Welcome

DAN DRESSEN, Associate Dean of Fine Arts, Professor of Music, St. Olaf College

Dan Dressen is a professor of music and Associate Dean for the Fine Arts at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota where he teaches voice and lyric diction. Editor of an anthology series of opera arias by Benjamin Britten for Boosey & Hawkes, Dr. Dressen is currently working to create a center for Nordic art song at St. Olaf. A former president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the Minnesota College and University Council on Music, he now serves on the Commission on Accreditation for the National Association of Schools of Music. Dressen is also an active tenor soloist who has recorded and performed nationally and internationally.

Keynote Speaker: Kurt Gough ’88, Owner & Chief architect, SHELTER

KURT GOUGH '88, Owner & Chief architect, SHELTER

Kurt’s career began in Twin Cities theater after graduating from Olaf in the late ’80s, then teaching theater design at Luther College in 1989-90, and on to five years managing the Prop Department at Center Stage in Baltimore, MD. He was inspired to study architecture, and moved back to MN to attend the University of Minnesota. During his first job interview with an architecture firm, he was asked why he made such a dramatic change. The question stumped him. Drawing, painting, sculpting, scenery, building: it is always about design and materials. The process of design is one of the most powerful tools we can harness. In 2004 Kurt and two partners founded Shelter Architecture to put this belief into practice.

Think Outside the Box

Moderator: JEANNE WILLCOXON, Assistant Professor of Theatre

Jeanne Willcoxon received her PhD from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and graduated from the acting program at the American Repertory Theatre Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University. She has published reviews in Theatre Journal, Theatre Topic and Theatre Survey and has presented papers at the annual conferences of the American Society of Theatre Research, American Theatre in Higher Education, Mid-America Theatre Conference, American Association of Geographers and the Group for Early Modern Cultural Studies.  She is currently a visiting Assistant Professor at St. Olaf College, where she both teaches and directs. Her acting credits include regional and off-off Broadway productions (HERE and P.S. 122) and she just finished acting in a production of The Oldest Story at the Southern Theatre in Minneapolis with Theatre Novi Most.

Panelist: MARIA BREZA '09, Head of Digital Advertising, Bloomberg, L.P.

Maria Breza graduated from St. Olaf College with a B.A. in dance in 1998. Shortly after graduation, she moved to New York City in search of a professional career in modern dance. Upon her arrival in NYC, she accepted a job at BusinessWeek Magazine to help make ends meet. While working there part-time she auditioned (lots) and did pick up work with many small companies. One of the highlights was a tour to Russia with Skip Costa Core Movement Project where she taught and performed for two weeks. After several years, she accepted a full-time position with BusinessWeek, but continued to performing with Catherine Solaas Dance. She also collaborated extensively with Kindra Windish on several pieces performed in the NY tri-state region and California. Over the years, Maria became more and more skilled at her 'day job' and soon it was a career. She is currently the head of digital advertising at Bloomberg, L.P. She has a team of 12 and oversees inventory & pricing strategy, ad execution and media planning for both BusinessWeek.com and Bloomberg.com. In her 'spare time' she is a regular substitute at Broadway Dance Center teaching ballet classes. She also performs as a guest artist with John J. Zullo Dance and sometimes shows her own work at small venues in NYC.

Christopher Koza ’01,  Musician

Chris Koza is a Minneapolis, Minnesota based singer-songwriter who writes and performs original music.  His songs have aired on college radio stations all across the country, tiny internet radio stations as far away as Belgium, and locally in Minnesota on KCMP 89.3 the Current.  Songs from his 2008 release: The Dark Delirious Morning have been used by Honda and heard on ABC's Cougertown, and newer compositions have been tapped by MTV networks for Jersey Shore and When I was 17. 

Koza earned a bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Studio art from St. Olaf College in 2001, after initially studying to be a music major.  Despite applying his academic focus elsewhere, Koza was a part of the Viking Chorus and performed guitar in the Jazz band - while writing and performing original music as extra-curricular interests. 

After graduating from St. Olaf College, Koza moved back and forth from his hometown of Portland, Oregon and New York City, while gradually settling into the idea of life in the midwest.  Koza has self-released four albums under his own name:  Exit Pesce (2004) Patterns (2006) Friend of a Friend (2006) The Dark, Delirious Morning (2008) and is now pouring his energy into a new project called Rogue Valley. 

Rogue Valley is a musical concept to release a longer-format narrative within the context of pop songs.  The project is centered around a year-long four album cycle coinciding with the four Seasons. 

The nature of the project has allowed Rogue Valley to amass a wide variety of material in a short amount of time.  Earlier this spring, Rogue Valley released Crater Lake in a spectacular stage-show in the Historic Fitzgerald Theater which incorporated special musical guests, authors, poets, and a full marching band.  The 'Summer' album The Bookseller's House was debuted mid-August at First Avenue, featuring two drummers, lots of electric guitars, dancers and trampolines.  The band will continue it's progression and will release the Fall album: Geese in the Flyway November 26th at the Cedar Cultural Center. 

Rogue Valley is comprised of drummer Luke Anderson, keyboardist Joey Kantor, singer/songwriter Chris Koza, bassist/vocalist Linnea Mohn, and guitarist/vocalist Peter Sieve.  The music is ultimately a smattering of Americana; taking organic textures and folk-minded, storytelling-lyrics and combining it with a pop sensibility.  Vocal harmonies are lush throughout, and their set is punctuated with piano drones, pumping organs, and dynamic percussion. 

The band was featured in a "Best of 2010" City Pages extra edition, who named Rogue Valley "best new band."  The album Crater Lake was named as one of the top albums of the year by Star Tribune music critic Chris Riemenschneider.  Minnesota Monthly calls Chris Koza an "Emerging music star" in it's best-of issue, (September, 2010).  Besides performing at the Historic Fitzgerald Theater and First Avenue, Rogue Valley performed earlier this summer at several outdoor festivals around Minnesota including: the Basilica Block Party (Minneapolis), St. John's Block Party (Rochester), the Midwest Music Festival (Winona, MN), and Riversong Festival (Hutchinson, MN).  Later this fall, the band will also be featured as a part of the Sun Country Airlines Minnesota Music program.  The songs "Red River of the North" from Crater Lake and "Racecar Driver" from The Bookseller's House received extensive airplay on 89.3 the Current, and the band are regular in-studio guests of 89.3 the Current, Cities 97, and Kare 11. 
 

* Photographer Darin Back

Julia Langenberg ’06, Aerialist, Sea World

Julia Langenberg graduated from St. Olaf with a Bachelor of Music Vocal Performance degree in 2006 and has since performed with a variety of companies, including the Austin Lyric Opera, Conspirare, Sharir + Bustamante Danceworks, Ariel Dance Theater, Ballet East Dance Theater, and the site-specific aerial dance company, Blue Lapis Light. Julia is currently the principal aerialist for World Entertainment Services and is performing in her second season as the featured, full time aerialist in the new show "Azul" at SeaWorld San Antonio. In addition to her performance career, Julia has devoted much of her time to teaching aerial work and has founded several aerial silks programs. For more information or to book Julia for performances, workshops, or classes, please visit her website: www.JuliaLangenberg.com

Joe Holan

Joe Holan is an Assistant Vice President of Retail Underwriting Administration for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.  As an Operational Risk Consultant, Joe is involved in many facets of risk management in mortgage loan production and underwriting.  His typical schedule includes managing projects to improve process and underwriting controls, business continuity planning, data analysis and reporting and providing assistance in developing and publishing internal communications and process documentation.  Joe drives relationship building through daily interactions with production team members, key business partners and executive management, maintaining a focus on high quality service.  He received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Theater from St. Olaf College in 2001 and has been with WFHM for over 8 years.

Erica Riedesel ’01, Physician, M.D. Pediatrics

Erica Riedesel graduated from St. Olaf College in 2001 with a BA in Dance and Biology. After graduation she spent a year in Washington DC as a research fellow with the NIH working on the Human Genome Project. Erica returned home to Iowa to attend medical school at the Roy J and Lucille A Carver College of Medicine, graduating in 2006. She completed a residency in general pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin and is currently in year two of her second residency program, this time in general radiology with the goal of eventually practicing pediatric radiology.  While at first, Erica's medical career seems far removed from her fine arts background, in fact she has found many similarities in her two passions and is excited to share how she sees the "art" of medicine.

Moderator: WENDELL ARNESON, Professor of Art/Art History

Wendell Arneson is a Professor of Art at St. Olaf College in
Northfield, Minnesota where he specializes in painting (oil, acrylic,
and watercolor), drawing, and color design.  Mr. Arneson received his
BA from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, his Art Education
Certification from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and his MA
and MFA from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.
His works have been exhibited widely from the Toledo Museum of Art,
Van Wert Museum of Art, Wichita Art Center, Hillstrom Museum and the Rochester Art Museum to name a few.  His works have been collected in numerous public and private collections as well as corporate collections of the Ford Motor Corporation, 3M Corporation and the First Bank Corporation.  He is currently represented by Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis and Grace Chosy Gallery in Madison, Wisconsin.

Panelist: ABBIE BETINIS ’01, Composer in Residence, The Schubert Club

Reviewed as "most audacious... edgy and thrilling," the music of composer Abbie Betinis (b.1980) has been heard in some of the finest concert halls in the United States and abroad.  A McKnight Artist Fellow, Abbie has been commissioned by more than 40 music organizations including the American Suzuki Foundation, Cantus, Dale Warland Singers, The Rose Ensemble, and The Schubert Club.  She holds degrees from St. Olaf College ('01), the University of Minnesota, and has done post-graduate work at the European American Musical Alliance in Paris, France.  In 2006, Abbie founded her self-publishing company "The Music of Abbie Betinis" and now markets and distributes her music internationally.  She lives in Saint Paul, where she is composer-in-residence for The Schubert Club.

Sarah Butler ’06, Gallery Account Manager, Art in America Magazine

Matt Rein ’05, Actor

Matt Rein graduated from St. Olaf College in 2005 with  a BA in Theater.  After graduating, Matt spent a year in New Zealand working with The Court Theater in Christchurch where he both performed and designed lights.  Since returning to Minneapolis, he has performed with numerous companies.  Highlights include Five Fingers of Funk and the Ivey-award-winning Romeo and Juliet at Children’s Theater Company, A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Park Square Theatre, Yellow Face with Theater Mu at the Guthrie Theater, Robots vs. Fake Robots with Walking Shadow and a world premiere production of Tennessee William’s The Enemy: Time, The Water Engine, and Orson’s Shadow with Gremlin Theater (founded by St. Olaf graduates).  Along with the cast of Orson’s Shadow, Matt received an Ivey award recognition for excellence in ensemble acting.  Most recently, he has founded a new theater company called The Phoenix Theater Project which is devoted to building community through the collaborative creation of theater.  Working with the Mental Health Association of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota’s Women in Mathematics, the company’s inaugural production of Proof by David Auburn ran this September to glowing audience reviews.  This winter Matt will return to Park Square Theatre to reprise his roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and will be returning to St. Olaf in January to assist with the Interim production of As You Like It.  More information on his latest endeavors can be found at www.thephoenixtheaterproject.org.

Mari Richards ’97, Freelance Toy Designer

Sarah Steichen

Sarah Steichen graduated with honors from St. Olaf College in 2008 with a degree in dance & management studies.  Since graduating, she has had the pleasure of working with many dance artists including Shen Wei, Doug Varone, Adriane Fang, Jeffrey Peterson, and Cathy Wright.  She has continued to study at Broadway Dance Center in New York City, the American Dance Festival in North Carolina, and most recently at Bates Dance Festival in Maine. She is in her second season performing professionally with ARENA Dances by Mathew Janczweski, a modern dance company in Minneapolis. Beyond the modern dance world, she has choreographed for numerous high school dance teams and studios across the country.  From 2004 - 2009, she taught, choreographed & developed summer camp curriculum for Universal Dance Association. Currently, she is the proud school coordinator of Prairie School of Dance - a Christian dance school providing quality instruction in a wholesome environment.  Not only does she manage the school, but is often found teaching ballet, jazz, tap, creative movement, and sacred dance to students of all ages.  This year she is a founding member of Cathedral Company, a dance company dedicated to performing in sacred spaces.  When not in the dance studio, she enjoys the simple things in life like a good conversation and a nap by the fireplace.

Moderator: Jun Qian, Assistant Professor of Music

Dr. Jun Qian, an endorsing artist for the Paris-based Selmer Company, is the Assistant Professor of Music in Clarinet and Chamber Music at St. Olaf College in US. He has also taught music theory at Eastman, chamber music at Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China, and performed as the principal clarinetist of Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra. Qian holds a B.M. from Baylor University , the M.M. and D.M.A. from the Eastman School of Music with full scholarship.  In 1997, Qian won the first prize for the Orchestral Excerpts Competition and third prize in the Solo Competition at the International Clarinet Association Young Artist Competition. He became the first artist who won both competitions in the same year in the history of the ICA.  Qian was the music producer and soloist for Steven Laitz's Book "The Complete Musician" published by the Oxford University Press in US.  Qian has given many master classes and appeared as a recital /concerto soloist in many major cities around world.  He made his Carnegie Hall debut performing Weber's Clarinet Concerto No. 1 with North American Elite Symphony Orchestra, performed as the soloist at Japan Kyoto International Arts Festival, and appeared on National Public Radio's "Performance Today" with the Grammy-award winning Ying Quartet in US.  He has introduced many western clarinet concertos for the first time in full orchestral version to Chinese audiences including Copland Concerto (2003) with Shanghai Symphony.   International appearances as principal clarinetist also include the world famous Eastman Wind Ensemble's tours of Asia in 2000 and 2004. His CD, Premiere Rhapsodie, and video, Playing the Clarinet, were released under the Nanjing Shine Horn label in China. They have been two of the most popular clarinet playing and teaching materials on the Asian market since 1998.

Panelists: Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer, Bridgman / Packer Dance

Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer, artistic directors of Bridgman/Packer Dance and collaborators in choreography and performance, are acclaimed for their innovative work integrating live performance and video technology. They are based in New York City where their work has been presented by venues such as Lincoln Center, City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival, Dance Theater Workshop, and the Baryshnikov Arts Center. They have toured throughout the USA performing at festivals and theaters, including Spoleto Festival USA, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Florida Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, Dance St. Louis, and ICA/Boston. They have appeared internationally throughout Europe, Asia, and Central America. 

Bridgman and Packer were awarded a 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship. They are also recipients of numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, New York State Council for the Arts, and three National Performance Network’s Creation Fund Awards. They have received five commissions from Dance Theater Workshop, a Danspace Project Commissioning Initiative, as well as commissions from Dance New Amsterdam and the 92nd Street Y New Works in Dance.  Their international touring has been supported by USArtists International, the Performing Americas Project, and the National Performance Network.

Bridgman and Packer were selected as Dance Theater Workshop Digital Fellows and were highlighted in Dance Magazine’s May 2006 issue on Great Partnerships. Their work in live performance and video technology is featured in the 2009 book “Gegenwelten, Zwischen Differenz und Reflexion” (Against Worlds, Between Difference and Reflection) by Jurgen Schlader and Franziska Weber, published in Munich.

Bridgman/Packer Dance will be performing at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul at 7:30 pm, October 12.

For more information: www.bridgmanpacker.org and Bridgman/Packer Dance on Facebook.

* Photo: Under the Skin by Paul B. Goode

Peter Hansen ’97, Founder, Gremlin Theatre

REPRESENTATIVE THEATER: Guthrie Theater:  Dollhouse, Macbeth, After A Hundred Years. Jane Eyre. A View From the Bridge. Peer Gynt. Boats on a River. Ten Thousand Things: Othello. Gremlin Theatre: Appearances include: Corleone, The Enemy: Time. Fool For Love. Bach at Leipzig. Almost Exactly Like Us. The Boys Next Door. Wait Until Dark. The Crucible. Orphans. Bus Stop. Two Rooms. Hurlyburly. True West. Accomplice. and many more.  Torch Theater: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  Provincetown (MA) Tennessee Williams Festival: The Enemy: Time. Ghosts From A Summer Hotel. Jon Hassler Theatre: Seascape. Theatre l’Homme Dieu: Deathtrap. Park Square Theater: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Romeo and Juliet. Enchanted April. Proof. MN Jewish Theatre: Miklat. Playlabs/Playwrights’ Center: Slasher. A Hundred Men’s Wife. Theatre in the Round: Arcadia.  Also appearances with Thirst Theatre, The Fitzgerald Theatre/MN Book Awards, MN Fringe Festival, The Bryant-Lake Bowl. 
AS A DIRECTOR: Gremlin Theatre: The Petrified Forest (Named City Pages Top Ten Productions - 2006), A Doll’s House, Independence, The London Cuckolds, Serenading Louie, Don’t Dress for Dinner MN Fringe Festival: Ferris Wheel, Brother Centennial High School: The Miracle Worker. The Diviners St. Agnes High School: The Pushcart Peddlers, Feiffer’s People, Wiley & the Hairy Man, The Actor’s Nightmare Gremlin Theatre Artistic Director 1998-present.
Bloomington Civic Theatre Executive Director 2006-2008.

Upcoming: Burn This by Lanford Wilson at Gremlin Theatre

*member Actors Equity Association

Richard Quade ’86, Animator, Pixar

After graduating from St. Olaf in 1986, and receiving an MFA in animation from UCLA, Rich Quade worked briefly on the final season of the television series "Pee Wee's Playhouse". After the series concluded, he struggled to find work until he was hired by Pixar in 1992 to work on Toy Story. After being a supervising animator on several films, he burnt out and left the company after "Monsters Inc." in 2001.  After a year off, he came back to the company to work during the crunch time for "Finding Nemo". Since then he has divided his time between quitting and returning. When not at Pixar, he works on found object sculpture and has a weekly radio show on a local community station (KALX).

Jennifer Tonko ’02, Panel and Program Coordinator, Community Arts Schools and Conservatories, Minnesota State Arts Board

Jennifer Tonko has been the panel and program coordinator for the Minnesota State Arts Board since 2007.  In this position, Tonko recruits arts workers from around the state of Minnesota to serve as volunteers to review grant applications for all of the Arts Board’s programs.  Prior to her work at the Arts Board, Tonko was the Audience Services Manager and the Production Manager for the Southern Theater in Minneapolis.  Tonko earned a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Saint Olaf College in 2002 and is thrilled to still be singing as a soprano section leader for the Church of Saint Patrick in Edina.