The Music Department at Morningside College offers a wide range of performing opportunities for students from across the campus community. All students, both music majors and non-majors alike, are welcome to participate in all musical ensembles. In addition, funding is available to talented students who audition for our Music Talent Grants.
Instrumental Ensembles:
Vocal Ensembles:
Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Many students, when considering their college choices, want to continue
using their musical talents. The Symphonic Wind Ensemble (SWE), under
the direction of Clifford Towner, has been designed to offer a chance
for non-music majors as well as music majors to continue their musical
performance during their higher education. SWE is open to all Morningside
and Western Iowa Tech Community College (WITCC) student wind, brass
and percussion instrumentalists.
The objective of the SWE is to bring the finest traditional and
contemporary wind literature to their audiences as well as representing
Morningside College in the community. This is attained through regular
concerts and tours throughout the academic year.
The SWE is an academic course; so all Morningside students must
register at the beginning of each semester and will receive academic
credit for their participation. No audition is required for membership
in SWE, but previous band experience is recommended, and membership
may be at the discretion of the director. An audition at the beginning
of each semester will be used for seating placements and for the
purpose of identifying soloists.
For
further information regarding the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, please
feel free to contact Clifford Towner, Director of Bands and Assistant
Professor of Music, by telephone at 800-831-0806 X5239 or 712-274-5239
or by email at towner@morningside.edu.
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The Morningside Outdoor Band serves as entertainment during sporting
events. At each of the home football games in the fall, the band
is there to help rally the team members and the crowd. In addition,
the band performs at the Homecoming Family Concert which is held
the Friday before Homecoming. The band's selections range from such
classic pep band tunes as Swing, Swing, Swing and Soul Man to contemporary
tunes like Louis Prima's Jump, Jive, and Wail as recorded by the
Brian Setzer Orchestra.
The MOB exists only during the fall, however. Once the football season is over,
the band returns to its original state as the Morningside College Symphonic Wind
Ensemble.
If
you would like more information on the Morningside Outdoor Band,
please feel free to contact its director, Clifford Towner, by telephone
at 800-831-0806, extension 5239 (toll free) or 712-274-5239, or by
email at towner@morningside.edu.
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The
Morningside College Choir
In
existence for more than 100 years, The Morningside College Choir
plays a major role on campus and in the community as it performs
at convocations,
celebrations, special services and concerts throughout the academic
year. The select, 40-voice ensemble is comprised of the finest vocalists
on the Morningside campus, nearly 50% of whom come from majors other
than music. Annual tours have taken the Choir across the United States
and to the great concert halls and cathedrals of Europe. In May of
2000 the Choir toured Spain, France and England, and presented the
United Kingdom premier of Eleanor Daley's Requiem at the Chard Festival
in southwest England. Critics praised the choir, saying "the balance,
control and concentration of the Morningside Choir were superb … their
commitment to the music, phenomenal." The Choir returned to
Europe in May 2005 with concert appearances in Prague - Czech-Republic,
Budapest
- Hungary, and Vienna - Austria. The Choir is recognized throughout
the region for performing excellence and innovative and creative concert
presentations.
In
addition to its demanding schedule of a cappella concerts, The
Morningside College Choir regularly performs major choral/orchestral
works with the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra and as part of the Morningside
Choral Union. Recent performances have included the premier of John
Cheetham's Gloria, Brahms' Schicksalslied, the Fauré Requiem,
The Creation by Franz Joseph Haydn, and Benjamin Britten's War Requiem.
In April 2003 the Choir performed Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana
with the Sioux City Symphony and in April of 2006 they will perform
Verdi’s Requiem. The College Choir twice appeared as a featured
ensemble at the Iowa Music Educators Association Annual Convention
and in April 2000 it received the "Miles Tommeraasen Award of
Excellence" which was established to honor those individuals
or groups who have demonstrated "outstanding leadership and
service" to Morningside College.
In May of 2008, the Morningside College Choir will be traveling to China. The 2008 College Choir Tour of China will also be available for alumni and friends of Morningside College. The College Choir will present concerts throughout the tour. Performance dates and locations will be announced at a later date.
In March 2006, the College Choir toured Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota.
In 2005, the College Choir toured Eastern
Europe,
including Budapest, Hungary; Prague, Czech Republic; and Vienna, Austria.
Each year the Music Department presents Christmas
at Morningside, a
unique musical tradition held during December at Morningside College.
For
further information regarding the Morningside College Choir, please
feel free to contact Tim Watson, Director of Choral Activities,
by telephone at 800-831-0806 X5207 or 712-274-5207 or by email at
watson@morningside.edu.
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The
Eclectix, Vocal Jazz Ensemble
The Eclectix perform an eclectic mix of jazz, show, and pop tunes with
rhythm section and a cappella. They have been featured on public radio
broadcasts and at informal parties and gatherings throughout the Siouxland
Community. Established in 1996, the Eclectix have become an important
part of the Choral Music Department at Morningside College. They regularly
perform as headliners at the Morningside College Jazz Festival in February
and have been featured performers at the Kingsley-Pierson Jazz Festival
in Kingsley, IA.
Some Examples :
:: In
my Life ... John Lennon and Paul McCartney
/ arr. Roger Emerson
:: True
Colors ... By Bill Stenberg and Rom Kelly
/ arr. Deke Sharon
:: Blue
Skies ... Irving Berlin / arr. Deke Sharon
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The Morningside College Jazz Ensemble
The Morningside College Jazz Ensemble endeavors to continue the rich history of Jazz music at Morningside. First established under the sponsorship of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Professional Music Fraternity in the 1950’s, the band was organized by 1958 graduate Glen Houpt, along with his Morningside music department student colleagues. Officially, the students were discouraged from their pursuits by music department faculty due to the fact that they were playing “Jazz”…a musical form, which in their eyes had little or no merit. Consequently, the band was totally a “student” run organization, which played for various dances on campus and at the campuses of neighboring colleges and universities. Many of the musical arrangements for the band originated from the pens of the band members themselves…the lion’s share of which originated with 1962 graduate Roger Neumann, who went on to a distinguished career as one of the most sought after Jazz tenor saxophonists and arrangers in America. No official recognition or academic credit was granted by Morningside College.
It was not until 1972, through the efforts of Professor Gary Slechta that the Jazz ensemble became an official performing instrumental ensemble at Morningside College. Slechta was himself a member of the Phi Mu Alpha Band during his years as a student at Morningside. Under Professor Slechta’s direction, the band performed countless engagements on campus, around the region and in Europe.
The Tri-State Jazz Festival was initiated in 1973 under the directorship of then Professor Gary Slechta, who returned to his alma mater as a music department faculty member the previous year. The Tri-State Jazz Festival continues to this day to provide a venue for local high school bands to perform and study with influential Jazz artists. The festival is traditionally held during February. Throughout its thirty plus year history, the Morningside Jazz Festival has hosted some of the most noted Jazz artists of our time including The Stan Kenton Orchestra, The Maynard Ferguson Orchestra, The Count Basie Orchestra, The Woody Herman Orchestra as well as Bill Watrous, Phil Woods, Clark Terry, Lew Tabakin, Jamey Aebersold, and countless others.
Pete Hittle, a 1978 graduate of Morningside, directs the current edition of the Morningside College Jazz Ensemble. Currently, the bands membership is comprised of students from both Morningside College and Western Iowa Tech Community College.
Membership in the Morningside College Jazz Ensemble is subject to individual audition, and is offered for academic credit. Contact hittlep@sioux-city.k12.ia.us or (712) 274-4030 Ext 339 or (712) 276-2316 for more information.
