Every semester, the Gustavus Music Department hosts Colloquium Series, a number of on-campus musical events that are open to the public.
The music performed includes, “vocal music, instrumental music, jazz, popular music—there’s a different topic every week”, Director of the Gustavus Wind Orchestra Dr. James Miller said.
Dr. Esther Wang, who organized this year’s event, describes the Colloquium Series as “a series of events that deepens our understanding of music in various ways.”
This includes a deeper understanding of what music is and the potential for what it may be. “We’ve had several composers come from as far as Paris to talk about their work in film, pop music influence, or their use of old instruments in new ways,” Wang said.
Indeed, this opportunity provides perspectives that audiences of all ages can contemplate with fresh eyes.
With this definition in mind, the Colloquium Series at Gustavus seeks to offer academic enrichment to music majors; providing opportunities to view professional-level concerts in an academic setting.
According to the Gustavus Music Student Handbook, these events “significantly develop the art of music listening” and “explore the role and responsibility of the listener”.
In other words, Gustavus educators want to produce music majors that can be actively engaged with music they listen to.
This allows for a better experience of musical performances, and overall strength of individual musicianship.
To begin this fall series, two performers are scheduled to share their talents in the first few weeks.
Rolf Erdahl, a Minnesotan string bassist, will perform “Accounting for Grieg”. The concert is an ode to the late Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg, featuring his ‘Intermezzo’ and ‘Cello Sonata’. Erdahl will also be performing ‘Fantasiestücke, Op. 73’ by Schumann.
In his tenure as a double bassist, Rolf Erdahl has performed with some of the greatest chamber orchestras Minnesota has to offer.
He regularly subs for the Minnesota Opera, Minnesota Orchestra, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Outside of his Minnesota career, Erdahl performed with chamber ensembles in Indianapolis, Honolulu, and Miami.
During his university years, he studied at St. Olaf College, the University of Minnesota, and the Peabody Conservatory. As a music professor at Gustavus, Rolf Erdahl and his musical talents are very close to the campus community.
If you are interested in this performance, stop by the Bjorling Recital Hall at 7:30pm September 25.
The second performance in this Colloquium Series will be Zeitgeist, or “For the Birds”. Written in 2010 by Victor Zupanc and Kevin Kling, the performance features an arrangement of musical pieces geared toward the nature and sounds of different birds.
The unique use of sound intersperses masterful storytelling by Kevin Kling, drawing parallels between the beauty of birds and that of human nature.
For those unfamiliar with Kling’s work, he is arguably one of the best storytellers in Minnesota history.
Despite a lifetime full of adversity, Kling has made the most of it and then some, producing some of the finest literature, playwriting, and commentary on the Minnesotan art platform.
A fellow groundbreaker in the art realm, Victor Zupanc sustained a sensational career in American theatre after graduating with Kling in 1979.
He has performed, composed, musically directed, and sound designed for about 300 shows in the US and the world.
His music has spread as far as China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South America, and Great Britain.
With two like minds in performance genius, For the Birds is sure to impress. The show will be performed live at 2:30pm to 4:30pm on September 29 in the Bjorling Recital Hall.
Since the Fall 2017 Colloquium Series focuses on academic appeals toward music, declared music majors must attend.
Even if you are not even involved in the Gustavus Music Department —the Colloquium Series has truly outdone itself this year regarding the all-star performance lineup.