On Christmas Day in 1961, Dr. Bill Snyder received a guitar from his parents. He began teaching himself how to play by listening to Joan Baez records and to folk music on the radio. He already knew how to play the ukulele, which made it easier for him to pick up the guitar. “I don’t…
Her mother is a parish liturgist, conducts children’s and adult’s church choirs, and brought her straight to the church when she was born; there, the choir sang to her, their voices echoing off the church walls and surrounding her with harmonic sound. Her siblings all play instruments, and they are connected through the expression of…
Cobbers are preparing for their last few days of the school year. For the senior student musicians, their to-do lists include stepping down so younger musicians can take over. Senior violinist Conor Roche plays in the Symphonia Orchestra. Roche received a scholarship for Concordia’s music program and has been a member of Symphonia for all…
Music education majors will experience a curriculum change next year when the Choral Literature course will change into Teaching Choral Music. Dr. Julie Hagen, assistant professor and coordinator of Music Education, said that these students currently have had only one methods course to inform them how to teach music to their future students. “It’s too…
Concordia College – As Concordia’s theater program kicks off November with the popular musical “Les Misérables,” cooperation between the theater and music departments becomes the key to putting on the best show possible. Though Karen Hamilton, the musical’s vocal director, said the bridge between the theater and music departments has been building for four years,…
This year, Concordia Choir bids a temporary farewell to a beloved colleague and conductor and welcomes an old friend. Dr. René Clausen will be taking time off this year to focus on his own projects while Michael Smith returns for his last year as a conductor but his first time conducting Concordia Choir. “I really…
After a four year undergraduate career, senior Chris Kenney is topping off his list of accomplishments with a full ride to the University of Kentucky graduate opera program, with an additional $12,000 stipend each year. The competition was hosted and funded by Alltech, a privately owned company dedicated to agricultural engineering. “The CEO (of Alltech)…
It is easy to see Concordia students perform music: Attend one of the several concerts, recitals or gigs on the Moorhead campus. Distance is an issue for some, but people are working to eliminate that gap. Concordia’s Information Technology Services and music department recently collaborated to bring a new website to Concordia and the virtual…
The Concordia Percussion Ensemble will perform at an international drum and percussion convention next week. The ensemble is invited to perform a 90-minute concert at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14 at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. The percussion ensemble members are both nervous and excited. “This trip is way bigger than…