October 28, 2109 Music Worship Convocation

On Monday October 28, 2019, Mr. Gregg Busch hosted a Music Worship Convocation. During the "Night of Worship," students of College of the Ozarks gathered together to sing praises to God. Students led students through a journey of faith and worship with a volunteer choir and band with student and faculty soloists.







Campus Minister, Justin Sharp, gave a devotion as students began to pray and worship together. Studens also shared their testimonies and encouraged their peers to be thankful for the people in thier lives.

College of the Ozarks and the Music Department are thankful for the students who volunteered to lead as well as the students who came to share in the worship.

Jordan Bryant Senior Recital 11-16-19

On Saturday, November 16^th, 2019, the College of the Ozarks Music Department hosted Jordan Bryant’s senior recital. Jordan has loved music since he was very young. He inherited his love for singing from his parents, and often joined them in singing at church as a child. 

Throughout his time at College of the Ozarks, Jordan has studied under both Mr. Gregg Busch and Dr. John Cornish, has participated in the Chorale and Chapel Choir, and has played a part in two of the musicals produced by the college, Mary Poppins and Bright Star. 

Throughout the recitalm  Jordan performed many pieces by various composers, including three French pieces by Hahn and Duparc, two German pieces by Schubert, an Italian piece by Mozart, and multiple English pieces by Handel, Williams, and Weill. 

To finish off his recital, Jordan performed “Grace so Amazing”, a piece written by his great-grandfather, Eugene Bartlett. Jordan did a wonderful job, and the music department is very proud of all the work he has done. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.

10-25-2019 Chorale & Orchestra Concert

On Friday, October 25th, the College of the Ozarks Chorale and Orchestra performed a concert in the Royal Oak Forum at the Keeter Center. The theme was American Voices, and featured a patriotic composition entitled "The Testament of Freedom" by Randall Thompson. This piece was a setting of texts taken from the writings of Thomas Jefferson and speaks of spreading life and liberty across the globe. The orchestra also played two other pieces, "Variations on 'America'" and "Lincoln Portrait. " Biblical and Theological Studies professor Dr. Daniel Chinn read the narration during the "Lincoln Portrait" performance. The Chorale also performed a few works independently from the orchestra, including the traditional song "Shenandoah," ""Zion's Walls," and "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor." We appreciate the ensembles sharing their musical talents with us!

10-19-2019 MTNA Fall Piano Festival

On Saturday, October 19th, the College of the Ozarks hosted a community piano recital for surrounding piano students and teachers. Fourteen students participated in the festival and received feedback from College of the Ozarks piano pedagogy students as well as Dr. Clara Christian, associate professor of piano.

There was also an honors recital for selected students to perform their pieces, and also an opportunity for the community students to hear and learn from the College of the Ozarks students. Congratulations to all who participated in the MTNA fall festival and thank you to Dr. Clara Christian for helping this event run smoothly. We are excited to see how these students progress in piano and hope to see them all again next year!

Fall 2019 Opera Scenes Workshop

On the weekend of October 19th and 20th, 2019, some of our students performed in multiple, individual scenes from various operas. The Opera Scenes program was directed by Ms. Rebecca Claborn and Mr. Gregg Busch, and accompanied by Dr. John Cornish and Mrs. Vicky Claborn.

Eighteen student performed this year: Christian Belcher, Anna Brayman, Jordan Bryant, Addison Cramer, Spencer Fleury, KJ Flynn, Nathan Foley, Joel Harrison, Rebecca Hunter, Susie Johnson, Lizzie Jordan, Emily LaVelle, Abraham Martin, Jennifer Powers, Kandice Riley, Rani Rush,

Elijah Shafer, and Isaia Wilcoxen.

Ms. Claborn and Mr. Busch also served as the 

event hosts, introducing each piece for the 

audience's contextual understanding. Most of the pieces were translated into English as well.

The students did a great job, and we look forward to the next Opera Scenes production.

April 25, 2019 Jazz Ensemble Concert

On Thursday, April 25, 2019, the College of the Ozarks Jazz Ensemble performed in Jones Auditorum for a convocation. The concert included many forms of jazz music and featured mulitiple soloists.

The concert opened with Norwegian Wood by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and featured soloists Jay Parks on the trombone and Kate Nettleton on the saxophone.


A slower piece called Crystal Silence, by Chick Corea, featured Erin Hall on the piano and Bill Reder on the saxophone.

The Big Dance, by Ralph Ford, featured many soloists including Kaylen Draschil on the piano, Jay Parks on the trombone, Bill Reder on the saxophone, and Dylan Coleman on the guitar.





The concert ended with Big Time Operator, by Scotty Morris, and featured multiple soloists including Bill Reder on the saxophone, Joel Harrison on the piano, Jay Parks on the trombone, and Dylan Coleman on the guitar.







At the completion of the concert, Dalton Elery, Dylan Coleman, and Kaylen Draschil were recognized as graduating seniors.

The College of the Ozarks Jazz Ensemble put on an amazing performance and we are looking forward to the next year of concerts.

Sunday, April 28th: Chorale and Chapel Choir Concert

On Sunday, April 28th, the College of the Ozarks Chapel Choir and Chorale performed a combined concert in Williams Memorial Chapel. 

The Chapel Choir performed first, singing several gospel-style, contemporary Christian choral pieces with the theme However... By Faith.  

The Chorale's program focused on the theme Refuge, singing sacred and secular choral pieces by a variety of composers, including a new setting of the hymn "Like a River Glorious" by the Chorale's own director, John Cornish.

April 17, 2019 Orchestra Concert

 

On April 17^th, 2019, the College of the Ozarks Orchestra held a concert in the Newman Recital Hall. The orchestra, directed by Dr. Luke Carlson, performed six pieces. 

The concert began with Overture on Three Russian Themes, op. 28 by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, followed by Night on Bald Mountain, a piece written by Modest Mussorgsky and arranged by Rimsky-Korsakov. 

The orchestra then performed Pavane pour une infant defunte by Maurice Ravel, Elegy by John Corigliano, and a new piece, Quiet Music, written by Phil Taylor, then finished the night with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Slavonic March, op. 31.

We enjoyed their wonderful performance are blessed to have such a talented orchestra here at College of the Ozarks.

April 14: Lydia Burnett Senior Vocal Recital

On Sunday, April 14, Lydia Burnett performed her Senior Recital at College of the Ozarks.  Singing at an early age, Lydia loved sitting in her family’s cozy living room singing hymns together. As she began studying Vocal Music Education at College of the Ozarks, she enrolled in applied voice lessons for the first time, and throughout the 3 years of lessons has developed a deeper appreciation for the classical training and study of voice.   

Lydia performed a variety of pieces during the recital. The repertoire included a song cycle by Aaron Copland, three French art songs by Reynaldo Hahn, two jazz pieces, and a German ensemble piece by Franz Schubert which featured a clarinet. 

During her performance, Lydia gave thanks to the various influences in her musical journey.  She gave thanks to God for her talent, her family for their support, and her voice teacher for the honest feedback, encouragement, and help during her vocal training.  She also gave thanks to the Music Department faculty and student workers for their support and hard work to help things run smoothly during the event. 

Lydia finished her performance with a jazz piece by Erroll Garner titled Misty. This heartfelt piece tells of longing and a “misty” feeling that the singer feels whenever their loved one is around.  

The Music Department is very proud of Lydia's hard work and wishes her the best in her future. 

4-15-19 Divas Guest Recital

On Monday, April 15^th, 2019, College of the Ozarks welcomed guest performers Jennifer Forni, Dawn Gutierrez, and our own Rebecca Claborn as they sang their favorite songs and hymns. The three were accompanied by pianist Jonathan Raney. The concert included pieces by Chausson, Schubert, Brahms, Strauss, Sondheim, and Bernstein. We appreciate them sharing their musical talents with us!

Praised for her "warm, gleaming lyric soprano" voice (Washington Post), American soprano Jennifer Forni is quickly distinguishing herself as a dynamic singer possessing the raw yet luxurious power of a classic full lyric soprano.  Always “attentive to the subtler points of interpretive expression” (The Baltimore Sun), Ms. Forni, while possessing a “fuller lyric sound” (Opera News) has maintained the ability to float stunningly-spun pianissimo above the staff. Jennifer was granted the Evelyn Puddy Oliver Scholarship to attend the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she received a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. She continued her studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she received a Master of Opera. In recent years Jennifer has returned to Portland Opera for such roles as Tatyana in their new production of Eugene Onegin, under the direction of Kevin Newbury. Jennifer returns to Portland this summer to sing the Chants d'Auvergne in the Oregon Music Festival. 

Dawn Gutierrez, a native of Long Island, New York, received her Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education at New York University and her Master of Arts degree in Vocal Performance at The Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. Dawn joined the faculty at OTC in the Spring of 2011 as an adjunct voice instructor, and she has had the pleasure of teaching the group voice class at OTC every semester since then. Dawn made her professional operatic debut as Young Pocahontas in the world premiere of Linda Haugen’s “Pocahontas,” at the Virginia Arts Festival with rave reviews, from both here and abroad. She has had the pleasure of performing with the New York Summer Opera Scenes in Manhattan and also performed several roles at Shaker Mountain Opera. Dawn performed as Najade in Strauss’s “Ariadne auf Naxos” with The German Opera Project in NYC. Aside from her private voice studio, she also proudly serves as adjunct voice faculty at Evangel University. 

Rebecca Claborn recently finished her master’s degree in Voice Performance at Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Before CCM, Ms. Claborn received her bachelor’s degree from Simpson College in Indianola, IA. She has had the great privilege to work with companies such as Wolf Trap Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera Theater and now Springfield Regional Opera. In the summer of 2016, Rebecca returned to Wolf Trap Opera as a studio artist to cover the role of Stonatrilla in the U.S. premier of Florian Gassmann's L'Opera Seria. While there, she also had the great honor to perform selections from Sondheim's A Little Night Music with the National Symphony Orchestra. In summer of 2017 she went to Des Moines Metro Opera as an apprentice artist and covered Mrs. Anderssen in A Little Night Music. Some other noted performances include Rooster in Cunning Little Vixen Mrs. Mitchell in Meet John Doe, Anna Maurrant in Street Scene, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and the title role in Cendrillon. When not performing, Ms. Claborn is an adjunct professor of Voice at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, MO.

Jonathan Raney currently resides in Springfield, Missouri where he is in constant demand as a pianist, coach and accompanist. Mr. Raney has worked in these various roles with Evangel University, Missouri State University, Missouri Southern State University, Central High School and Republic High School, as well as several other educational institutions. Mr. Raney has also served as coach and accompanist for Vandivort Theater, Springfield Regional Opera and The Messiah Project. He serves as pianist for Silver Dollar City's opera house and their various shows throughout the fall and winter.

College of the Ozarks Music Alumni Accepted into Harvard: Chris Benham

Chris Benham is currently completing his Master of Music degree at Oklahoma City in Orchestral conducting, where he has been studying with Jeff Grogan. As a conductor Chris is active in Oklahoma, serving as assistant conductor to the OCU Symphony Orchestra and the Oklahoma Youth Orchestra. Prior to this, Chris graduated from College of the Ozarks in Branson, Missouri where he founded and served as Music Director to the College of the Ozarks Community Orchestra. In Branson, Chris also conducted the Tri-Lakes Community Theatre and Branson Arts Council Community Theatre. In October 2015, Chris was a competitor in the Antal Dorati International Conducting Competition in Budapest, Hungary in connection with the Budapest Symphony MAV. Chris has worked with orchestras such as the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Missouri Symphony, Miami Music Festival Orchestra, Springfield (MO) Symphony, Springfield-Drury Civic Orchestra, College of the Ozarks Community Orchestra, Oklahoma Youth Orchestra, Oklahoma City University Symphony, and the Credo Strings Program (Oberlin). As an advocate for the impact arts can have on a community and orchestral programs in the region, Chris also served on the Board of Directors for the Branson Arts Council.           

  

As a musicologist, Chris’ research focuses primarily on the sound of religion in America. His Master’s thesis analyzed the politics of religious conversion where it concerns 19th C. German speaking Jews, through a narrative and cultural analysis of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Reformation Symphony”. He has presented at national musicological conferences including the Society for American Music and the International Association for the Study of Popular Music. This year, Chris will continue his research and education at Harvard University, where he will pursue a PhD. 

What made you interested in pursuing music as a career path? 

        I first began pursuing music as a career path as a conductor (which I still intend to actively do), but as a conductor, I have often been instructed to “Think of what [insert classical composer’s name here] was trying to express.” Yet in practice, I believe musicians ought to strive to understand what music may mean to audiences, whether the historical audience or the modern one. In my study of musicology, which is heavily influenced by Roland Barthes and his critique of the “Author,” I seek to understand the societal impact of music rather than expressly what the composer may have intended. Specifically, I am interested in the way shared sonic experiences affect communities. As a teacher/scholar, I aim to help students develop awareness and critical consciousness through the study of music and culture. I hope to promote classroom discussion and develop new approaches to music through religiosity. 

           

Why did you apply to Harvard? 

        The graduate program at Harvard was of particular interest to me because of the broad focus of the department and its reputation for cultural analysis through a variety of critical lenses. My research will benefit greatly from working with the Harvard faculty, including Carol Oja, Braxton Shelley, and Ingrid Monson. In the same way Prof. Oja’s recent work explores current American musical styles and cultural importance, I am interested in the way the religious ideals expressed in popular music can be representative of larger shared experiences in America. My work will also connect to Prof. Shelley’s and Prof. Monson’s work in sonic experiences, aesthetics, and theology. 

What will you be studying/ involved in at Harvard? 

        I will be pursuing a PhD in Historical Musicology with a focus on American religious sounds. I am interested in researching the way religion is sounded in popular music and public speech in America, and also the trans-cultural significance of religious ideals of music and speech more broadly. As N.T. Wright notes in Surprised by Scripture, “The arts were recreation and relaxation for those who liked that kind of thing, but (except for dangerously subversive characters like playwrights), we didn’t expect them to impinge on how we organized the world, how we ran the country, how we did our work, or indeed how we understood and expressed our faith.” Wright’s understanding of the role music plays in our lives is a deeply held one that resonates with large portions of America. Through my research on the way religion is voiced in the music and sounds we hear every day, I hope to bring attention and conversation to the trans-cultural/national ideals and to analyze popular music through the lens of religiosity. 

My recent musicological research also illustrates my interest in the way religion is sounded. In my paper, “Hearing the Shared Diaspora in Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN.,” I discuss how Lamar’s album speaks to shared experiences between Jewish and black American communities. Such experiences cross social and national boundaries, in part due to the narrative similarity of oppression between Biblical Israelites and the sounding of oppression within hip-hop writ large. I am presenting this paper at the Society for American Music Annual Conference and the International Association for the Study of Popular Music this spring. 

Do you feel CofO helped prepare you for the doctoral program at Harvard? 

        The foundational music theory classes with Dr. Gerlach and music history classes with Dr. Huff have both been incredibly important in my growth as a musician. As I went to graduate school, I found that both of those series of courses had prepared me to be competitive in the field. I am very grateful for the awesome support from Dr. Gerlach, Mr. Busch, and Mr. Barnes when it came to the founding and more importantly, the continuation of the CofO Chamber Orchestra, which was invaluable in my growth as a musician. All of the Music faculty at the College have been very supportive and encouraging through my early career and academic pursuits so far, and I am very thankful for them.   

March 31: Joanie Jorash Senior Vocal Recital

On Sunday, March 31st, Joanie Jorash performed her Senior Recital at College of the Ozarks. Joanie fell in love with music at a young age and participated in Chapel Choir and Chorale during her time at College of the Ozarks. In the Spring of 2017, Joanie began private voice lessons with Ms. Rebecca Claborn, whose guidance inspired her to reach new heights in her vocal abilities.

Joanie performed many pieces by various composers, including two french pieces by Gabriel Fauré, two German pieces by Johannes Brahms, and two Russian pieces by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Also included in Joanie's repertoire were various English Art Songs and Musical Theater pieces.  

Joanie dedicated her performance to her grandmother and namesake, Joan Amis Russell, who also held a passion for singing. Joanie specifically dedicated the piece The Lord's Prayer, by Albert Hay Malotte, to her grandmother because it was her favorite song. 







Joanie finished her performance with the piece Someone is Sending Me Flowers, by David Baker. This comic piece describes a befuddled and exasperated lady who repeatedly receives flowers from a secret admirer. 

The Music Department is very proud of Joanie's hard work and wishes her the best in her future.