Ron Gerhardstein joins PLU music education faculty after extensive career
Ron Gerhardstein joins PLU music education faculty after extensive career As a music educator for the past 18 years, Ron Gerhardstein has taught instrumental and vocal music in both public and private settings in Washington, Idaho, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Now, as a new PLU faculty…
Regency Voices features two compositional perspectives of ‘The Prodigal Son’
On Friday, March 6, PLU’s Regency Voices ensemble presents two musical realizations from Debussy and Sullivan of the iconic story of the Prodigal Son as part of the 2015 SOAC Focus series on perspective. The concert in Lagerquist Concert Hall, features Janeanne Houston, soprano, James…
Nordic Journey: Organ Music From Scandinavia visits PLU March 1
On Sunday, March 1, at 8pm, join organist James D. Hicks for Nordic Journey: Organ Music From Scandinavia in Lagerquist Concert Hall, Mary Baker Russell Music Center. Over the past several years, Hicks has intensively researched a relatively unknown and unexplored corner of the organ…
Q&A: Meet John Paul, PLU’s new Department of Music Chair
Meet John F. Paul, the new Chair of the Department of Music and Associate Professor at Pacific Lutheran University. Before joining the PLU family at the start of the 2014-15 school year, Dr. Paul served for 13 years as Chair of the Department of Music…
Pacific Northwest high school students visit PLU for Northwest High School Honor Bands
On January 9 and 10, 2015, Pacific Lutheran University welcomed 250 high school students to Mary Baker Russell Music Center for Northwest High School Honor Bands. Students came from more than 80 schools in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Ed Powell , associate professor of music…
PLU opera opens Handel’s ‘Alcina’ this January
Travel to Alcina’s island for a story of magic, enchantment and song. This January, surround yourself with magnificent music when Pacific Lutheran University Opera performs Handel’s Alcina on the Karen Hille Phillips Mainstage. There are four opportunities to view the production: January 22, 23, and…
The PLU Wind Ensemble tours Tennessee this month
Features world premier of work by PLU composer Gregory Youtz PLU’s University Ensemble is stretching its legs this January as 47 talented Lutes will be performing at venues in Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee. The ensemble will feature the world premier of For Those Who…
December 14 concert shows brass program’s strengths
If you want to see (or hear) the quality of the PLU’s brass program, look no further than the Lyric Brass Quintet concert on Sunday, December 14 in Lagerquist Concert Hall at 8pm. The Lyric Brass Quintet is comprised of PLU’s brass faculty: Edward Castro…
Be a part of the Journey
Why Music Scholarships Matter – in students’ own words To many students, PLU is a dream, and financial aid and scholarships make it a reality. Hear students talk about their journey to PLU and how music scholarships have made the difference. To address demand for…
Inaugural Christmas Music Scholarship Concert premieres Saturday, December 13
New concert fills need for additional campus performances Pacific Lutheran University’s annual Christmas Concerts are a beloved seasonal celebration on campus and across the Northwest. This year, more than 150 students will perform the world premiere of Oregon composer Robert Kyr’s Christmas Oratorio in Seattle,…
Student Composition Wins Statewide Competition
Taylor Whatley’s Original Piece, ‘Fanfare Giocoso,’ Premieres at LUCO’s Season-Opener Seattle’s renowned Lake Union Civic Orchestra (LUCO) opened its 20th anniversary season with pieces by Mozart, de Falla, Respighi—and Whatley. That’s Taylor Whatley ’15, a Music Composition major at Pacific Lutheran University. And his original composition,…
The Choir of the West: PLU’s Premier Choral Ensemble Keeps Particularly Busy
By Shunying Wang ’15 PLU Marketing & Communications Student Worker It’s an especially busy—and newsy—year for PLU’s renowned Choir of the West, including the return of Dr. Richard Nance, Director of Choral Activities and conductor of the choir, who’s back from a yearlong sabbatical. During…
Alice Giles ‘cool’ World Harp Tour stops in Tacoma
Alice Giles, world-renowned harpist, will be performing at Pacific Lutheran University as part of her 2014 world tour on October 19 at 8pm in Lagerquist Concert Hall. The multi-media performance commemorates the Centenary of the First Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914. The first part of the…
Going for a Grammy
When you think Grammys, you might think Béyoncé and Macklemore—but you might not think Lute. It might be time to rethink the Grammys. Micah Haven, a 2009 Music Education graduate of Pacific Lutheran University and now the director of bands at Meeker Middle School in…
A Flutist’s Unplanned Path to Success
Jodie Rottle ’10 Finds Fame Even Without a Direct Roadmap By Shunying Wang ’15 and Sandy Deneau Dunham, PLU Marketing & Communications As far as Jodie Rottle ’10 can recall, she started to play the flute because her sister randomly suggested it. Good call, Jodie Rottle’s sister. Rottle,…
Free Summer Jazz Series brings Stars-and the community-to PLU
16th Annual Jazz Under the Stars Kicks Off July 10 By Sandy Deneau Dunham, PLU Marketing & Communication As a gift to the community—and really, to everyone who attends—the Pacific Lutheran University Department of Music kicks off its free summer concert series, Jazz Under the…
The End of an Era
Dave Robbins Steps Down after 33 Years as Chair of the Department of Music Greg Youtz’s first glimpse of Dave Robbins was him strolling down a hallway in Eastvold, while his two-year-old daughter toddled along at his side, clutching his finger. “I remember thinking that…
Cosmosis: combining the art of music with the inquiry of science
In Cosmosis , the final 2013 SOAC FOCUS Series Event, musicians and scientists explore how failure can empower us to pursue knowledge and success. The three-part event will take place in Lagerquist Concert Hall in the Mary Baker Russell Music Center on Saturday, May 11, 2013…
Musical Memories
Editor’s Note: When Lorna Vosburg Burt ’40, ’69 read our story on PLU’s annual Christmas Concerts in the winter 2013 edition of Scene magazine, she was inspired to recall—and share—her own Choir of the West story … from 1939. It was so full of history…
Lute Plays Piano ‘Up Close with the Masters’
A Q&A With Natalie Burton ’13 By Sandy Deneau Dunham, PLU Marketing & Communications Music and Chinese Studies major Natalie Burton graduated magna cum laude from PLU in 2013, but she might have taken her most high-profile class just this year: an “Up Close With the…
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