News

By: Kay Cooley, WDAY

Watch the video here.

Fargo, ND (WDAY TV)-- Most musicians hoping to make it big can only dream of one day signing with a record label. But a student run group at MSUM is turning that dream into a reality for local musicians. Behind the books and hours of studying.

Fargo, ND (WDAY TV)– Most musicians hoping to make it big can only dream of one day signing with a record label. But a student run group at MSUM is turning that dream into a reality for local musicians. Behind the books and hours of studying.

Lies a group thats turning the eyes, and ears, of everyone who stops to listen.

Rachael Goers- Undeclared Records President: “Our program and even just Undeclared Records is very unique. That’s actually why I chose to go to MSUM.”

Undeclared Records- It’s MSUM’s student run record label.

Giving these aspiring entertainers hands on experience, in the real world music industry.

Ryan Jackson- MSUM Associate Music Professor: “They need to be very well adjusted for what’s to come and I think we do that here very well.” Read the rest of this entry →

Lori Neprud-Ardovino, music graduate 1984, was recently chosen to be the 2013 University of Montevallo University Scholar. The University Scholar is a faculty member who has excelled in scholarship/creative endeavors through national peer-review publications, grants, performances, shows, etc. The University Scholar is chosen by the University Scholar Selection Committee consisting of former recipients of the Scholar award.

The Tri-College Jazz Combos under the direction of Dr. Matthew Patnode (NDSU), Jon Rudolph (MSUM) and Michael J. Krajewski (MSUM) performed Sunday at The Red Raven Espresso Parlor.

Tri-college-Jazz-poster

You are cordially invited to an evening of music!

Saturday, May 4 at 7 p.m.
Gaede Stage, MSUM Center for the Arts

There will be performances of songs in English, French, Italian and German, as well as the World Premiering of a James F. Gurney original, The R.A. Rag! Read the rest of this entry →

By: WDAY Staff Reports, WDAY

Fargo, ND (WDAY TV) — Some of the most influential and impactful women and businesses in the Cass-Clay community are getting some well deserved recognition.

Dana and I were proud to host tonight’s 40th Annual Women of the Year, put on by the YWCA. We met 30 nominees whose lives, talents and passions shape the community.

One of this year’s winners, for the lifetime achievement award, was Dr. Terrie Manno. Read the rest of this entry →

MSUM’s three major choral ensembles–the Concert Choir, and Festival Men’s and Women’s Choirs–will present their final concert of the year Sunday, April 28, 7:30 p.m. The concert will include several works by English composer Benjamin Britten, whose centennial is being celebrated this year. The free concert takes place at First Presbyterian Church, 2900 So. 5th Street, Moorhead.

Dr. Kenyon Williams, Professor of Percussion, spent three weeks of his sabbatical in Ghana where he studied drumming and dance with Ewe people of the Volta region of Ghana. During this time, he lived in the small rural village of Kopeiya at the Dagbe Art and Culture Center which was created by a family of master drummers from the area to spur research, maintain traditional art forms, and provide financial support for the region.

The music and dancing that he learned will be shared with members of the MSUM community via the MSUM World Music and Percussion Ensemble, “Fuego Tropical,” this coming fall. Read the rest of this entry →

Two MSUM jazz groups won awards at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Jazz Festival last weekend. In the combo category, the Tri-College group (three-fourths of which are MSUM students) won first place and the Guitar Ensemble came in third. The groups are directed by Mike Krajewski.

Tara Cherry to present & perform at SAC April 16

By Meredith Wathne

The deep amber color, the twisted tight strings and the soothing sounds that resonate after a legato bow stroke. It’s hard not to be romantic about the violin. Music education and music performance major Tara Cherry found romance and has been in a serious relationship with the violin since she was eight years old. Read the rest of this entry →

Michael J. Krajewski, Music, will present a master class on Improvisation at the University of Minnesota School of Music, Twin Cities on Friday, April 12 at 3:30 p.m. in Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall. The master class is free and open to the public.

web.mnstate.edu/krajewski

Music Industry graduate Troy McFarland, ’09, released twelve tracks mastered by his former instructor, Ryan Jackson, Music Industry, in Jackson’s home recording studio. Watch his latest single, a music video titled “Alone ft Tori Quinn.”

The Guitar studio of Michael J. Krajewski will present a recital March 26, at 7:30 p.m. in Gaede Theater. Student performances by Rachel Burckhard, Michael Lauer, Riley Gutormson, Conor Lee, Matt Seidel, and Troy Viau will join the MSUM guitar ensemble and Tri-College jazz combo featuring Chad Hanson, Andrew Stermer and NDSU music major, Andy Long.

The Tri-College Jazz Combo, under the direction of Michael J. Krajewski, Music, will perform Tuesday, March 19 at 4:30 p.m. in Fox Recital Hall. The combo features Mike Lauer – Guitar (MSUM), Chad Hanson – Keyboard (MSUM), Andrew Stermer – Drums (MSUM), and Andy Long – Saxophone (NDSU). The group will perform music by Mike Stern, Benny Golson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and Charlie Parker.

Dr. Kenyon Williams, Professor of Music, will participate in the performance of an original Easter musical in Fargo this coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (March 22-24) at Bethel Church in South Fargo. A project over nine months in making, the script was written by Ginger Williams, former adjunct professor of Speech at MSUM, with over 25 original compositions written by Dr. Williams alongside a team of composers. Read the rest of this entry →

Chinese pipa player Gao Hong performs Wednesday, March 20, at 8 p.m. in Fox Recital Hall in the Dille Center for the Arts on the MSUM campus.  A pre-performance lecture and demonstration take place at 4:30 p.m. in the same location. A reception will follow the evening performance.

Hong is considered a master of the pipa, a pear-shaped string instrument much like a lute. She graduated with honors from China’s premier music school, the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she studied with pipa master Lin Shicheng. In both China and the U.S., Hong has received numerous top awards and honors, and was the first traditional musician to be awarded the prestigious Bush Artist Fellowship. Read the rest of this entry →

Terrie Manno, Music (piano), presented an invited workshop to the North Dakota Music Teacher’s Association membership March 6.  The workshop, titled “Student Projects that Develop Musicianship, Improve Listening Skills and Generate Enthusiasm,” provided local piano teachers with innovative strategies that synthesize student learning through group and individual projects.

MSUM music faculty, Allen Carter, David Ferreira and Tom Strait, will present “Miles Davis – Kind of Blue,” an evening of music, discourse and dining on Tuesday, March 26, 6:30-9 p.m. at the Speak Easy Restaurant.

The epic 1959 Miles Davis recording sold more than 5 million copies. The performance of the entire record will be interwoven with interesting stories about the making of “Kind of Blue” and the musicians who created it. Read the rest of this entry →

Terrie Manno, professor of music/piano and coordinator of keyboard studies, and Michael Dean, professor and coordinator of keyboard studies at Oklahoma Baptist University, will present a piano duet and solo recital on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the MSUM Center for the Arts Fox Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public. Read the rest of this entry →

Michael J. Krajewski, music, has recently been selected to present at the College Music Society (CMS) and Association for Technology in Music Instruction (ATMI) conference Fall 2013 in Cambridge, Mass. His session will focus on “Developing Interactive Course Material.”

Terrie Manno, Music, and Michael Dean, professor and coordinator of keyboard studies at Oklahoma Baptist University, perform together Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in Fox Recital Hall in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts. The program includes works by Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Griffes, Debussy, Granados, Gershwin, Dvořák and Joplin. The recital is free and open to the public.