University of North Dakota (Grand Forks) and performed as a violinist in the Grand Forks and Bemidji symphony orchestras. |
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Timothy Nelson is an Adjunct Professor of Viola at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He earned the Master of Music degree in Viola from The Juilliard School where he studied in Paul Doktor's studio. His Bachelors degree in Viola Performance is from the University of Wisconsin–Superior. From 1989-1999 Tim served as Principal Violist of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra where for six years he also performed in the orchestra’s full-time premier chamber ensemble, the Quapaw Quartet. He has won viola positions in orchestras throughout Arkansas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota and currently performs with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Nelson has devoted a significant portion of his career to music education, including over fifteen years as a public school string teacher. He currently directs the orchestras at Fargo South High School. |
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Elise Buffat Nelson received her Master of Music in cello performance from the University of Wisconsin–Madison where she studied with Parry Karp. She was also a member of the Strelow Quartet, the graduate string quartet coached by members of the Pro Arte Quartet. Following graduation, she won the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra's Associate Principal Cello position and concurrently performed with the resident Quapaw String Quartet. Mrs. Nelson has been teaching privately for more that 15 years, coaching cello sections for the Madison Youth Symphony, the Arkansas Youth Orchestras, and the Fargo-Moorhead Youth Symphony. Prior to teaching at MSUM, she taught cello at the University of Wisconsin Summer Music Camps, the Suzuki Institute in Madison, Wisconsin, the University of Arkansas–Conway, the University of Arkansas–Little Rock Community School of Music, and the summer Eagle River Music Festival. She has performed with the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Since moving to Moorhead in 1999, Mrs. Nelson has developed an extensive private cello studio and performed in the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Cello or Acting Principal Cello. She routinely performs with the Fargo-Moorhead Opera Orchestra and Dakota Rose String Quartet. |
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Brian Roessler is a bassist and composer. Whether he's quietly working out the details of a new composition, shaking the ground in a rock club, or executing delicately textured new double bass music, Brian's rhythmic precision and wide-ranging musical fluency has allowed him to thrive in a variety of settings. As a teenager Brian dedicated himself to prog rock odysseys, but by the time he finished college he had composed an hour-long film score incorporating string quartets, pieces for small jazz combos, and sequenced MIDI. His 1995 piece Returning to Silence was chosen by the Macphail Center for Music as the subject of a master class with composer Henry Threadgill. Improvisational structures and works for solo instruments and small ensembles continue to be Brian's compositional focus. On electric bass Brian has been featured live and on recordings by acclaimed artists such as Storyhill, Alva Star, Brenda Weiler, and most notably Spymob - his longtime band that signed with Epic records in 1998. Brian's exploration of the double bass has been inspired and guided by Francois Rabbath, with whom Brian began to study in Paris in 2002. Back at home in St. Paul, MN his apprenticeship with Rabbath continues today, bringing deep inspiration to all aspects of Brian's musical life. Bassist Brian Roessler has performed and recorded with artists as diverse as indie folk renegade Stewart Davis and jazz great Carei Thomas. He is currently a member of Fantastic Merlins, Kid Dakota and The Neighborhood Trio. Website: http://web.mac.com/zellmer_roessler/iWeb/ E-mail: zellmer_roessler@mac.com |
MSUM INVITATIONAL ORCHESTRA FESTIVAL
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The purpose of the MSUM Invitational Orchestra Festival is to encourage the musical growth of area K-12 orchestra programs by providing teachers and students with a unique opportunity for performance and feedback early in the school year. Held in mid-October, each orchestra receives written and recorded comments (no scores or ratings) from two adjudicators. Following the performance, the adjudicators present an in-depth clinic to each group. Additionally, students can participate in an improvisation class led by MSUM performance faculty. National Music Standard 3 emphasizes "improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments." The improvisation class offers hands-on experiences to help traditional orchestra programs meet this standard. School orchestras from the Twin Cities, Bismarck, Grand Forks, as well as the Fargo-Moorhead region have participated. Past clinicians include: Michael Hopkins (2009), Marilyn Seelman (2008), David Littrell (2007), Joanne Erwin (2006), and Bob Culver (2005). For more information, including future Festival dates, contact Brian St. John at brian.stjohn@mnstate.edu. |
The Ben Franklin Middle School Orchestra from Fargo, under the direction of Mary Weisser, performed in the 2006 MSUM Invitational Orchestra Festival. |
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