Lutheran Music Program Announces Plans
for 2009 Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival
New Location, Curriculum and Partnerships Spark Enrollment
(Minneapolis, MN)… The 2009 Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival (LSM) will take place June 21 to July 19 and marks a return to the campus of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. The residential music training academy – which serves more than 150 high school age musicians from across the United States – features three major ensembles: band, orchestra and choir as well as a comprehensive keyboard and organ program.
New Location in 2009
Luther College – renowned for its music programs and facilities – will once again host the program. Luther last played host to LSM from 2003-2005. Plans for 2009 include a recording project featuring the LSM large ensembles as well as other featured student and faculty performances; this compilation CD will be available commercially in fall 2009 and marks the first such recording in the organization’s 27-year history. The Academy’s 2009 worship theme, focused on the Advent season’s spirit of expectation, anticipation and preparation, will inform programming choices and artistic content.
New Curriculum in 2009
Lutheran Music Program is also pleased to announce the commissioning and premiere of a new musicianship curriculum centered on composition and designed to honor composer Carl Schalk. Schalk, a founding member of the Lutheran Music Program board of directors, is a renowned composer for the church and a key leader in LMP’s history. This new curriculum, being developed by acclaimed composer and curriculum specialist Dr. Brooke Joyce (for a complete bio, visit www.music.luther.edu), will use the Lutheran hymnals (and Carl Schalk’s hymns) as the source for teaching. Experts from Concordia Publishing House and Augsburg Fortress have pledged access to hymn content and support to help in this effort. This new curriculum will “unpack” Lutheran worship, songs and liturgical traditions. In 2009, the beginning level of the curriculum will be used by approximately 50% of the LSM student body; intermediate and advanced levels will become available in 2010 and encourage students to express their own creative ideas as young composers.
Young Musicians Partnership Thrives in 2nd Year
In 2008, LSM offered a unique opportunity for congregations to join in its core commitment to strengthening and expanding the Church’s heritage of excellence in music with the Young Musicians Partnership (YMP). More than 30 students came to the Academy through the YMP and contributed to the 20% enrollment increase last summer. ELCA, LCMS and other congregations are encouraged to provide local scholarships to ignite the spark in young people that will lead to more refined musical skills, conscious connection between music and worship, and motivation to share their gifts within the church. LSM responds to the scholarship by extending a 33% match and a 10% tuition discount, completing the circle of support for gifted young musicians to grow musically and spiritually.
2009 Artistic Appointments
The Academy welcomes back Dr. Jeffery Meyer to lead the symphony orchestra. Meyer is the Director of Orchestras at the Ithaca College School of Music in New York and is Founding Artistic Director of the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic in Russia. A brilliant pianist, Meyer will also be featured in performance and serve as a studio instructor.
Dr. Jeffrey Doebler, director of music education and bands at Valparaiso University in Indiana, will lead the concert band. The renowned conductor last taught at LSM in 2001. In addition to leading the band, Doebler will coach a handbell ensemble and teach a conducting class.
Dr. Sandra Peter joins LSM for the first time as The Phyllis and Richard Duesenberg Concert Choir Director. Peter is an assistant professor at Luther College, where she directs the Cathedral Choir and Aurora (100 first-year women). Peter’s additional LSM responsibilities include directing the annual Bach Cantata and performing in the voice faculty ensemble, Sine Nomine.
The ensemble leaders are joined by 30 other faculty artists who bring considerable teaching and performance credentials to LSM. For a complete list of faculty along with biographies, visit the LSM Faculty page located at www.lutheransummermusic.org. In addition to solo and accompanied performances, faculty members form chamber groups, all of which are featured in full recital. LSM Faculty ensembles include the Omega String Quartet, Movēre Woodwind Quintet, Sine Nomine Vocal Ensemble and Praetorius Brass Ensemble.
LSM Overview
Since 1982, the Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival (LSM) has been the pinnacle program of Lutheran Music Program; more than 150 young people from throughout the U.S. come together each summer for rigorous musical study and performance in a supportive environment. LSM seeks to foster musical excellence in a caring community for high school band, orchestra, choral and keyboard students from all faith backgrounds.
While founded in the strong musical traditions of the Lutheran Church, LSM provides an artistic home for high school students of all ethnicities, religious practices and economic circumstances. The audition-based program convenes for a four-week, residential program on a Lutheran college campus. Past LSM Academies have taken place in Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Ohio and Illinois.
All students receive individual lessons; play in a coached chamber ensemble; participate in the symphony orchestra, band or choir; study musicianship; take electives such as jazz, conducting, church music or beginning voice; and attend recitals featuring professional faculty. Nearly every evening at LSM concludes with a faculty or student recital. All of LSM’s recitals and concerts are free and open to the public.
For more information on Lutheran Music Program, the Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival, or the Young Musicians Partnership, visit www.lutheransummermusic.org or contact the organization’s national offices in Minneapolis at 888.635.6583 or by email at lsm@lutheransummermusic.org.
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