Wichita State News: Music

WSU playing leading role in 'Mikado'

It's a busy time at the School of Music at Wichita State University.

Mark Laycock, director of orchestras, will conduct the school's production of Mozart's "Cosi fan Tutte" in Miller Concert Hall in three weeks, then turn around and lead Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors" with Opera Kansas on Thanksgiving weekend.

Paul Brodene Smith, assistant professor of voice at WSU, will spend the coming days helping young singers prepare for debuts in the upcoming shows.

Across the street in Jardine Hall, Rodney Miller, dean of the College of Fine Arts, will toil at administrative duties, office work necessary to keep the School of Music and other departments running.

All three educators, though, will step away from their daily routines to work on an off-campus project — Wichita Grand Opera's production of "The Mikado."

Gilbert & Sullivan's frothy comic opera will be presented next weekend. Laycock, Smith and Miller will play significant roles in the production.

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Maroon 5 to play at Charles Koch Arena

Grammy Award winning, A&M Octane recording artists Maroon 5 have announced plans for a college exclusive nationwide tour that includes a stop in Wichita, Kan., at Charles Koch Arena on Nov. 22.

The multi-city tour will launch at Murray State in Kentucky on Nov. 2, and make 11 stops before wrapping up at Wichita State in November. Hip-hop MC, griot, and singer/songwriter K'naan will serve as the tour's opening act on all dates.

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WSU Symphony Orchestra to feature faculty soloists

Wichita State University flutist Frances Shelly and harpist Ann Glasmann will be the featured soloists in the season's first concert by the WSU Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Miller Concert Hall.

The program, which includes music by Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Michael Abels, will be led by Mark Laycock, WSU director of orchestras.

Frances Shelly

Shelly's performing career spans more than 35 years and includes solo, orchestral and chamber music concerts throughout the United States and Europe. She is principal flute of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, having appeared as featured soloist on several occasions.

Glasmann was spotlighted on the National Public Radio program Performance Today in a WSU recital honoring harpist Marcel Grandjany's centennial year of birth, 1991. A member of the WSU faculty since 1989, she has also served as principal harp of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.

The two will perform Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp in C Major. Comte de Guines (1735-1806) commissioned the double concerto for himself and his daughter, a harpist to whom Mozart gave composition lessons. Thought to have been premiered in Paris in 1778, Laycock called the concerto a "dazzling, virtuosic showpiece for the two solo instruments."

The concert will also include Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, a monumental work unified by a haunting opening theme, at one time identified by the composer as a musical representation of Fate. This motto undergoes transformations, emerging in the finale as a triumphal march. Laycock said Tchaikovsky's lush orchestration and melodic invention are particularly evident in the inner movements: an exquisite andante and an elegant waltz.

Michael Abels' "Global Warming" will open the program. Composed in 1991 near the end of the Cold War, the piece is a musical salute to improved international relations. Abels employs elements of folk music, especially lilting melodies from Ireland and the Middle East, to create an exhilarating celebration of the similarities between musical cultures, said Laycock.

More about WSU Faculty Artists

The Washington Post recently described Shelly's playing as "powerful and evocative." Originally from Dearborn, Mich., she earned her bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in flute performance from the University of Michigan. After graduation she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in West Berlin, Germany. While in Europe her teachers included James Galway, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Frans Vester.

Shelly performs extensively with the Lieurance Woodwind Quintet. With Steven Egler, professor of organ at Central Michigan University, she has commissioned and premiered several new works for flute and organ, and the Shelly/Egler Duo has performed throughout the U.S. Recordings of the duo and the quintet are on the Summit and Morning Star Record Labels. Other recent collaborations include an intercontinental tour with New York Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato.

Glasmann received her training at Bowling Green State University, where she studied with Ruth K. Inglefield. As the recipient of two Ruth Lorraine Close Fellowships, she spent three summers enrolled in the Cours d'été de Gargilesse, France, in advanced studies with Pierre Jamet. She participated in the eighth and ninth International Harp Competitions in Israel and at the first and second Concours International Marie-Antoinette Cazala in France. Glasmann has premiered several new works for harp and diverse instruments at WSU, including works by Dean Roush, Marilyn Shrude and Paul Elwood.

Laycock is an associate professor of music at WSU, where he holds the Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction Endowed Professorship. In 2007, he was recognized with the College of Fine Arts Excellence in Teaching Award. This season, he will conduct the Wichita Grand Opera production of "The Mikado" as well as the February concert of the Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra. His work as guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator spans 18 states, including the leadership of all-state orchestras in Alabama, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska and Washington.

Tickets are available through the Fine Arts Box Office at 978-3233. The concert will also be simulcast on WSU Internet Radio at http://wsuir.wichita.edu.

Opera is a calling for WSU tenor

Senior Aaron Short expressed a talent for music at a young age, and he is building his experience at Wichita State University in vocal performance and opera.

"Music is the most pure form of expression, more so than language," Short said.

His favorite quote, by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, is, "Without music, life would be a mistake."

Short, who sings tenor, said music makes life more enjoyable. It is the center of his life.

Singing was fun for Short as a child. He said he felt comfortable performing on stage.

For his first public performance, at 6 years old, Short sang in a town fair talent show in Belton, Mo., his hometown.

He also participated in the children's chorus in the Civic Opera of Kansas City, and performed in high school and community productions before coming to WSU.

His parents were professionals in the music and theater worlds, and they were his biggest influence to pursuing opera as a career.

"They pretty much raised me to love music," Short said. "It is directly their fault that I'm going into music."

Short took voice lessons from his mother and performed in a production of "Pippin" under his father's direction at Olathe South High School in Kansas City, Kan.

At WSU, Short has performed in "Dialogues of the Carmelites," "Tamerlano," "Iolanthe" and "Street Scene."

Marie King, opera program director at WSU, said, "From his very first role as a freshman, (Short) had a maturity and attention to character that caught the attention of everyone in the program."

Short's favorite opera, composed by Puccini, is "Tosca" because it has everything a good opera should have: love, hate, murder and drama wrapped together in a Puccini package, he said.

Short enjoys opera because it, combined with theater, is a "smorgasbord of dramatic content.

"The drama of opera is heightened because there's no stopping in scenes," he said. "And it's almost always in a foreign language."

Short has studied Italian and French. Learning languages for performances is an added benefit for opera singers.

"If you don't want to sing anymore, you can go be a (translator)," he said.

The WSU summer opera program, Canta in Italia, took Short to Italy for one month to experience demanding vocal study and language instruction. He called it "opera boot camp."

And this past summer, Short performed in operas for Inspiration Point Opera in the Ozarks.

His experiences and the real-world knowledge he gained in Arkansas made him confident in every aspect of his future singing career, he said.

After college, Short said there is no set path for opera singers to follow.

He wants to get his master's degree, and then he plans to work in a young artist program to build his reputation and voice.

At some point, he said he'll get an agent, accept gigs and make a name for himself. He hopes to have a substantial opera career in about 10 years.

"It takes a very long time to be a singer," he said, "which is what's tough about the industry."

King has faith Short will succeed: "Aaron has a very fine voice, strong dramatic sensibilities and is very musical. All these qualities, combined with an exceptional work ethic, make him a strong contender for a career in opera."

Summer Symphony Orchestra to feature Australian cellist

Cellist Timothy Archbold, a native of Australia, will be featured soloist with the Wichita State University Summer Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 25, in Miller Concert Hall.

Mark Laycock

The program, which includes music by Mussorgsky, Elgar and Vaughan Williams, will be led by Mark Laycock, WSU director of orchestras.

Archbold will perform Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor. One of England's greatest Romantic composers, Elgar composed this, his last work, at age 62. It is bold, lyrical, eloquent, said Laycock, and is a showpiece whose surface virtuosity is matched by uncommon emotional depth.

Maurice Ravel's orchestration of Modeste Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" will also be featured. Mussorgsky composed the suite for piano in response to a posthumous exhibit of artwork by his close friend Viktor Hartmann.

Mussorgsky designed each movement to portray a specific painting or drawing, then linked them with a majestic promenade. Ravel, a master orchestrator, is the most famous of several musicians who have created symphonic arrangements of the suite, Laycock said.

The concert will begin with "Overture to The Wasps" by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Of the generation of British composers that followed Elgar, Vaughan Williams was more closely associated with English folksong.

Characteristics of this tradition permeate even his purely instrumental works, particularly in their lyricism and modality.

Archbold, the symphony's guest artists, was raised in regional Australia. He received a Bachelor of Music Performance with Honours from the University of Melbourne in 2002. In December 2007, he completed his studies at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen, Germany.

He has served as principal cellist of numerous orchestras in both Australia and Germany; he has also performed with the Oldenburg City Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria and the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras.

He has been a student of Jakub Omsky and is completing his master's degree in cello performance at Wichita State University.

Archbold appeared as soloist with the WSU Symphony in February as a winner of the Concerto-Aria Competition. He is a member of the Bloomfield String Quartet and the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.

The intergenerational Summer Symphony Orchestra, an outgrowth of the WSU Symphony, includes members from as far away as Hutchinson and El Dorado. It is comprised of high school and university students, music educators, professional performers and seasoned amateurs.

Laycock is an associate professor of music at Wichita State University, where he holds the Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction Endowed Professorship.

In 2007, he was recognized with the Excellence in Teaching Award by the College of Fine Arts.

His work as guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator includes the leadership of all-state orchestras in Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska and Washington; recent engagements include the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, Maryland All-State Orchestra, Kansas Junior High State Orchestra, Northeast Kansas Ninth Grade Honor Orchestra, and Hastings (NE) College High School Honor Festival.

Tickets, at $6, $5 and $2, are available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office at (316) 978-3233. The concert will also be simulcast on WSU Internet Radio at http://wsuir.wichita.edu.

WSU's Glasmann and Davis to perform for 'Pipes on the Plains'

WSU School of Music faculty Robert Glasmann and Lynne Davis will perform free concerts as part of the American Guild of Organists' regional conference in Wichita, being held Sunday, June 14-Friday, June 19, at Wichita's Hotel at Old Town.

Activities, including organ tours, are planned at various venues in the city.

Robert Glassman

Glasmann, associate professor and director of choral music, will conduct the Wichita Chamber Chorale at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, at First Presbyterian Church, 525 N. Broadway in Wichita.

Glasmann serves as artistic director for the Chamber Chorale.

Davis, an associate professor and the Ann and Dennis Ross Faculty of Distinction in Organ, will perform the convention's gala concert at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 18, in Wiedemann Recital Hall on the WSU campus.

The Chamber Chorale's program will open with "Fanfare" for organ by William Mathias, played by David Josefiak.

The chorale will sing works by Gerald Finzi, Felix Mendelssohn, Louis Vierne and J.S. Bach. The program will conclude with Zoltan Kodaly's majestic "In Praise of Organs" for chorus and organ.

Lynne Davis

The program that Davis plans for her concert includes music by Andre Raison, le "Vive-le-Roy des Parisiens," J.S. Bach, Cesar Franck, Alain and Durufle. In addition, she will provide one of the workshops – on French composers – that the Wichita chapter of AGO has arranged on campus.

For more information about the regional convention and a schedule of events, go to http://www.pipesontheplains09.org.

Student singers performing 'Requiem' in Carnegie Hall

Seventy-six choral students and choir director Tom Wine from Wichita State University's School of Music will be onstage Tuesday, June 2, in New York City's Carnegie Hall to perform the world premiere of "Requiem" by David N. Childs.

Most of the WSU students come from Wine's A Cappella Choir, which will combine with two other college choirs from New York for the performance.

The combined choirs, soloists and orchestra will be conducted by Childs, a prolific young composer with more than 50 choral works in print and commissions from around the world.

Tom Wine

Wine, professor of music education at WSU, will participate as one of the vocalists.

Childs, an active clinician and adjudicator in the United States, serves as associate professor of choral studies at the Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University, Nashville.

He has also served as music director for the Vanderbilt Opera Theater program.

Born in 1969 in New Zealand, he earned his bachelor's degree in composition and musicology from Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand; a Master of Music in conducting from the Florida State University, Tallahassee; and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Louisiana State University.

The WSU troupe left on May 30 for New York City, where they were to rehearse for three days before the June 2 Carnegie Hall performance.

Robert Town to perform Memorial Day carillon concert

Robert Town will perform for the Memorial Day carillon concert from noon-1 p.m. Friday, May 22, at the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum at 204 S. Main.

Town, associate professor emeritus of Wichita State University's School of Music, is coordinator of the five annual holiday carillon concerts sponsored by the Sam and Rie Bloomfield Foundation.

Other concerts are at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and Independence Day. The carillon can be heard throughout downtown Wichita.

Sam Bloomfield was founder, president and chief engineer of the Swallow Airplane Co.

The Bloomfields lived in Wichita from the mid-1930s to mid-'50s.

They have never forgotten their ties to the city and university, said Town.

"There are no others who played a more active role in the development of the city's cultural, educational and charitable resources," said Town. "One of the Bloomfields' significant gifts to the city was the downtown carillon, which is one of the few urban carillons in the nation."

WSU Concert Chorale, Symphony to tackle Mass in B Minor

One of the Western world's greatest works, J.S. Bach's Mass in B Minor, will be performed by the Wichita State University Concert Chorale and the WSU Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 8, in Miller Concert Hall, Duerksen Fine Arts Center.

WSU's highly select 48-voice chorale and the symphony will be joined by faculty artists Deborah Baxter, Dorothy Crum, Rodney Miller, Pina Mozzani, Nicholas Smith and Lynne Davis, and visiting artists William Browning and Matthew Schloneger.

Robert Glasmann

The Mass in B Minor is a monumental work, said Robert Glasmann, associate professor of choral music and opera. Glasmann is director of Concert Chorale at WSU. He will conduct the performance.

"It's a work that is not done very often, because of the demands it places on the performers," said Glasmann of Bach's Mass in B Minor. "I'm fortunate to have the students who are capable of performing the work. It's considered to be one of the greatest works in the history of Western music."

The WSU Concert Chorale, recognized as one of the finest choral-art ensembles at the collegiate level, has been conducted by Glasmann for 22 years.

He also serves as artistic director and conductor of the Wichita Chamber Chorale and is conductor of the adult choir at St. James Episcopal Church in Wichita.

'Choral Glimpses' from WSU A Cappella, Women's choirs

Wichita State University will present "Choral Glimpses" from the College of Fine Arts School of Music at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 3, in Wiedemann Recital Hall.

Tom Wine

It will feature the WSU A Cappella Choir, directed by Tom Wine, and the WSU Women's Ensemble, directed by Jennifer Crowley Johnson.

Tickets are $6 general admission and $2 for students, with other discounts available.

The A Cappella Choir is preparing two very different Mass settings. The first is the Mass in G by Franz Schubert.

"This beautiful extended work will feature the fabulous Marcussen organ with WSU professor of organ Lynne Davis providing the accompaniment for this grand composition," said Wine.

The performance also features solos by three Wichita area teachers: Gretchen Bixler, soprano, from Stuckey Middle School; Brian Stranghoner, tenor, from Douglass High School; and Steve Bixler, bass, from Collegiate High School.

The concert will close with a preview of the David N. Childs' Requiem, which will have its world premiere in Carnegie Hall on June 2, performed by WSU student and faculty artists.

The Requiem Mass is dedicated to Childs' stepfather, who passed away in 1999. It is an eight-movement work for choir, soloists and orchestra. The WSU choir will preview the first four movements of the Requiem.

In addition to Gretchen and Steve Bixler as soloists on this work, the performance will also feature professor of French horn Nicholas Smith on several movements.

Sandwiched between these two large choral works, Wine said, the Women's Ensemble is "preparing a light aperitif to cleanse the listening palate."

They will perform a variety of lighter pieces including "Summertime" from "Porgy and Bess," an American folk song arrangement of "Hello Girls," and the haunting ballad "Unforgettable" made popular by Nat King Cole.

"Join these choirs for a glimpse of a world premiere, a sample of the Marcussen organ and a taste of dessert from the ladies," said Wine.

For information, contact Wine at (316) 978-3103 or call the WSU College of Fine Arts Box Office at (316) 978-3233.

'Something Different' from WSU Madrigal, Chamber singers

Wichita State University will be the scene for "Something Different" from the College of Fine Arts School of Music at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, in Wiedemann Recital Hall.

Tom Wine

The concert will feature the WSU Madrigal Singers, directed by Tom Wine, and the WSU Chamber Singers, directed by Stephanie Gilmore.

Special guest choir for the evening is the Trinity Academy Madrigals, directed by Michelle Henderson.

The program begins with some traditional choral music including a world premier of a composition by WSU student Ben Balleau titled "Remember Me."

Balleau was winner of last year's National Music Educators student composition prize. Wine said he is thrilled to be able to present this premier.

"Working with Ben and his enthusiasm for artistic presentation is an enjoyable challenge to both the singers and to the conductor," said Wine. "He has written a piece that is both powerful and reflective. The maturity of the composition is amazing."

The final part of the program is "Pop in Perspective." It features a popular song from every decade beginning with "Ghost Riders in the Sky" from the 1940s and including "Africa" from the 1980s group TOTO as well as a King's Singers arrangement of the Billy Joel classic "Lullaby."

Wine also was thrilled with the variety of vocal styles available to the Madrigal Singers using this theme.

"From the tight harmonies of vocal jazz, to a delightful a cappella arrangement of a Beach Boys song," he said, "this is both a fun and challenging mix of literature."

For information, contact Wine at (316) 978-3103, or call the WSU College of Fine Arts Box Office at (316) 978-3233.

WSU Opera & Musical Theatre to present 'Lady Be Good'

The 1924 Broadway musical "Lady Be Good" will be presented by the Wichita State University Opera and Musical Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, April 23-25, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 26, in Wilner Auditorium on the WSU campus.

It is rated G.

George and Ira Gershwin, in their first Broadway collaboration, wrote music and lyrics for the zany production that showcased a young Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele.

With book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson, "Lady Be Good" ran for a year, a long run in those days.

The songs includes such Gershwin gems as "Fascinating Rhythm," "The Man I Love" and the title song. The plot abides by all the 1920s' musical comedy rules.

It revolves around an out-of-work dance team, a sister and brother who find both money and romance while entertaining in the homes of the very wealthy.

Two winsome siblings, Dick and Susie Trevor, are kicked out of their posh digs for serial unpaid rent and start attending cocktail parties for food.

Dick proposes to wealthy socialite Josephine Vanderwater, while Susie tries to pass herself off as a Mexican widow to lay hands on big bucks. Add in a Mexican gangster, a shyster lawyer and a presumed dead millionaire, and you have the story.

And with four loving – and singing and dancing – couples, you have an all-star octet.

All roles are played by undergraduate music theatre, dance, theatre and voice majors. Dick and Susie are played by Daxton Bloomquist and Stacy Keele; Shirley and Jack by Christina Hink and Jeremy Wright; Bertie and Daisy by Ross McCorkle and Kacey Armbruster; Josephine and Wattie by Kylie Jo Jennings and Miles Mattal.

Also featured are Maurice Sims as Jeff; Craig Richardson as Rufus; and Lucas Walker as Manuel Estrada. Sims and Sarah Gale are dance captains.

Joining them in the ensemble are Josh Atkins, Ashley Lauren, Laura Leisinger, Alyssa Schmidt, Katelynn Snyder, Casey Violette, Zach Powell, Zak Smith, Casey Wohletz and Brian Yeakly.

Amy Baker

Direction and choreography is by Amy Baker; set design by David Neville; lighting by A.J. Kellison; costumes by Rebecca Maholland.

Nicholas Gilmore is music director and conductor. Brandon Holmes is stage manager; technical direction is by Ed Baker.

WSU Symphony to feature organist Lynne Davis

Lynne Davis

Lynne Davis, associate professor of organ, will appear as soloist with the Wichita State University Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9, in Wiedemann Recital Hall.

The program, including music by Mozart, Beethoven, Poulenc and Hanson, will be led by Mark Laycock, WSU director of orchestras.

An international concert artist, Davis is the Ann and Dennis Ross Endowed Faculty of Distinction in Organ. She lived in France for more than 30 years, where she was recognized with the "Certificat d'Aptitude de Professeur d'Orgue" by the French government.

Her recordings include discs and broadcast recordings in England and on the famed organ at Chartres Cathedral in France, where her recording "Musique pour Cathédrales" won the coveted French 5 Diapasons award.

Davis will perform Francis Poulenc's Organ Concerto in G Minor (1938), a colorful and dramatic work. Faculty harpist Ann Glasmann will join Davis and the WSU Symphony in Howard Hanson's Concerto for Organ, Harp and Strings (1926).

Davis will open the program with a selection of three of Mozart's Church Sonatas, delightful miniatures accompanied by strings.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 in F Major will also be featured.

Composed in 1812, it is one of the composer's most playful and humorous works.

A native of Michigan, Davis graduated with honors from the University of Michigan, where she studied with Robert Clark.

Shortly after, she went to France to study with Marie-Claire Alain. While there she also studied with Jean Langlais, Maurice and Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, and Edouard Souberbielle, as well as other great European master organists.

Davis' career was launched by taking First Prize at the prestigious St. Albans International Organ Competition in England. Since then, her activities have included featured performances at American Guild of Organists national conventions, international competition juries, and concerts, masterclasses and lectures given about French organ literature and its history.

A renowned teacher, Davis has served as organ professor at the Conservatory of Music in Clamart, near Paris, and from 1997 to 2006 at the French National Regional Conservatory in Caen, France. She came to WSU in 2006.

In addition to heading the WSU's organ program, she also produces the Rie Bloomfield Organ Series for the university.

Davis performs extensively and always to enthusiastic critical acclaim both in Europe and North America, said Laycock. Her most recent recording is "Lynne Davis en Concert" on the world-renowned Cavaillé-Coll organ at the church of St. Etienne in Caen, France.

Laycock is an associate professor of music at WSU, where he holds the Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction Endowed Professorship.

His work as guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator spans 16 states, including the leadership of all-state orchestras in Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska and Washington; recent and upcoming engagements include the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, Maryland All-State Orchestra, Oklahoma Youth Orchestra, Kansas Junior High State Orchestra, Northeast Kansas Ninth Grade Honor Orchestra and Hastings (Neb.) College High School Honor Festival.

The concert also will be simulcast on WSU Internet Radio at http://wsuir.wichita.edu.

WSU student uses music to teach

A love of children and a passion for social issues drive Wichita State University sophomore Terecia Miller to impact the lives around her.

Miller works on and off campus to teach others music. She came to WSU because of the special music education program with Elaine Bernstorf, associate dean and professor in the College of Fine Arts.

Miller caught Bernstorf's attention at a Presidential Scholar's dinner.

"Right then I realized that (Miller) had the perfect personality for teaching, and I wanted to work with her in music education," Bernstorf said.

"I've always known I wanted to work with kids, to help kids," Miller said. "I enjoy the innocence and the humor that they naturally bring."

She said her 7-year-old brother, Corbin, is her "favorite person in the world."

Miller is majoring in special music education to include special needs students in her future classrooms.

For a long time she thought about social work or family or school counseling, but she has been passionate about music since the womb, she said.

"My parents did the whole earphones on the belly thing," she said.

Her prenatal soundtrack included Mozart, the Eagles and Styx, among others.

From the time she could walk, Miller would stand on a stool in the middle of her grandmother's living room and sing into a plastic banana.

And from fifth grade to her senior year of high school, she played her father's saxophone, which her uncle played and her younger cousin uses now.

She said music was an obvious choice and she should have picked it long ago.

Miller volunteered at Mead Middle School in Wichita and taught music to a "rough, tough, inner-city kid" who had no desire to be in school. He just wanted to play basketball. A year-and-a-half later, she ran into him and he's excited about going to college.

Children have so much potential, she said, you cannot tell them, "You're not that good; you should give up," she said. "They can change anything, do anything."

Good music teachers are needed in Wichita, she said, but with school boards across the nation cutting arts education out of schools, she'll likely move to a district with more opportunities.

Miller teaches a music class at the Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation for adults with special needs. She said the class is not about performance but about feeling the music and being able to emote through music.

"I'm glad that I've had (the) opportunity," she said, "learning to work with students of different abilities."

Along with a passion for music and teaching, Miller is involved in civil rights and social issues. She is the social justice chair for That Gay Group!, dealing with such events as the AIDS Walk and Hate Closet.

As a senator at large for the Student Government Association, she is active in the movement to include sexual orientation on USD 259's notice of nondiscrimination clause and bullying policy.

She also works at the Center for Student Leadership on campus and is a member of Gamma Phi Beta with two positions within the sorority.

"I was the girl who was never going to go Greek," she said. "It's so close to my heart now."

Miller is involved in two WSU choirs: a capella and chamber chorale.

She will travel to Carnegie Hall this summer with 80 other WSU students to perform a requiem by David Childs. The WSU choir will be the first to sing the requiem, which is still being written.

Also, for the first time, the WSU chamber's choir has been chosen to perform at the Kansas Music Educators Association conference. It's the only WSU choir to audition and be chosen, but many schools will be performing from grade school to the university level.

But Miller's ultimate goal is to be a teacher, a good one.

"That's really all there is to it," she said.

To her, a good teacher can communicate with her students and get results out of them. She said they don't have to be the best choir, but they need to appreciate their accomplishments.

Miller said she wants to be a teacher they can count on to build them up.

Wichita State to host internationally renowned composer

Internationally recognized composer Gwyneth Walker has much to share with students of voice and composition.

Walker will be at Wichita State University Sunday, Feb. 22-Tuesday, Feb. 24, to present a series of master classes, workshops and to introduce two concerts featuring her music for voice.

The WSU choral department will present two different concerts at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23, and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, in Wiedemann Recital Hall.

The concerts will feature the WSU A Cappella Choir, Women's Choir, Chamber Singers and Madrigal Singers, in addition to several guest choirs.

The Monday concert will focus on Walker's music for small ensembles. In addition to the WSU Women's Choir, Chamber and Madrigal Singers, guest choirs from Campus High School and Andover Central High School will share music written in the past 25 years by the guest composer.

The Tuesday concert will showcase Walker's compositions for large choirs as presented by the WSU A Cappella Choir and guest groups from Maize High School and Emporia High School.

In addition to the choral work, a few selected soloists will be featured on the programs to share some of the delightful repertoire Walker has done for the solo voice. Several WSU faculty musicians will take part, too, including Paul Smith, tenor; Deborah Baxter, mezzo soprano; and Phil Black, tuba.

During both concerts, Walker will share her inspiration for the various compositions as well as provide insights for the listener about the nature of her work.

As Walker notes in her 2004 essay titled "Advice for Young Composers":

"Perhaps courage should be considered the foremost trait needed by a composer. Courage to create. Courage to put one's music out for public viewing/listening. Courage to speak the truth of one's thoughts and feelings. Courage to perhaps be misunderstood by the community at large. This is why writing music for others is strengthening. For, although there may be difficult and frightening moments, the gratification of creating something of beauty, which is shared and valued, outweighs the negative aspects."