Kansas State University

Composer Michael Schelle, guest of the K-State Bands in December

The K-State Band program as well as the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance will be welcoming composer Michael Schelle on campus this December to work with students at K-State and talk about his music. This visit is in conjunction with a special performance of his recent work titled "End of the World" with will be performed by our top university Wind Ensemble on December 4th in McCain Auditorium at 7:30pm. 

Schelle's music has been commissioned and/or performed by over 300 orchestras, symphonic bands and professional chamber ensembles across the U.S. and abroad including the Chicago Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the major orchestras of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Louisville, Dayton, Kansas City, Honolulu and Springfield (MA). 

He has held composition residencies at dozens of leading American universities, conservatories and new music festivals, and at Spoleto USA, Wolf Trap, the MacDowell Colony (NH), and many extended residencies abroad - including the Czech Republic, Austria, Amsterdam, Costa Rica, Japan and China. Schelle holds degrees from Villanova University (theatre), the Hartt School of Music (CT), Trinity College of Music, London, UK, (diploma), and a Ph.D. from University of Minnesota. His composition teachers have included Aaron Copland, Arnold Franchetti (student of Richard Strauss in 1940's Munich), Paul Fetler (student of Hindemith and Boris Blacher), and Dominick Argento.

Dr. Larry Blocher and Mr. Jim Rupp, guest artists with the K-State Bands

The K-State Band program as well as the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance was proud to have Dr. Larry Blocher and Mr. Jim Rupp as guest artists from May 5th through May 7^th. Dr. Larry Blocher is the current head of the School of Music at Troy University and is one of the founding authors and editors of the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series. Dr. Blocher was a guest conductor for both the Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony in their Monday and Tuesday concerts, presenting stirring interpretations of wind band literature. Dr. Blocher also presented lectures to music education and conducting classes. Mr. Jim Rupp is presently the drum set instructor at The Ohio State University and has toured with many famous groups and artists including Maynard Ferguson and Woody Herman. Mr. Rupp performed two drum set concertos with the Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony: Reactions by Dave Morgan and Riffs by Jeff Tyzik. Mr. Rupp also spoke with many percussion and jazz students at K-State, sharing his years of experience and expertise. We are very fortunate to have such incredible musicians join us as guests here at K-State. 

Andrew Feyes Finalist for GTA of the Year at K-State

Graduate assistant with the K-State Bands, Andrew Feyes was selected as one of two finalists for the Golden Key Honors Society GTA of the Year Award.  This is a campus wide award that seeks to acknowledge outstanding graduate teaching assistants.  Andrew is currently finishing his Ph.D. in music education at K-State.  As a GTA with the K-State bands, Andrew serves as the director of the Volleyball Band, Pub Crawl Band, and Brass Ensemble.  He also organizes the daily activities of the University Band while assisting with the marching band, basketball "CatBand," and all three auditioned concert bands.  Congratulations Andy!!

The K-State Wind Ensemble finishes an incredible tour!

The K-State wind ensemble has just finished it's tour of the Midwest and east coast. The tour began the Thursday before spring break with its first performance at Union High School in St. Louis , MO. The band then performed in Pickerington HS in Columbus, Ohio before continuing on to Cleveland, Ohio. On Sunday the band performed with the legendary professional Packard Band in Warren Ohio. The Wind Ensemble continued on to Washington D.C. where they spent three days attending local concerts and participating in rehearsal with the President's Own United States Marine Band. The band was truly honored to be the guests of the premier service concert band in the country. After Washington D.C., the group went south to Greensboro, North Carolina to attend the College Band Director's National Association National Conference to hear the nation's top college wind ensembles and learn from some of the leading conductors in the profession.

The K-State Marching Band Recieves Significant donation to Scholarship Account

Dr. Tracz and the K-State Marching band were presented a check for $100,000 at a Men's Basketball game versus this February. The $100,000 is a check made to the Kansas State Marching band from Athletics for the band's cooperation in planning this past winter's trip to the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. This check represents some of the money saved by both the band and the athletic department for the band volunteeringly electing to take bus transportation to the BCS Fiesta Bowl instead of flying. This money would go to the band's Marching Pride Scholars fund. The decision to accept this offer was made by Dr. Tracz in cooperation with Athletics, Band Staff, and Band leadership. The $100,000 will significantly add to the Marching Pride Scholarship program which will eventually provide financial assistance and scholarships to all of the Juniors and Seniors in the K-State Marching Band. A similar donation was made in the spring of 2011 to the band for busing to the Pinstripe Bowl in New York City. The photo above shows Dr. Tracz being presented with the check by K-State Athletic Director John Currie.