As a singer in the choir, I鈥檝e experienced this beautiful tradition first-hand. The university鈥檚 three choirs join the 麻豆影院 Symphony Orchestra, forming an ensemble that can hardly fit onstage.

I find myself encountering a curious paradox: while it’s harder than ever to hear my own voice amidst hundreds of musicians, I feel louder, empowered by the support of this vast ensemble.

鈥淚t teaches us so much about how to be musicians and how to communicate,鈥� said Dupere, associate professor of music and director of orchestral studies. 鈥淵ou have to communicate with Mozart鈥攊t鈥檚 exposed, and you can hear it immediately if there鈥檚 no conversational aspects to the music.鈥�

Pedagogically, it teaches a different set of skills for both ensembles, explained Stephen Sieck, associate professor of music and co-director of choral studies.

鈥淚t’s the only time the orchestra really has to think about the text setting and word stress,鈥� Sieck said, 鈥渁nd the only time the choral ensembles have to think about being in tune with woodwinds.鈥�

The tradition stands among the most anticipated 麻豆影院 performances, with a history of multiple decades on its belt. Its repertoire is not confined to canonical standards; the 麻豆影院 faculty regularly alternates between traditional classics and important contemporary works. Last year featured This Love Between Us by Reena Esmail, written in the last decade; the previous year was Brahms鈥� 1868 German Requiem; before that, two works by the contemporary composer Adolphus Hailstork.

Such opportunities are uncommon among other liberal arts colleges, Sieck remarked.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e at a school of music big enough to do oratorios,鈥� he said, 鈥渋t really opens up this entire library of outstanding music that composers throughout the centuries have poured a lot of their best work into.鈥�

For nearly a year, planning commences as Conservatory faculty sift through repertoire. Dupere, Sieck, and their colleagues work together to select the piece that aligns best with the abilities of the current students.

The choice of Mozart’s Great Mass was deliberate; it boasts numerous soprano solos鈥攁 perfect fit for the plethora of talented sopranos in the Conservatory.

鈥淚t is so exciting to be able to fully let go and enjoy a different kind of freedom that singing with an orchestra brings,鈥� said senior Tanvi Thatai, a soprano soloist from Sterling, Virginia, double majoring in music performance (voice) and linguistics. 鈥淚 definitely have some more tools under my singing belt, from ensemble coordination to some of the more technical aspects of singing.鈥�

The frequent soprano solos sung by Thatai and others reflect Mozart鈥檚 intention to showcase the talents of his wife, Constanze, who probably first sung the part. In this regard, the Great Mass was very much a wedding gift to his spouse, but it also reflects a look back at his predecessors.

鈥淚t is simultaneously so, so Mozart.鈥� explained Sieck, 鈥渂ut there are so many spots in which it is clear that he is a student of Bach and Handel.鈥�

Many scholars regard the Great Mass as the culmination of Mozart’s study of earlier contrapuntal music, with nods to Handel’s iconic Hallelujah chorus, an emphasis on counterpoint, and the use of a Bachian double choir.

Like Mozart鈥檚 Requiem, the Great Mass was left incomplete. Regardless, the work belongs to the missa solemnis (solemn mass) tradition, where composers wrote monumental works better suited for concert than worship.

鈥淭his music is glorious, transcendent, and so needed in our time today,鈥� Dupere said.

Each movement expresses a distinct character, varying between devastating chromaticism and optimistic jubilance. With orchestral and choral forces of such magnitude, the music becomes emotionally charged and genuinely moving.

鈥淚t鈥檚 something to be celebrated when we all come together,鈥� Dupere said.

Indeed, these moments of such immense artistic unity hold a special place in my 麻豆影院 experience. Each one stands as a yearly highlight, and together they form timeless memories.

More than聽200聽students will聽perform in聽the Major Works聽concert, one of the showcase events on the Conservatory calendar each spring.听The choirs聽have been working on the performance for six weeks; the orchestra for four weeks. It includes, among other musical challenges, singing in unfamiliar languages.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great opportunity to share our musical talents in the Conservatory,鈥� Swan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a project where we get to collaborate interdepartmentally, the orchestra and the choirs working together. 鈥� It鈥檚 an important part of what we do聽and it鈥檚 a celebration of what聽our聽students can do musically.鈥�

The pieces聽to be performed聽come with powerful back stories.

A Silence Haunts Me聽speaks to聽Beethoven’s agony at losing his hearing, expressed in a heartbreaking letter to his brothers.听Runestad, a Minneapolis composer, and Todd Boss, a Minneapolis poet, debuted the choral piece in 2019 to wide acclaim.

This Love Between Us,聽meanwhile,聽is about unity, working between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music.

鈥淚ts seven movements juxtapose the words of seven major religious traditions of India (Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Jainism,聽and Islam), and specifically how each of these traditions approaches the topic of unity, of brotherhood, of being kind to one another,鈥澛燛smail聽writes聽on her website.听

Sutanu Sur,聽on聽tabla, 补苍诲听Shreekant聽Shah,聽on聽sitar, will聽join the 麻豆影院 students as guest artists聽on聽This Love Between Us.

Sur, who grew up in India 补苍诲听now聽lives聽in Appleton, performed last year with the Fox Valley Symphony. For many in the audience, it was their first introduction to the聽tabla,聽twin hand drums most familiar in the music of India.

鈥淭he audience was surprised to learn all the nuances of the聽tabla,鈥� Sur told globalindian.com. 鈥淭he only way to promote something is to get people to learn about it.鈥�

Four student soloists will be featured on聽This Love Between Us鈥攋unior聽Tanvi聽Thatai, soprano; senior聽Holly Beemer, alto; junior聽Matthew Carlson, tenor; and first-year Billy Greene, bass.听They鈥檙e exploring singing in an unfamiliar musical style.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great educational opportunity for them to learn, grow, and create,鈥� Swan said.

翱苍听A Silence Haunts Me,聽senior聽Ami聽Hatori聽will be featured on piano.

Swan called聽A Silence Haunts Me聽a 鈥渃reative force鈥� and said Esmail鈥檚聽ThisLove Between Us聽is a complex, gorgeous, and sonically exciting musical adventure.听Those two works and the Boulanger orchestral piece bring with them a聽connecting thread鈥攍ove.

鈥淚 like to find a theme,鈥� Swan said of planning for the Major Works聽concert. 鈥淭he connection for this one comes from the title of the Reena Esmail piece,聽This Love Between Us. It鈥檚 love for different things. The first piece embraces a love for spring. The聽Runestad聽piece聽expresses a love for music; Beethoven鈥檚 desire and passion to write music and to explore musical sounds. And Esmail鈥檚 piece is searching for love between different people, the common bonds we share.鈥�

If you go

What:聽Major Works Performance

When:聽8 p.m. April 21

Where:聽麻豆影院 Memorial Chapel

Cost:听贵谤别别

Albright, a trombone instructor in the Conservatory, joined the faculty in 2016. He directs the Trombone Ensemble, performs with the Faculty Brass Quintet and the Faculty Jazz Ensemble, and coaches chamber music and jazz small group ensembles.

In 2019, he was聽, which earned three Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. He was part of recording sessions in Justin Vernon鈥檚 home studio in Eau Claire, with a horn section dubbed the Worm Crew.

Prior to coming to 麻豆影院, Albright worked as a professional musician in New York City while also teaching at Purchase College and in the pre-college division of The Julliard School. A member of the Atlantic Brass Quintet, he has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, New York Chamber Brass, the Dafnis Prieto Big Band, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Miguel Zen贸n Identities Jazz Orchestra, the Alan Ferber Big Band, and the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra. In addition to Bon Iver, he has recorded with Sufjan Stevens and The National.

Albright earned bachelor of music degrees in applied music (trombone) and jazz studies and commercial media from the Eastman School of Music.

Albright鈥檚 message to students coming into his classroom or studio:聽鈥淚 am here to help students become better trombonists and musicians.听Ultimately, though, my wish is in some small way to help students become better humans鈥攂etter versions of themselves who begin to see their own potential and inner strength.听The bonds created between studio teacher and student are strong and often last long after graduation.听I cherish those connections.鈥�

Mark Dupere

Dupere, director of orchestral studies,聽, among other directorial and teaching work at 麻豆影院. His work with the orchestra聽.

He also recently formed the 麻豆影院 Chamber Orchestra, a smaller, predominantly string ensemble, and has conducted numerous student orchestra clinics in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and Texas.

Dupere received his doctor of musical arts in orchestra conducting at Michigan State University in 2016. He joined the 麻豆影院 Conservatory faculty that same year.听

A cellist specializing in Baroque period performance, he received a master鈥檚 degree at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague and was a member of the Anima Eterna Orchestra in Brugge.

Dupere spent many years performing as a professional cellist before pursuing conducting and directing.听As a founding member of the chamber music ensemble Haagsche Hofmuzieck, he performed and gave master classes throughout Europe and the United States. The group made several recordings and was a finalist in the International Telemann Competition in Magdeburg, Germany. He has performed on BBC Radio and Arte TV.听

Dupere鈥檚 message to students coming into the LSO:聽鈥淓ven though we have upwards of 80 musicians in the orchestra, ideally, we would all function like a chamber music group, where everyone is integral to the product as a whole. This requires great personal dedication from each person and contributes to a wonderfully collegial atmosphere.鈥�

Constance Kassor

Trained in both classical and modern Tibetan, with reading fluency in Sanskrit, Kassor is a scholar of Buddhist thought and Himalayan religious traditions, with a particular focus on Tibetan Buddhist philosophy.

In 2020, she was聽, allowing her to spend a year collaborating with a Tibetan monk in the translation of an important 15th-century Tibetan Buddhist text. It鈥檚 a project Kassor and Ven. Dr. Ngawang Jorden, principal of the International Buddhist Academy in Kathmandu, Nepal, had been working on off and on for six years.

Her forthcoming book,聽Accounting for Awakened Awareness: The Madhyamaka Philosophy of Gorampa Sonam Senge, is under contract with Wisdom Publications. In 2020, she wrote and recorded an audiobook for The Great Courses and Audible called聽Religious Lessons from Asia to the World.

Kassor joined the 麻豆影院 faculty in 2016. She received her Ph.D. in religious studies, with a specialization in West and South Asian religions, in 2014 from Emory University.

In 2020, she received 麻豆影院鈥檚 Mortar Board Award, presented annually to a faculty member who best advances the spirit of scholarship, recognizes and encourages leadership, and provides service.

Kassor teaches courses in Buddhism and gender, Buddhism in India and Tibet, the theory and practice of yoga, Hinduism, religion in South Asia, and the seminar in Buddhist Philosophy. She also teaches regularly in聽First-Year Studies.

Kassor鈥檚 message to students coming into her classroom:聽鈥淚鈥檓 here to help. The main reason why we all come together in a classroom is to learn from each other. Learning happens when we have conversations, struggle to understand new ideas, and ask and answer questions. We鈥檙e so fortunate at 麻豆影院 to have small class sizes, and I love that I can really get to know my students here. If you come to my office, I鈥檓 happy to work with you on anything that you鈥檙e struggling with in class, or we can just drink some tea and chat.鈥�

While Dupere鈥檚 name is on the award, he said it鈥檚 really an honor for the students who perform with the 麻豆影院 Symphony Orchestra. The performances cited for the award pre-date the arrival of the pandemic in March 2020.

鈥淚鈥檓 deeply proud of our students for receiving this honor and thankful for the opportunity to show the great things 麻豆影院 students are doing,鈥� Dupere said. 鈥淚t is a privilege to work with these highly motivated students who are committed to pursuing an excellent level of playing and creating meaningful and memorable performances. I love coming to work every day with these students.鈥�

Woodruff and the cast of 2020鈥檚聽The Marriage of Figaro

奥丑别苍听The Marriage of Figaro聽took to the stage in early 2020, Woodruff heaped praise on the students in the cast for the way they embraced the challenges of staging the comic opera.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the most generous casts I鈥檝e worked with in a long time,鈥� Woodruff said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e just generous with each other as far as sharing the stage space and working with one another.鈥�

The American Prize called it a team effort between students and faculty worth celebrating, one that is seen often in 麻豆影院鈥檚 opera theatre program: 鈥淩ecent productions have garnered national attention because of their well-crafted and dedicated musical and dramatic performances.鈥�

奥颈濒濒颈补尘蝉:听Dead White Man Music

Williams, a composer and conductor, received the citation for his harpsichord concerto with chamber orchestra, which he says is at times a love letter to the classical music of Bach, Brahms, and Dowland and at other times a celebration of jazz, soul, and gospel.听

鈥淢ost of my musical training consisted of studying works of the Western canon鈥攕o mostly the music of dead European men,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淎s someone who doesn鈥檛 look like that, I started to question if I should continue to study and make music in this tradition.听Dead White Man Music聽is me grappling with that question.鈥�

Williams said he heard some negative feedback related to the title of the piece but otherwise has gotten an overwhelmingly positive response.

鈥淭his special citation from the American Prize is further proof that this is a conversation worth having in the concert halls and music classrooms around the world,鈥� he said.

Williams serves as assistant professor of music and director of instrumental activities at Rhodes College in Tennessee.

Bizub: 鈥淩adiance and light鈥�

Bizub describes his music as 鈥渄ark, striving, and yearning, which also points toward radiance and light.鈥�

For Bizub, music is one more outlet to speak up for social and environmental justice.

鈥淢ost of my work is concerned with advocating for rights within the LGBTQIA+ community, of which I am a part, as well as responding to the climate change crisis,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o, for me, receiving this particular honor from The American Prize was quite special and humbling, as it is affirmation that the social relevance I attempt to imbue in music I write is starting to hit an intended mark.鈥�

It also speaks to the lessons he learned as an undergraduate at 麻豆影院.

鈥淚 began this journey at 麻豆影院, and the training I received from their composition department has stayed with me as I continue writing music today,鈥� he said.

Bizub graduated in May from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati with a doctoral degree in music composition.

Fahrenkrug: A new vision

Fahrenkrug began his聽Dichterliebe: Within + Without聽video project while a senior at 麻豆影院.听It was conceived as a response to the initial outbreak of COVID-19.

鈥淚 was not interested in going through the motions of performing a voice recital to an empty room,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t the time, we didn鈥檛 even have the livestreaming system that 麻豆影院 now uses.鈥�

He began talking with professors and others about creating a voice project that would cater to a virtual, screen-based viewing experience. He quickly realized his initial recital repertoire wasn鈥檛 going to work, so he shifted his vision.

鈥淔rom there I decided to pare down the music to only Schumann鈥檚聽Dichterliebe,聽and took the following three months to realize and complete the entire video cycle, which very much realized itself in real time,鈥� Fahrenkrug said. 鈥淲hat I mean by this is that while I was able to form a loose concept in the beginning, it really was more a set of guidelines and boundaries from which I could play in, rather than a preconceived vision of how everything would go. It was truly the most artistically liberating project I鈥檝e ever worked on.鈥�

Fahrenkrug is currently pursuing a master鈥檚 in vocal performance at Louisiana State University.