• Andrew KreckmancompletedhisMMdegreeinspring

2010.Hehasenteredthedoctoralprograminchoral

conductingatTexasTechUniversity.

• Steven Lorenz,MM’02(musiceducation),hasbeen

appointeddirectorofchoirsatPioneerHighSchoolin

AnnArbor.

• Tim McMillincompletedhisDMAdegreeinspring2010.

HecontinuesasdirectorofchoralactivitiesatSimpson

CollegeinIndianola,Iowa,andartisticdirectoroftheDes

MoinesVocalArtsEnsemble.Hisdoctoraldocumentwas

astudyofagroupofchoralworkscommissionedbythe

DaleWarlandSingers.

• Kelly MillercompletedherDMAdegreeinsummer

2010.ShehasjoinedthefacultyofWesternIllinois

Universityasassistantprofessorofchoralmusicand

musiceducation.Herdoctoraldocumentwasastudyof

themusicforwomen’schoirsbyDavidBrunner.

• Jeremy NaborscompletedhisMMdegreeinsummer

2010.Hehasreturnedtohispositionasdirectorofchoirs

atChapelHill(N.C.)HighSchool.

• Trent PattersonwillcompletehisDMAinthefallof

2010.Hehasbeenappointeddirectorofchoralactivities

atWebsterUniversityinsuburbanSt.Louis.Hisdoctoral

documentisastudyofthecareerofCharleneArchibeque.

• Matt Olson,MM’09,hasbegundoctoralworkinchoral

conductingattheUniversityofMinnesota.

• Bonnie Borshay Sneed,DMA’90,hasjoinedthefaculty

ofSouthwesternOklahomaStateUniversityasdirector

ofchoralactivities.Shewillpresentaninterestsession

attheACDANationalConventioninChicago,entitled

“NationalGuidelinesforPromotionandTenurefor

CollegiateChoralConductors.”

• Sarah StocktoncompletedherMMdegreeinsummer

2010.ShecontinuesasdirectorofvocalmusicatGrand

Blanc(Mich.)HighSchool.

•Wes StonercompletedhisMMdegreeinsummer2010.

HecontinuesasdirectorofvocalmusicatHillgroveHigh

SchoolinsuburbanAtlanta.

• Jason Thoms,DMA’05willsingwiththeSantaFe

DesertChoralefortheirwinterseasoninDecember2010.

HewillalsobethebasssoloistwiththeCalvinCollege

OratorioSociety’sDecemberperformancesofMessiah.He

continuesasdirectorofchoralactivitiesandmusicarea

chairatConcordiaCollegeinNewYork.

• Kate Wolfe Tiefel,MM’08,willserveasguest

conductorfortheWisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod

NationalWorshipConferenceandtheWELSHigh

SchoolChoralFestivalin2011.Sheisnowlivinginthe

Houston,Texasarea.

• Robert Ward,DMA’86,hasbeenappointeddirectorof

choralactivitiesatOhioStateUniversity.

• Gary Weidenaar,MM’88,ledtheChamberChoirof

CentralWashingtonUniversityinperformancesatboth

theWashingtonMusicEducatorsAssociationconvention

andtheACDANorthwestDivisionconvention.He

currentlyservesasPresident-ElectoftheDivision.

• Marcia WielandcompletedherMMdegreeinsummer

2010.Shehastakenapositionasdirectorofchoirsat

GrandJunction(Colo.)HighSchool.

music.msu.edu

DearMSUChoralAlum,

Welcometoourannualchoralnewsletter—ouryearly

reminderthatyouarestillapartoftheMSUchoralfamily.

We’reofftoagoodstartthisyearandhopeyouareas

well.Wehaveanexcellentgroupofnewandcontinuing

graduatestudentsinchoralconducting.OurnewDMA

studentsareDerrick Fox,whoreceiveddegreesfrom

ArkansasStateUniversityandtheUniversityofMissouri

andhastaughtforanumberofyearsinthepublicschools

ofArkansasandMissouri;Damon Dandridge,aDetroit

nativewhoholdsdegreesfromSouthCarolinaState

UniversityandFloridaStateUniversityandmostrecently

taughtatCheneyUniversitynearPhiladelphia;andRyan Beeken,whoreceivedhisundergraduatedegreefromDrake

University,thentaughtforanumberofyearsinsuburban

DesMoines,andrecentlycompletedhisMMinchoral

conductinghereatMSUinour“summersonly”program.

Allthreeofthesegentlemenaretherecipientsofsignificant

Universityawards.Derrickwonahighlycompetitive

UniversityEnrichmentFellowship,Damonreceivedan

AcademicAchievementGraduateAssistantship,andRyan

wasawardedaRasmussenFellowship.Megan Boydisour

newMMstudent.AgraduateofBostonUniversity,shehas

taughtforseveralyearsinDurham,NorthCarolina.Our

summermaster’sprogramwelcomedthreenewstudents:

Choral Activities at MSU ~ Winter 2010Jeff Faux,agraduateofWestminsterChoirCollege,who

servesasDirectorofSacredArtsatFirstPresbyterian

ChurchinBonitaSprings,Florida,andArtisticDirectorand

ConductoroftheFortMyersSymphonicMastersingers;

David Hood,afreelanceconductorinAustraliawho

holdsanundergraduatedegreeinmusicandaPhD(in

Australianhistory!)fromtheUniversityofAdelaide;and

Eric Rubinstein,whoearnedanundergraduatedegreefrom

SUNY-FredoniaandcurrentlyteachesatMonticelloHigh

SchoolinNewYork.

Inourcontinuingefforttosavepaperandminimizeprinting

costs,wearenotincludingascheduleofvocal-choralevents

forthe2010-11seasonwiththismailing.Youcanfindthose

performancesontheCollegeofMusicwebsite(music.

msu.edu)inthe“Ensembles”sectionunder“Choral.”Or,

uponrequest(rayld@msu.edu)IwillmailyouaPDFofthe

schedule.It’sanamazinglistandservesasareminderofthe

manyfantasticperformanceopportunitiesthatareavailable

attheMSUCollegeofMusic.

Performance HighlightsOnSaturday,December4,theMSUChoralUnionand

ChoralejoinedtheLansingSymphonyOrchestra,underthe

batonofDavid Rayl,foraprogramthatincludedBloch’s

Sacred Service,Rutters’sWhen Icicles Hang,andVivaldi’s

“Winter”fromThe Four Seasons.OnSaturday,December

11,theMSUMen’sandWomen’sGleeClubsandState

Singers,conductedbyJonathan ReedandDMAstudent

Ryan Beeken,andtheMSUChildren’sChoir,conductedby

artisticdirectorKristin Zaryski,willjoinforceswithLeon GregorianandtheMSUSymphonyOrchestraforMSU’s

HomefortheHolidays,aconcertofseasonalmusicforthe

entirefamily.OnSunday,April10,theUniversityChorale

willjoinmembersoftheLansingSymphonyOrchestraatSt.

MaryCathedralindowntownLansingtoperformJoseph

Haydn’sLord Nelson Mass alongwithworksbyMichael

HaydnandW.A.Mozart.Theacademicyearconcludes

onSaturday,April30,whenthecombinedforcesofthe

ChoralUnion,Chorale,andStateSingersjointheMSU

SymphonyOrchestraandfacultysoloistsMelanie Helton,

Molly Fillmore,Richard Fracker,andRod Nelmanfora

performanceoftheVerdiRequiem.

Michigan State University | College of Music

TheMSUOperaTheatrewillagainpresenttwofullystaged

productionswithorchestrathisyear:Mozart’sLa Finta GiardinierawasperformedonNovember19,20,and21,

andRickyIanGordon’sepicsettingofThe Grapes of WrathwillbepresentedonApril1,2,and3.Bothproductionsare

doublecastandincludemanyundergraduates,atributeto

thecontinuingqualityofourvocalprogram.

ACDA National Convention Makeplansnowtojoinusforouralumnireceptionatthe

ACDANationalConventioninChicago,March9-12,2011.

Timeandlocationhaven’tbeendeterminedyetbutwewill

beintouchwithdetailsassoonastheyareavailable.AND...

plantoattendDr.Sandra Snow’sinterestsession:“Singing

withIntention:BringingVitalityandBeautytoChoralTone”

onFriday,March11.

Armstrong Wins Alumni AwardAnton Armstrong(DMA’87)receivedtheOutstanding

AlumniAwardfromtheCollegeofMusicAlumni

AssociationattheCollegecommencementonSaturday,

May8.Hewasalsotheofficialcommencementspeaker.

Congratulations,Anton,andthankyouforsharingyour

wordsofwisdomwithourgrads!

Helen Bartlett Fellowship in Choral MusicDr.Dale Bartlett,retiredCollegeofMusicfacultymember,

MSUalum(BM’55;MM’56)andcurrentconductorofthe

LansingArtsChorale,hasendowedascholarshipinmemory

ofhislatewife,Helen,whowasalong-timememberof

theChoralUnion.Thisyear’srecipientismaster’sstudent

DannySinger.Thankyou,Dale!

Robert Harris FellowshipDr.Robert Harris,directorofchoralorganizationsatNorthwesternUniversity,aMichiganStatealumnus(PhD

’71),andformerMSUdirectorofchoralactivities,continues

tofundtheRobertA.HarrisAwardforExcellenceinChoral

Performancetobegivenannuallytoanoutstandingchoral

musician.Thisyear’srecipientismaster’sstudentMegan Boyd.Thankyou,Bob!

Smith Fellowship RecipientTheCharlesK.SmithEndowedFellowshipinChoral

Conducting,createduponSmith’sretirementin2002by

membersoftheMSUChoralSociety,isnowfullyendowed

andprovidesimportantfinancialhelptograduatestudents

inchoralconducting.Thisyear,Zeb Highbenispartially

fundedbyascholarshipfromthisendowment.Thankyou

tothemanydonorswhosegenerositymadethisendowment

possible.Althoughthescholarshipisfullyfunded,

additionalgiftsareneededtoincreasetheprincipal,thus

providingadditionalscholarshipdollarstoourgraduate

students.Ifyouwouldliketomakeacontribution,please

contactRebecca Surian,directorofdevelopmentinthe

CollegeofMusic,atsurian@msu.edu.

J. Loren JonesFormerMSUmusicfacultymemberandconductorofthe

Men’sGleeClub,J. Loren Jones,diedAugust8,2009in

Texas.Hewas87.

Guest CliniciansCharlene Archibeque,directorofchoralactivitiesemeritusatSanJoseStateUniversity,wasourguestforthe

ChoralInvitationalonNovember3-4,wheresheworked

witheighthighschoolchoirsfromaroundthestate.She

spentthefollowingdayworkingwithourensemblesand

graduateconductingstudents.Herfocuswasonrehearsing

Renaissancemusicwithparticularattentiontoappropriate

editions.

Kirk Aamot,directorofchoralactivitiesatMontanaState

University,lecturedtoourgraduatechoralconducting

studentsonthetopicofornamentationinRenaissance

music.

TheappearancesofbothDr.ArchibequeandDr.Aamot

werepartiallypaidforwithfundsfromthePaulandMartha

NilandEndowedLectureshipinChoralMusictoHonor

CharlesK.Smith.

Choral Society NewsTheChoralSocietywillagainsponsora“singalong”Messiah

onSunday,December12,atEdgewoodUnitedChurchin

EastLansingfeaturingstudentandalumnisoloists.This

annualeventhasbeenwellattendedandenthusiastically

receivedinrecentyearsandtypicallyraisesabout$1,500.

ThroughitsduesandfundraisingactivitiestheChoral

Societyprovidesscholarshipassistancetograduatestudents

inchoralconducting.Thisyear,thesocietyprovides

assistanceforDMAstudentZeb HighbenandMM

studentsMegan BoydandDanny Singer.

Keeping Up with MSU AlumniThissectionofthenewsletterisintendedtohelpyoukeep

uptodateonthecareersofourMSUchoralalumni.Ifyou’ve

recentlychangedjobsorwanttosharesomeaspectofyour

professionallifewithyourfellowalumni,pleasesubmit

informationonlineatmy.music.msu.edu.

• Aaron Bouwman,MM’08,teaches6-12musicat

FreedomChristianSchoolinHudsonville.Hecontinues

asAssociateDirectorofChoirsatCornerstoneUniversity

andasArtisticDirectoroftheGreatLakesMen’sChorus.

• Ted BrimeyercompletedhisMMdegreeinthesummer

of2010.Hehastakenanewpositionasdirectorofvocal

musicatUrbandaleHighSchoolinsuburbanDesMoines.

• Jeff Buettner,DMA’05,wasacceptedasoneofthe

conductorsforthePhiladelphiaBachInstituteworkshop

withHelmutRillingattheEasternDivisionACDA

convention.

• Andrew Crane,DMA’05,willappearasheadlinerforthe

SouthernCaliforniaVocalAssociationFallConference.

• Clint Desmond,DMA’09,hasbeenappointeddirector

ofchoralactivitiesandchairofthemusicdepartmentat

DakotaWesleyanUniversityinMitchell,SouthDakota.

• Zach DurlamcompletedhisDMAdegreeinthespringof

2010.Hehasbeenappointeddirectorofchoralactivities

atFresnoPacificUniversity.Hisdoctoraldocumentwas

astudyoftheinfluenceofHandelonMendelssohn’s

choralmusic.

• Meghan Vollbach Eldred,acurrentstudentinour

summermaster’sprogram,willleadtheChamberChoir

ofDeWittHighSchoolinaperformancefortheMichigan

MusicConferenceinJanuary2011.

• Tom FitzStephens completedhisMMdegreeinthe

springof2010.Hehastakenapositionasdirectorofvocal

musicatWoodlandHighSchoolinsuburbanAtlanta.

• Trey Jacobs,DMAABD,willleadchoirsfromEastern

MichiganUniversityintwoconventionperformancesthis

year.InOctobertheEMUUniversityChoirwillperform

fortheMichigan-ACDAfallconvention,andinJanuary

theEMUChamberChoirwillpresenta45-minute

concertasafeaturedensemblefortheMichiganMusic

ConferenceinGrandRapids.

• Tom Hart,DMA’89,hasbeenappointedtothechoral

musicfacultyatOhioStateUniversity.

• Jeff Kitson,BM’03,MM’05(composition),hasbeen

appointedRepertoireandStandardsChairforTwo-

YearCollegesfortheNorthCentralDivisionofACDA.

HecontinuesasamusicfacultymemberatCentral

CommunityCollegeinColumbus,Nebraska.