Music Events

Wind & Percussion Ensemble
Spring 2026 Concert

Percussion Ensemble
Dr. Kenyon Williams, director

Escape Velocity, composed in the spring of 2008, is a multipercussion quartet featuring three keyboards and a djembe player, although each musicians also plays several other percussion instruments, often simultaneously with their primary part. This high-energy piece is heavily influenced by the music of Béla Bartók as well as “drum ‘n’ bass” artists like Venetian Snares and Aphex Twin.

Volume Pig (vo.lium pig). n. 1. Name of a rare subspecies of the pig family, porcus amplificatus, normally found dwelling in remote Southland bogs. The unusual hunting tactics of this creature have long been a curiosity to zoologists; it confuses and stuns its prey by uttering a frantic succession of wild grunts, howls and piercing screams, causing the unfortunate prey to fall to the ground, covering its ears in extreme agony. 2. Colloquial name given to a person with a particular propensity for composing music of an unusually loud nature.

In the music-style wars of the last century, nothing out-“styled” the swanky swing of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad and Pops Percussion records of the 1960’s. Composers, arrangers, and band leaders like Esquivel, Marty Gold, Enoch Light, Dick Schory, and Bernie Green all had fabulous bands, fabulous record covers, a remarkably square-shaped hipness, and an unabashed excitement about the still-infant separated audio channels of “Living Stereo”. If the record was any good, the stereo was hyper-panned, and the guitars and bongos would bounce from left to right like a tennis ball. RCA Victor even had a series with the name “Stereo Action”, which hits the aesthetic nail so on the head, it seemed worth stealing. These records are all driven by virtuosic percussionists, so a full ensemble of them seemed even better. The result is this Stereo Action, where the percussion (including the oft-neglected percussion instrument, the piano) also takes on the original roles of the hot brass, the swanky strings, and the smooth electric guitars. Of course, all is in glorious stereo. But Stereo Action is not a parody; it is a loving embrace of the only musical genre where your Hi-Fi must be finely-tuned, and your martini perfectly chilled.

Wind Ensemble
Dr. Benjamin James Druffel

Percussion Ensemble Personnel

MSUM Wind Ensemble Spring 2026 Roster

The members of the MSUM Wind Ensemble are listed alphabetically to recognize the significant contribution each member brings to the ensemble.

Senior Voice Recital
Kayla Huebner, Mezzo-Soprano
Vocal Music Education, 2026

Lori Cline, Pianist

Words & Translations

Biographies

Arne Dorumsgaard (1921-2006) was a Norwegian composer, poet, translator, and music collector born in Fredrikstad, Norway. Although he devoted much of his life to composition, he later gained recognition for his translations of Eastern poetry and for building an extensive archive of sound recordings. Demonstrating an early affinity for literature and music, he began his formal musical studies with pianist Jens Bugge Olsen in Fredrikstad. His dedication quickly became evident, culminating in his debut as a composer at the age of thirteen.

Clara Schumann (1819-1896) was a distinguished German composer and pianist born in Leipzig, Germany. The daughter of singer Marianne Tromlitz and the renowned piano pedagogue Friedrich Wieck demonstrated extraordinary musical talent from an early age and was soon recognized as a child prodigy. At fourteen, she premiered her own Piano Concerto, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. By the age of eighteen, she had established herself as one of Europe’s leading virtuoso pianists. Following her marriage to Robert Schumann, she assumed a central role in supporting her family and maintained an extensive touring and performance schedule throughout her life. Clara Schumann set new artistic standards in concert performance, particularly through her practice of performing both solo recitals and concertos entirely from memory.

Carole King (b.1942) is an American singer-songwriter born in Brooklyn, New York, to a middle-class Jewish family. She was raised primarily by her mother, Eugenia Gingold, an actress and theater critic. While still in high school, King began arranging and composing music, demonstrating remarkable musical aptitude at an early age. At fifteen, she formed and performed in a vocal quartet known as the Cosines. At seventeen, she wrote her first number one hit, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.” Over the course of her career, King has become one of the most influential and celebrated singer-songwriters in popular music history.

Fleetwood Mac (1967) began as a British blues band before evolving into one of the most commercially successful Anglo-American pop-rock groups of the late twentieth century, propelled by the extraordinary success of their 1977 album Rumours. The band first achieved prominence during the British blues boom with its self-titled debut album and the hit single “Albatross” (1968). In the years that followed, Fleetwood Mac experienced periods of more moderate success while undergoing significant personnel changes, including the departure of founding member Peter Green and the addition of keyboardist, vocalist, and songwriter Christine McVie. The group’s enduring influence remains evident through widely recognized songs such as “Dreams” and “The Chain,” which continue to resonate with new generations of listeners.

Orchestra Concert
My Favorite Things
Spring Concert 2026

Orchestra

MSUM Orchestra Spring 2026 Personnel

Jon Larson, conductor