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April 2007 Headlines
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Speech Team Headed to Nationals
The Concordia speech team won the Minnesota Collegiate Forensic Association state speech competition in February and will compete at nationals April 6-9 in Mankato, Minn.
Concordia has won the state championship 17 times in the 23 years the MCFA has sponsored the state college speech tournament.
"Concordia's success speaks to the high caliber of competition that our students produce," says Tim Loatman, assistant director of Forensics. "Our students are engaged in a rigorous academic activity where they can display their communicative skill sets in an environment that recognizes their excellence."
Eleven students placed during state competition, several in multiple areas.
First place winners included:
Michael Chouinard '07 — prose, program oral interpretation and dramatic interpretation
Shanna Granstra '07 — individual sweepstakes
Megan Dowd '10 — dramatic duo and poetry interpretation
Ian Defoe '10 — dramatic duo
April Filled With student concerts
As the academic year comes to a close, a host of music concerts fill the April calendar.
The Vocal Jazz Ensemble leads off the month with a concert on Tuesday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Christiansen Recital Hall.
The final Jazz Ensemble concert will be Wednesday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the north choral room of the Hvidsten Hall of Music.
On Saturday, April 14 at 4 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium The Concordia College Band will present its final concert of the year, which features the program it will present on its tour of Norway in May. The band tour begins May 5 in Oslo, includes a Syttende Mai concert in Voss on May 17, and departs from Oslo on May 19. The band will perform seven concerts while abroad under the baton of Dr. Scott A. Jones.
On Sunday, April 15, The Cobber Concert Band will perform at 4 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium led by conductor Dr. Nathaniel Dickey. The concert will recognize the influences of retiring trumpet instructor John Koopmann, who will solo with the band, and the graduating seniors will also be recognized.
On Monday, April 16, conductor Jane Linde-Capistran will lead the Concordia College Symphonia concert at 7:30 p.m. in the Knutson Center Centrum. The group will feature five senior violinists in a Vivaldi violin concerto, and special guest artist Russ Peterson, assistant professor of music, will perform on the soprano saxophone for the Hovahness "Sax Concerto."
The handbell choirs concert is Thursday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Knutson Center Centrum. The low brass concert is Saturday, April 21 at 11 a.m. in the north choral room of the Hvidsten Hall of Music.
Concluding this month of concertizing will be the combined Concordia College Orchestra and Concordia College Symphonia concert on Friday, April 27 at 2 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium, and the annual Commencement concert at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 28 in Memorial Auditorium.
All concerts and recitals are free and open to the public.
College Selected as Leader in National Initiative
The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) selected Concordia to participate in a program to make personal and social responsibility part of educational outcomes. It is one of 18 colleges and universities in this Core Commitments Leadership Consortium. These schools will lead the first phase of a national initiative, Core Commitments: Educating Students for Personal and Social Responsibility. The initiative seeks to embed personal and social responsibility objectives pervasively across the institution as key educational outcomes for students and measure the impact of campus efforts to foster such learning.
"The selected colleges and universities are already promising leaders in encouraging and incorporating personal and social responsibility into the undergraduate curriculum," said AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider. "Too often there is a disconnect between student life on campus and students' academic studies, isolating values, ethics, and civic responsibilities from what is learned in the classroom. Core Commitments and the Leadership Consortium will strive to create an encompassing vision of how to integrate these vital principles into the core of the undergraduate experience for all students."
The 18 Consortium members will receive a $25,000 award and their college or university will match that amount over two years to implement the programming to foster the desired outcomes.
The 18 institutions chosen to participate in Core Commitments are:
Babson College, Mass.; Bowling Green State University, Ohio;
California State University-Northridge, Calif.;
Concordia College-Moorhead, Minn; Miami University, Ohio;
Michigan State University, Mich.; Middlesex Community College, MA
Oakland Community College, Mich.; Rollins College, Fla.;
Saint Mary's College of California, Calif.; St. Lawrence University, N.Y.
Tulane University, La.; United States Air Force Academy, Colo.
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Ala.;
University of Central Florida, Fla.; University of the Pacific, Calif.,
Wagner College, N.Y.; Winthrop University, S.C.
Founders Day Features Bravo Broadway!
Entertainment for the 52nd annual C-400 Founders Day on Friday, April 20, is Bravo Broadway!, a group of prominent and talented young musicians who perform some of Broadway's most loved songs. Broadway stars Laurie Gayle Stephenson, William Michals and Gary Mauer will take the stage at 8:30 p.m., following the C-400 dinner and awards presentation.
The stars will sing current Broadway hits as well as classics, including music by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Gershwin, Bernstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber and many more. Bravo Broadway! has performed its program with hundreds of symphonies around the world, including the Israel Philharmonic, the National Symphony and orchestras in China and Rio de Janeiro.
Stephenson, a soprano, starred on Broadway and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as Christine in "The Phantom of the Opera." She made her Broadway debut as Lily in the Broadway production of "The Secret Garden" and has toured the United States with Michael Crawford in "The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber in Concert."
Michals, a baritone, is currently performing on Broadway in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." He has starred in the national tours of "The Scarlet Pimpernel," "Les Misérables" and "Man of La Mancha".
Mauer, a tenor, is presently starring in the Hal Prince touring production of "The Phantom of the Opera" as the Phantom. He has also played the role of Raoul in the Broadway production. Mauer has played numerous other roles, including Enjolras in Broadway's "Les Misérables" and Gaylord Ravenal in the national tour of "Show Boat."
For ticket information, contact Linda Soderberg at 218.299.3454 or 800.699.9896.
Students Build Adobe Homes in Taos, N.M.
 The image of a typical college spring break is that of students going to exotic beaches and basking in the sun.
For 19 Concordia students and a faculty leader, this was not the case. They spent their recent spring break surrounded by plains and the Pueblo Peaks in Taos, N.M., with Habitat for Humanity.
Kendra Gauffin '07 says there is great value in what the students did with Habitat for Humanity.
"This trip helped me reaffirm the decisions I have made in my life to devote time to helping people," Gauffin says. "I saw the impact firsthand and I know that because of the small amount of time I dedicated to them, they will be able to have a home, which means so much to me."
During the week the group mixed clay and sand for adobe bricks, cut lath (small wood pieces), nailed wire meshing to the walls and plastered them. Dani Dommer '09 appreciated meeting with the families who would live in the houses and the opportunity to help them.
"Our hard work was even more rewarding after we were able to picture the people who will be celebrating birthdays and holidays in the houses we worked on," Dommer says.
One of the liveliest experiences they had was a worship service at a small Baptist church, where they outnumbered the members of the church. Church members were welcoming and the pastor shared a heartfelt message. Tatianna Benson '08, a group leader, particularly enjoyed the service.
"The energy and love for God everyone had was very evident, which also made worship an amazing experience," Benson says.
The entire Habitat experience was life-changing for the students. They learned to appreciate what they have and not to take anything for granted.
"It is hard not to be changed from an experience like this," Benson says. "God was continuing working and moving within us."
Read more about how Concordia students used their spring breaks for Habitat for Humanity, Justice Journeys and Exploration Seminars.
Mark O'Connor Concert April 17
Nashville's premiere recording session artist will be on campus Tuesday, April 17 with his Appalachia Waltz Trio for a 7:30 p.m. concert in Memorial Auditorium.
Mark O'Connor first gained fame as an accomplished fiddler at folk festivals and on recordings for a virtual "who's who" of country music artists. O'Connor next turned to composing, and his first recording, a collaboration with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and double bassist Edgar Meyer, earned him worldwide recognition.
On this concert tour, O'Connor has formed the Appalachia Waltz Trio with Natalie Haas on cello and Carol Cook on viola. Together they perform the music O'Connor has become so well known for - gorgeous compositions infused with folk, country, classical and Celtic shadings that reflect his diverse musical roots, interests and influences.
Tickets are available at $22 for reserved seating, $17 for general seating and $12 for seniors and students at the door or from the Office of Cultural Events, Outreach Center, call (218) 299-4366.
The Appalachia Waltz Trio, formed by O'Connor in 2002, released its first album, "Crossing Bridges," in 2004 and since then has been in demand for concerts tours and recordings. Most recently, O'Connor has premiered a commission from the Library of Congress for a new violin sonata. O'Connor regularly teaches master classes and has conducted symposia at many schools of music, including Juilliard, Tanglewood, Aspen, the Berklee College of Music and the Eastman School of Music.
Oratorio presents Faure's "Requiem"
The annual spring oratorio concert will present "Requiem" by French composer Gabriel Faure on Sunday, April 22 at 4 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium.
Conducted by Dr. René Clausen, the oratorio features the combined sound of more than 375 student instrumentalists and singers performing in The Concordia College Orchestra, The Concordia Choir, Chapel Choir, Bel Canto and Kantorei. Additionally, the orchestra, conducted by Bruce Houglum, will perform several pieces prior to the "Requiem."
The orchestra will premiere "Diffractions," a piece for solo French horn, percussion and piano written by Jenna Wolf '07 Lake St. Louis, Mo., and assistant professor of music, Dr. Steve Makela. The collaboration grew out a composition class when Makela thought Wolf's ideas for blending horn and piano could be expanded into a larger work.
The "Requiem" is Faure's best-known work. It was composed and revised between 1877 and 1899, but did not achieve general popularity until after World War II. Since then, leading orchestras and choirs worldwide have performed the composition and it has become a staple of concert venues. Faure (1845-1924) began his career as a choirmaster and he is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest of French composers, a master of the song-cycle. His style is called "delicate and elegant" with great strength and emotional appeal.
Summer Wind Band Institute Opens at Concordia
Band directors around the country will gather in Moorhead this summer for the inaugural Wind Band Institute, founded by Concordia director of bands Dr. Scott A. Jones. The Wind Band Institute will be taught on the Concordia campus June 20-23 by Jones and internationally renowned musicians Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser and James Swearingen.
"We desire to become a transformative summer experience for band directors wanting to improve their teaching effectiveness in the classroom," Jones says. "We recognize that a successful music educator is not only an exceptional musician, pedagogue and technician, but also a flesh-and-blood human being who is fully engaged in changing the lives of students through the powerful medium of music. This philosophical approach to teaching in the wind band setting provides a foundation that sets the Wind Band Institute apart from other experiences - and transforms the professional lives of participants in meaningful ways."
The Wind Band Institute offers band directors from across the country specific content to increase their knowledge of repertoire, instrument pedagogy, instructional strategy, philosophy, conducting, and rehearsal techniques.
A number of Concordia College wind and percussion faculty will present instrument-specific "brush-up" sessions and individual lessons. Two graduate semester hour credits and continuing education certificates are available for participants.
Register online for the Wind Band Institute or download a brochure for more information.
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