Hastings College Music

Today the Hastings College Choir is in Omaha at the Happy Hollow Club singing at the Alexander von Humboldt Dinner!

Enjoy our spring extravaganza!

Hastings College Music Finale Extravaganza

Join us this Sunday for the final concert of the ‘23-‘24 academic year!

Recently the Music Department hosted two exciting events for area pianists and their teachers.

On Saturday, April 6, Kenneth Huber served as guest artist for the annual Gladys Frisch Harris piano festival. Huber presented a solo recital of music by Bach/Hess, Chopin, Liszt, Mozart, and Schubert. He also shared a thought-provoking talk about letting Chopin teach us how to play his music by careful score study. Huber and HC piano professor Dr. Jonathan Sokasits taught masterclasses for middle- and high-school students from Cairo, Grand Island, Hastings, Minden, and Ogallala. Seven teachers from those communities also attended, and the festival concluded with a solo recital by Sokasits.
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On Tuesday, April 9, the Music Department and the Central Nebraska Music Teachers Association co-sponsored a lecture demonstration by Viennese-based fortepianist Daniel Adam Maltz. Maltz is traveling around the country presenting talks and concerts with his replica of a 1792 Walther instrument. This is the kind of fortepiano for which Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven wrote much of their keyboard music.

In addition to an insightful discussion of period instruments and performance practices, Maltz performed music by Mozart and Beethoven and invited students and teachers in attendance to play on his instrument.

Performers included Sarah Sutton, Daniel Steinhauser, Elliot Maschka, Hastings High student Blake Schiffbauer, HC faculty member Brett Epperson, and Hastings piano teachers Lindsay Dietze and Jonathan Sokasits.

Congrats and thank you to everyone who came to the inaugural Spring Percussion Summit this past weekend! We enjoyed incredible clinics, coaching, and performances by some of Nebraska's brightest young percussionists. A special thank you to Dr. Bierman and the UNK Percussion Ensemble for sharing the concert with us. See you again next year!

The final schedule for the Inaugural Spring Percussion Summit is out! All events are free and open to the public. It's all happening tomorrow, April 13th. Please join us!

2:30pm - Marimba Clinic (Perkins Auditorium)
“Making 4-mallet Marimba Easy” with Dr. Jed Blodgett

3:30pm - Ensemble Performances (Perkins Auditorium)
3:30pm - Timpani Clinic (Choir Room - F43)
"Making Timpani Sing" with Sam Rosenau

4:30pm - Individual Performances
- Keyboard Solos (Perkins Auditorium)
- Timpani/Snare Drum Solos (Choir Room - F43)
- Drumset Solos (Band Room - F71)

5:30pm - Collegiate/Director’s Clinic (Theory Room - F37)
"Beginning Percussion Pedagogy" with Dr. Matthew Rush

5:30pm - Drumset Clinic (Band Room - F71)
"Making Grooves Groove" with Andy Schneider

6:15pm - Reception/Longest Drum Roll Contest (Perkins Lounge)

7:00pm - Awards Ceremony/Final Concert (Perkins Auditorium)

This Friday, Dr. Epperson and Dr. Sokasits will present Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel, along with Johannes Brahms’ Five Songs - Op. 47.

7:30 PM - Perkins Recital Hall

Video: Ludwig says one-on-one learning opportunities make a difference - Hastings College Karl Ludwig chose Hastings College because he liked the one-on-one learning opportunities. Ludwig said music faculty work to make sure students like him have

Registration ends tonight! There will be clinics and one-on-one workshops from Dr. Duane Bierman of UNK, Dr. Matt Rush of UNL, Andrew Schneider, and Sam Rosenau. We would love to see you there!

Hastings College Percussion Summit - Hastings College The Hastings College Jazz Festival is an important educational and music event in Nebraska.

Dr. Jonathan Sokasits was selected to perform at the Northeast Chapter Conference of the College Music Society, hosted by Kutztown University in Kutztown, PA, March 23-24. He presented a lecture-recital featuring five of his concert etudes on Billy Joel songs.

On this trip to his home state, Sokasits had the opportunity to return to his nearby alma mater, Nazareth Area Senior High School. He performed for the large non-audition high school choir, and enjoyed a moving performance by the choir. Sokasits also performed for and taught a session with a third-semester piano class. Mrs. Kelly Rocchi, director of choral activities and teacher of the keyboard curriculum at the high school, has done marvelous work building the choral program into one of the finest in the region.

At the conference, Sokasits met up with friends from many places in his career. Pictured is Dr. Daniel Neuenschwander, director of bands and professor of trombone at Kutztown. Dan was a class piano student of Sokasits at UW-Madison.

On Saturday April 6 Hastings College Music will host the annual Gladys Frisch Harris Piano Festival. This year's festival artist is Mr. Kenneth Huber (Carleton College in Minnesota) The day’s events include a solo recital and lecture by Mr. Huber, solo masterclasses for piano students, and a brief solo recital by HC's Dr. Jonathan Sokasits.

Piano students in grades 8-12 are invited to attend this event free of charge. To register and for more information, go to hastings.edu/pianofestival.

Join us for a spring concert by the Hastings College Choir, Choral Union and the choir from Tabor College (Kansas)! The concert begins at 7 p.m.

Spring Choir Concert Join the Hastings College Choir , Choral Union and the choir from Tabor College (Kansas) for a spring vocal concert!

Congratulations to Maggie deFreese (oboe), Anna Zentz (flute/piccolo), Maria Pytlik (trumpet), Jake Darling (trumpet), and Karl Ludwig (tenor saxophone) for representing Hastings College at the 2024 Nebraska Intercollegiate Band at the NSBA Conference in Lincoln this past weekend! The band comprised some of the top collegiate musicians in Nebraska, and their performance of works by Timothy Mahr, Florence Price, Yasuhide Ito, and Omar Thomas was fantastic!

“I got a lot of practice at Hastings College. It was a soup to nuts experience where you had to think about how to build an audience, raise funds, produce something and actually make it all work, in addition to the great artistic experiences I had,” said Dr. Maggie Koozer '06. “Hastings afforded me those opportunities all in one place. At a lot of colleges, you focus only on performance and miss out on other types of skills.”

Koozer is now the senior vice provost of curriculum, learning and academic affairs at The New School in New York City, a private university enrolling more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Read the HC Today article by clicking the link below!

Koozer '06 builds programs to challenge the status quo - Hastings College A standout vocal performer during her years at Hastings College, Dr. Maggie Koozer ’06 was a soloist in productions of Handel’s “Messiah” and Mozart’s

Come see our very own Dylan Shaw perform “Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra, Movement I: Cadenza, Lento e Allegro” by Pierre Max Dubois, with the Hastings Symphony Orchestra this Sunday!

The concert starts at 3pm; tickets for adults are $22, and students of all ages get in free!

This Wednesday, the Hastings College Choir will be helping with the invited Faculty Lecture given by Dr Rhesa Ledbetter. We are honored to help bring her vision to life and hope everyone considers attending this impactful session.

Please join us in one week for Dr Blodgett’s recital!
He will be performing in Fuhr Hall on Marimba and his repertoire will be featuring works by Heitor Villa-Lobos.
If you can’t join us in person, but sure to join the live stream on YouTube!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Honor Band and Choir concert yesterday — and to all the students who auditioned and were selected! We enjoyed getting to know all of you!

Check out Dr Louie Eckhardt’s recital introduction before his performance tomorrow!

https://youtu.be/AFSoqpl8vYA?si=_bYHIcqoFg278kGf

A world premiere of “Sonata for Trumpet and Piano” by Douglas Hedwig will be a highlight of Dr. Louie Eckhardt’s trumpet recital on Sunday, January 14, at 3:00 p.m. in the Fuhr Hall of Music. The performance is free and open to the public.

Additional repertoire includes Arthur Honegger’s “Intrada;” Kenny Wheeler’s “Solo One;” Dylan Findley’s “Lo!” (for trumpet, electronics and video); James MacMillan’s “In Splendoribus Sanctorum;” and Joseph Turrin’s arrangement of Gershwin’s “Someone to Watch Over Me.”

Assisting musicians during the recital will be Dr. Jonathan Sokasits, professor of piano, and the Hastings College Choir with Dr. Brett Epperson, assistant professor of music, conducting.

Trumpet recital to premier ‘Sonata for Trumpet and Piano’ - Hastings College A world premiere of "Sonata for Trumpet and Piano" by Douglas Hedwig will be a highlight of Dr. Louie Eckhardt’s faculty trumpet recital set for Sunday,

Join us tomorrow at 7pm as our students answer all of your questions about being a music education major. Live on Instagram! Feel free to DM your questions ahead of time

If you were unable to make it to the performance of Handel's Messiah yesterday, you can watch the recording here! We are grateful to everyone who helped us make it happen!

Handel's Messiah at Hastings College - Hastings College We're gathering together in 2023 to once again perform Handel's Messiah at Hastings College!

CORRECTION: The concert will be held at Perkins Recital Hall, in Fuhr Hall.

We can’t wait to hear our jazz ensemble next week! Come check out their performance Monday at 7:30 in French Memorial Chapel — UPDATE: The concert will in Perkins Auditorium in Fuhr Hall!

We can’t wait to hear our jazz ensemble next week! Come check out their performance Monday at 7:30 in French Memorial Chapel — UPDATE: The concert will in Perkins Auditorium in Fuhr Hall!

Join us on Sunday, December 3rd at Lynn Farrell Arena for the returning Messiah performance! Our own choirs will be performing beside several community choirs with some very talented soloists. We can’t wait to bring this event back with you all!

Happy Thanksgiving! We want to take a moment to thank all of our staff for all that they do and all that they are. ❤️

Here are some testimonies about their influence:
“I’m grateful for a staff that is willing to listen to us when we’re struggling and that they try to help us in anyway possible.”
“I appreciate how they always promote this kind and encouraging atmosphere. They not only teach us music but also push us to grow and be our best selves.”
“Our music department staff is genuinely caring and dedicated to making the best possible environment to make music.”
"I'm extremely grateful to have such great colleagues here at Hastings College. I'm inspired every day by their artistry, their energy, ideas, and dedication, and finally their care for our students here at the College!"
"I'm grateful for both the professional and personal support all of my colleagues have shown me since I was hired. It really has been a welcoming community that me and my family feel blessed to be a part of."
“I’m thankful for our music staff because they genuinely care about the well being of their students and it shows. They go above and beyond for their students and they are overall kind and supportive people.”
“I love that the music faculty is so personable. They remember you, they take time to ask you how you are, and they always are willing to help no matter what. They really help me feel comfortable and welcome here.
They’re always very supportive in my endeavors, even when I’m not really sure what they are quite yet! My life after college is something I’m not sure about, but all of the staff have full faith that I can do whatever I set my mind to. I’m truly thankful for their care and guidance, and I hope they know how much it means to us to have people who care.”
“I am grateful for those who see the best in me and push me to learn and develop more as a musician.”
"I am so thankful for my music colleagues for the spirit of encouragement they all share. They are always looking for ways to support and that warms my heart!"
“I am endlessly thankful for attitudes and encouragement from the faculty. I feel like a valued member of the department every time I step in the building.”