Welcome & Keynote

Dan Dressen, Associate Dean of Fine Arts, Professor of Music

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

Ward Sutton '89, Cartoonist & Freelance Artist, Sutton Impact

Ward Sutton ’89 works as a freelance artist in New York City. He has created cartoons and illustrations for many publications, including The New York Times, The Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Spin, The Nation and Entertainment Weekly. His book “Sutton Impact: The Political Cartoons of Ward Sutton” was published in 2005. He is currently the semi-secret creator (under the name “Kelly”) of the parody political cartoons in The Onion. He has created concert posters for musicians such as Beck, Pearl Jam and Phish as well as posters for John Leguizamo’s Broadway show “Freak” and the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. He has created animation for HBO, VH-1, and the cult hit Comedy Central show, “Strangers With Candy.”

Ward and his wife Sue Unkenholz ’89 work together and live in Greenwich Village with their daughter Yineth and son Tavio.

Irve Dell, Associate Professor of Art/Art History

Irve Dell graduated from Williams College in 1983 with a major in biology and significant course work in art.   He received an MFA in sculpture from the University of Minnesota in 1988.  Dell is currently an Associate Professor of Art at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.  He currently lives in Minneapolis with his wife, playwright, Kira Obolensky and their son Isaac.

Dell has exhibited both locally and regionally including exhibitions at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Rochester Arts Center and St. John’s University.  He was awarded a Bush Fellowship in 1988.  Mr. Dell's work is fairly evenly divided between gallery or studio pieces, private commissions and public art projects.  Recent commissions include work for the Ohio State University, Grinnell College, Inver Hills Community College and the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Brad Kaspari, Owner, Kaspari Design Services

Brad Kaspari was born in rural North Dakota and grew up on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range.  He has completed numerous public art commissions across the country, both as a solo artist and as a part of collaborative teams.  His work ranges from temporary interactive sculptural installations to permanent scattered site sculptural object making to fully architecturally integrated projects such as terrazzo and decorative stone flooring treatments.  He has received grants and awards from the McKnight and Jerome Foundations and the National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association.  He recently served on the public art planning and station design task force for Minneapolis’ Hiawatha Light Rail design team.

Brad currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he directs his own design and fabrication firm, Kaspari Design Services.  For over twelve years Kaspari Design has been producing original public art commission work, as well as, providing design, project management, and fabrication services for nationally recognized artists and corporate clients. 

Kira Obolensky, Playwright & Author

For the past twenty years, Kira Obolensky has worked as a magazine editor, a playwright, a puppet artist, and a writer of non-fiction books. Upcoming work includes collaboration Force/Matter, a collaboration with movement artist Shawn McConneloug and a commission from Ten Thousand Things to adapt Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. New plays include Modern House (finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize)  and  Lune, pronounced loony, commissioned and produced this fall by the B Street Theatre, with thanks to the NEA and Irvine Foundation. Kira recently worked with University of Minnesota students and collaborators Luverne Seifert, Michael Sommers, Shawn McConneloug and Eric Jensen on the recent University presentation of  The Master and Margarita. Her play Quick Silver, which featured puppets by artist
Irve Dell, was named by Twin Cities Critics as the “most outstanding experimental theatre event of 2003,” it was presented in Prague, June 2006, where it was lauded for its script and visual landscape, and recently in Philadelphia by Gas and Electric Arts. Other plays include Lobster Alice (Kesselring Prize, finalist for Susan Smith Blackburn,
published in Best Plays by American Women 2000, and produced in Atlanta, California, Texas, Minneapolis, Off Broadway, and Los Angeles, with Noah Wylie as Salvador Dali; and at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.

Kira’s work as a non-fiction writer includes co-authoring the bestseller, The Not So Big House, as well as two subsequent books about architecture, including Garage: Reinventing the Place we Park; and Good House/Cheap House.

She is a recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including a
Bush Foundation fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Jerome
Fellowship and a McKnight Advancement Grant.
Kira is a graduate of Williams College and the Juilliard School’s
Playwriting Fellowship Program. She is a core member of the
Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis. She is currently completing an MFA
in Fiction Writing from Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers.

David Rose '89, CEO, Ambient Devices

David Rose is a technology visionary and serial entrepreneur. At Ambient Devices he is pioneering the new consumer category of glanceable technology: embedding Internet information in everyday objects (lamps, mirrors, watches and wearables) to make the physical environment an interface to digital information.

Previously, Rose founded Viant’s Innovation Center, an advanced technology group for Fortune 500s including Sony, GM, Schwab, Sprint, Compaq and Fleet. He helped build Viant to over 900 people, $140M in revenues and a successful IPO (NASDAQ:VIAN). In 1997 Rose patented online photosharing and founded Opholio (acquired by FlashPoint Technology). Before the Internet he founded and was President of Interactive Factory (acquired by RDW Group) which creates museum exhibits, educational software and smart toys, including the award-winning LEGO Mindstorms Robotic Invention System.

Rose teaches Information Visualization at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and is a frequent speaker for corporate research departments and conferences. He received his BA in Physics and Fine Art from St. Olaf College, studied Interactive Cinema at the MIT Media Lab, and earned a Masters Degree from Harvard University.

Kristin Solid '94, Animator, ILM

Kristin Solid has worked as a professional animator for over a decade. She has worked on numerous feature films including Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Night at the Museum and Peter Jackson’s Oscar award winning remake of King Kong.  Solid is currently based in Toronto, Canada, where she is working as a Supervising Animator on ‘9’.  ‘9’ is an Academy Award-nominated animated short that is being adapted into a feature film by Focus Features.  Kristin Solid is a 1994 graduate of St. Olaf College with a double major in Mathematics and Studio Art.  Solid also attended the Animation Workshop MFA program at UCLA. 

Anthony Roberts, Artist in Residence in Dance

Anthony Roberts is an Artist is Residence in the Dance Department at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He unofficially came to St. Olaf College in 1994, while also teaching at Gustavus Adolophus College. That year he spent his weekends guiding a ragtag, but enthusiastic, group of male St. Olaf students through the fundamentals of beginning modern dance (for many of them, this was simply experiencing how to walk on the beat of the music). This process led to Anthony's first piece of choreography at St. Olaf, Jock-ularity, which was later performed at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in 1995 by this same group of guys (and Anthony). Anthony was hired at St. Olaf the following year to teach the intermediate and advanced ballet classes. Anthony currently teaches course work in modern dance technique and dance technology, and he is co-artistic director of the student modern dance company, Companydance. In addition to choreographing annual works on Companydance, he has created dances for the University of Minnesota, Gustavus Adolphus College and Main Street School for the Performing Arts in Minnesota, and the Mountain Movers Dance Company in Tennessee.

Anthony has performed nationally and internationally with Repertory Dance Theatre and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, both located in Salt Lake City, Utah; Sharir Dance Company in Austin, Texas; and the Jacob's Pillow's Men Dancers (a project touring internationally to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Ted Shawn's birth). He has performed historical modern dance works by Ted Shawn, Doris Humphrey, Helen Tamiris, Jose Limón, Charles Weidman and Merce Cunningham. He has also performed the works of many prominent contemporary choreographers, and he is extremely proud of playing one of the mice in Colorado Ballet’s Nutcracker, where he darn near gnawed the nutcracker’s cheesy foot in two. In May 2007, Anthony will be performing Dreams, by Anna Sokolow at St. Olaf College along with eight St. Olaf students and a young female dancer from the Northfield community.

Anthony has received numerous grants and awards for his artistic work, including support from The Ella and Kaare Nygaard Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education, St. Olaf College, Arizona State University and East Tennessee State University. He and his wife, Janice, were Sage Cowles Land Grant Artists in Dance at the University of Minnesota. Anthony received a BFA in Ballet Performance from the University of Utah and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance, with an emphasis in Technology, from Arizona State University, Tempe.

Todd Boss '91, Director of External Affairs at the Playwrights' Center

Boss is responsible for The Playwrights’ Center’s strategic and ongoing relations with funders, donors, members, the media, and the public. Before coming to the Center in 2003, Boss was a freelance writer for regional Twin Cities magazines including Minnesota Monthly. In 1999, as an account executive at Kohnstamm Communications PR, he conceived and coordinated a national literacy tour that paired Magnetic Poetry with Volkswagen’s New Beetle, America’s hottest brand at that time. The campaign won seven PR industry awards. At The Playwrights’ Center, Boss is the sole grant writer for an annual budget of $1M. His MFA in poetry is from the University of Alaska, Anchorage; his poetry has appeared in POETRY and THE NEW YORKER and elsewhere. His first poetry collection will be published by W. W. Norton in 2008. Boss lives in St. Paul with his wife and two children.

Beth Burns '91, Executive Director, Lutheran Music Program, Inc.

Beth Burns ’91 is Executive Director of Lutheran Music Program, Inc., the national nonprofit that produces the annual Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival for high school and college student musicians. Prior to joining LMP, Beth spent nine years at the Guthrie Theater, serving as Director of the Guthrie Learning Center and producer for the Guthrie’s regional and national touring program. She has also held arts management positions at MacPhail Center for the Arts and the Children’s Theatre Company, and served as senior advisor to the National Endowment for the Arts Shakespeare in American Communities program. She is currently on the board of directors for Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. Past board affiliations include the Developing Arts and Music Foundation (a First Ave. affiliated organization), 15 Head Theatre Lab, and MN Alliance for Arts in Education.

Cynthia Grzanowski '88, Director of Marketing, Minnesota Orchestra

Cindy Grzanowski was appointed Director of Marketing for Single Ticket Sales and Audience Development at the Minnesota Orchestra in April 2005, returning after prior experience with the organization from 1993-1998.

With over 14 years in arts and entertainment marketing, she has also held the post of Associate Director of Marketing for the San Francisco Symphony, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for UnderWater World at the Mall of America, and has an extensive background in advertising, sales, corporate sponsorships, public relations, direct response marketing, promotions, finance, and market research.

Cindy graduated from St. Olaf College in 1988 with a Bachelor’s degree in Latin and has lived in Minneapolis for 17 years.

Katherine Yehling ’04, Managing Director, Zenon Dance Company and School, Inc.

A recent graduate of St. Olaf College, Katherine is currently Managing Director of Zenon Dance Company and School.  She began her career with the company as Business Manager in 2005.  Katherine brings with her a diverse range of abilities from her interdisciplinary background in the arts and dance.  A versatile problem solver, detail oriented, and extremely organized she has focused on streamlining general operations in preparation for Zenon’s 25th Anniversary.  In her short time with Zenon she has gained extensive arts management experience while also balancing a position as Nanny for Linnea, a precocious 8 year old. 

Zenon Dance Company is Celebrating its 25th Anniversary with performances at the Guthrie and The Southern Theaters.  The Company is also touring Greater Minnesota, Texas and New York.  Zenon Dance School is one of the largest dance schools in the twin cities area.  Recently voted Best Place to Learn Dance by City Pages Best of 2007, the school continues to expand both its youth and adult programs at its downtown Minneapolis location.

Katherine received a BA in Interdisciplinary Fine Arts and Management from St. Olaf College in 2004.  Originally from Glen Ellyn, IL, Katherine now lives in south Minneapolis with her fiancé Paul and voluptuous cat Cecilia.

Susan Haas, Open Eye Figure Theater

Kent McWilliams, Associate Professor of Music

Pianist Kent McWilliams has enjoyed a successful performing career since his debut in Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto with conductor Kazuhiro Koizumi and the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra.  After a recent appearance as soloist with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the music critic exclaimed, "McWilliams' performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 was nothing less than a triumph".  He has played in over a dozen countries, and has been an award winner at the competitions of Porto (Portugal), the Regina Symphony, the Canadian Music competitions and the Canadian National Competitive Festival of Music.  Kent has three recent CD releases to his credit.  As part of the Meridian Trio, he recorded a CD entitled "Triptyque" on the Furiant label; as the pianist for the Niagara Brass Ensemble, he recorded a CD entitled "Brass Feast" on the Echiquier label; as a solo pianist he was part of the 14 disc recording project of "The Celebration Series:  A Piano Odyssey" released by Frederick Harris.  He has also played frequently for radio, having performed live recitals on the CBC in Canada and the ABC in Australia.  Kent holds a Doctorate of Music in Performance degree, which he completed under Marc Durand at the University of Montreal.

He also studied in Poland with Andrzej Jasinski while researching the Polish folk elements in Chopin's Mazurkas and Polonaises.  Kent earned an Artist Diploma under Oleg Maisenberg at the Stuttgart Musikhochschule in Germany.  Earlier, he completed Bachelor's and Master's degrees in piano performance under Boris Lysenko at the University of Toronto.  Kent joined the faculty of St. Olaf College in 2001 and is an Associate Professor of Piano Performance.

Stephanie Laager ’02, Pharmacist & Professional Dancer, Snyders Drug Stores, Inc., Black Label Movement, ARENA Dances

Stephanie Laager graduated from St. Olaf College in 2002 with a BA degree in Biology and Dance.  She completed her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Minnesota in May of 2006.  Dr. Laager earned her license to practice pharmacy in July of 2006, and is currently a full-time float pharmacist for Snyders Drug Stores.  Stephanie dances professionally with two twin cities-based modern dance companies.  She is a founding company member of Black Label Movement by Carl Flink, and is a company member of ARENA Dances by Mathew Janczewski. 

T. Scott Major ’00, Interactive Creative Director, Mono Advertising Agency

T. Scott Major spearheads the interactive capability for Minneapolis advertising agency mono. The Orono, MN native has been an Interactive Creative Director for mono since 2006. Prior to that, he worked as an Interactive Art Director at Minneapolis agencies Fallon and Carmichael Lynch. He has worked on brands including Porsche, A.G. Edwards, American Standard, Harley-Davidson, Northwest Airlines, BMW, Microsoft, Nordstrom, Sony, Arctic Cat, Mastercraft, Travelers Insurance, and United Airlines.

T. Scott is a recent Cannes Lions winner, taking Silver in 2007 for mono’s self-promotional website monoface (www.mono-1.com/monoface). He has also been recognized Internationally for his winning work at One Show, HOW Design, Print, Flash In The Can, Webbys, and Clio.

T. Scott graduated from St. Olaf in 2000 with a B.A. in Studio Art. He earned All-American status in Cross Country his sophomore year and served as captain of both Cross Country and Track & Field teams as a senior. He currently lives in Mound, MN with his beautiful wife Erin and two sons, Thomas & Titus. They are expecting again in January this year.

Carl H. Schroeder ’05, Freelance Writer and Composer

Carl Schroeder of Minneapolis, Minnesota, a 2005 graduate of St. Olaf College, is a classically-trained composer and a freelance writer specializing in music and the arts.

His original music has been performed by more than 25 concert bands, orchestras and choirs in North America and Europe, including the Air Force Band of Mid-America and Ukraine's Chamber Choir Kyiv, and four full-length CDs of his music have been released. He also actively performs concerts of his solo piano music.

As a writer, he has penned several articles for the St. Olaf Magazine and is the founding editor of Nova Notes, a quarterly contemporary music newsletter. A former staff writer for both the Manitou Messenger and the Star Tribune Minnesota Youth News program, he currently works for the Minnesota Orchestra as a staff writer.

Erik Wallin ’03, International Programming, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

A native of St. Paul MN, Erik Wallin works at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, where he assists in curating and producing all the Center’s international initiatives.  Specifically, Erik oversees the Kennedy Center’s “Etcetera” Program, a series of contemporary and avant-garde performances by nationally and internationally renowned artists as well as those with emerging voices.  He also works closely with the Vice President of International Programming on all large international festivals produced by the Center, including the 2005 Festival of China – the largest Festival celebrating Chinese performing arts to be staged in US history – featuring nearly 900 artists from the region.He is currently working on major artistic initiatives in Japan and the Arab World.

A 2003 graduate of St. Olaf College with a degree in Theatre Arts, Erik also studied acting at Oxford University’s British American Drama Academy.  Prior to moving to Washington, he was an Artistic Associate with CalibanCo. Theatre in Minneapolis.

Diana Postlethwaite, Professor of English

Diana Postlethwaite, Professor of English, currently holds the Boldt
Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Humanities at St. Olaf College.  In

addition to her "day job" teaching at St. Olaf (with particular
interest in Victorian literature, film, and the novel), she spent twelve
years as the film critic for WCAL-FM, and has written extensively for a

number of national publications—including the New York Times, Washington
Post, and Minneaolis Star-Tribune—reviewing contemporary fiction.   As
the Boldt Chair, she is working to promote film studies at St. Olaf.

P.J. Tracy – Mother/Daughter writing duo: Traci Lambrecht ’89, Writer, Patricia Lambrecht ’68, Writer

PJ Tracy is the pseudonym of mother-daughter writing duo P.J. and Traci Lambrecht, winners of the Anthony, Barry, Gumshoe, and Minnesota Book Awards. Their first three novels, MONKEEWRENCH, LIVE BAIT and DEAD RUN, have become national and international bestsellers.

P.J. Lambrecht is a college dropout with one of the largest collections of sweatpants in the world. She was raised in an upper-middle class family of very nice people, and turned to writing to escape the hardships of such a life. She had her first short story published in The Saturday Evening Post when Traci was eight, still mercifully oblivious to her mother’s plans to eventually trick her into joining the family business. She has been a moderately successfully free-lance writer ever since, although she has absolutely no qualifications for such a profession, except a penchant for lying.

Traci Lambrecht spent most of her childhood riding and showing horses. She graduated with a Russian Studies major from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she also studied voice. Her aspirations of becoming a spy were dashed when the Cold War ended, so she instead attempted briefly and unsuccessfully to import Eastern European folk art. She began writing to finance her annoying habits of travel and singing in rock bands, and much to her mother’s relief, finally realized that the written word was her true calling. They have been writing together ever since. Traci now lives in Southern California and divides her time between there, Minneapolis and Aspen.