CLA: School of Music News

This week we meet SOM Super Fan saxophonist Kyle Hutchins! Kyle is currently a master's student studying with Professor Eugene Rousseau. He recently moved to Minnesota from Texas and he's already figured out where to find some of the best vegan food in Minneapolis.

1. Where are you originally from (hometown)?
Stephenville, TX

2. What instrument(s) or do you play?
Saxophone mostly, as well as flute and clarinet. I can also play some pretty sweet four-chord songs on the guitar.

3. Name the last live performance that blew you away.
A few summers ago I saw Coldplay perform live in Dallas. I had the cheap tickets, sitting on the lawn, but they did a set on mini-stage set up in the back, so my "cheap seats" became front row. It was just after Michael Jackson died, so they played a few covers of his music and it was fantastic!

4. Which musicians have influenced you the most?
My high school band director was a saxophone player, so I was raised the right way, listening to the greats like Cannonball, Bird, and Trane. The biggest moment for me though was the first time I heard Michael Brecker play "Delta City Blues" It was basically that moment when I decided that saxophone was what I was going to do with my life. Although I don't play much jazz anymore, I'm not sure I would be doing music at all if it had not been for jazz band in high school and my exposure to all those great musicians.

5. What do you like most about the U of M School of Music?
The tunnels! I am from Texas, we have to leave one building to get inside of another.

6. Name your favorite musical moment at the SOM (if you have one yet).
Well, I just started my Masters here, so I haven't heard or taken part in any performances yet... but so far I would say getting to hear Dr. Rousseau play in lessons and studio class. People all over the world have to settle for recordings and we get it live every week!

7. Where is your favorite place to eat/hang out on campus and/or the Twin Cities?
Hard Times Cafe!

8. What's most frequently on your playlist?
The Garden State soundtrack. It has lived in my car for the last 4 years.

9. What are the first three things that come to mind when someone mentions Minnesota?
"Dont cha know," "You betcha", and "Howya doin."

10. We hear you're vegan. What's your favorite vegan treat?
Cilantro-Lime Hummus!

Posted by School of Music Pubs and Public Rel at 9:43 AM | Permalink

The University of Minnesota School of Music was featured in Minnesota Public Radio's (MPR) All Things Considered coverage of new U of M President Kaler's Inauguration on Thursday, September 22 at Ted Mann Concert Hall. In this story, School of Music Professor Peter Mercer-Taylor (musicology) was asked for his thoughts on the Inauguration and shared that he "...walked away from the whole thing just very inspired, and ready to buckle down and move into a new era if we can carve one out." See MPR's photo gallery of the Inauguration "Photos: Pomp and circumstance for new U of M president" to view SOM students performing in the Inauguration ceremony as well as the University Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Mark Russell Smith.

Posted by School of Music Pubs and Public Rel at 9:08 AM | Permalink

New University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler and his wife Karen Kaler toured the School of Music on Wednesday, September 21. They met School of Music students in practice rooms, including Sophie Christian (piano, student of Professor Artymiw), Andres Crovetti (percussion, student of Professors Meza and Sorenson), Cole Hanson (clarinet, student of Professor Fiterstein), Esther Peterson (violin, student of Professor O'Reilly), Joseph Welch (collaborative piano, student of Professor Lovelace), and Elizabeth Windnagel (voice, student of Professor Zabala).

They were also paid a visit to Professor Currie's World Music Ensemble rehearsal where they were treated to a Samba arrangement of "Luckenbach Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" by Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson. They visited with the University Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Mark Russell Smith and the orchestra treated President Kaler and his wife with a bit of Brahms's Symphony No. 1.

Check out photos of President Kaler's tour of the School of Music here.

Posted by School of Music Pubs and Public Rel at 2:41 PM | Permalink

U of M School of Music faculty and students performed the music for the Inauguration ceremony for new University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler at Ted Mann Concert Hall. The School of Music provided music throughout the ceremony - including works by Brahms, Verdi and the work The Road Home by SOM alumnus/composer Stephen Paulus (M.A. 1976, Ph.D. 1978, composition). Visit the official Inauguration webpage for complete program information.

Congratulations to the School of Music students and faculty who made us proud at the new U President Kaler's Inauguration: Trumpet students, studios of Professors Baldwin and Bordner; Students from Jazz Studies program, conducted by Professor Sorenson; Trombone students, studios of Professors Ashworth and Tranter; String sextet, coached by Professor Konkol; University Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Professor Mark Russell Smith; University Singers, conducted by Professor Saltzman Romey; and Combined University Choirs and University Wind Ensemble, conducted by Professors Saltzman Romey and Kirchhoff.

Posted by School of Music Pubs and Public Rel at 10:27 AM | Permalink