Woodwind students at Lawrence enjoy a remarkable range of performance opportunities. All students engage in the rigorous study of solo, chamber, wind, and orchestral literature, developing strong individual musicianship within the context of an intensive performance environment.
The orchestra performs monthly throughout the year undertaking a wide range of major repertoire, including such works as Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, and Mahler's Second Symphony. The Wind Ensemble is renowned for exposing students to contemporary and classical wind literature through performances of such composers as Donald Erb, Paul Hindemith, John Harbison, and Richard Strauss. In addition to ensemble experience, the Conservatory provides extensive opportunities for undergraduate students to perform in weekly studio classes, departmental and individual recitals, and master classes with guest artists.
All students are encouraged to participate in chamber music as part of their ensemble study. Student chamber ensembles, which are coached by artist faculty, perform on and off campus and frequently participate in national and regional competitions. The Woodwind Department’s student chamber music ensembles have been awarded first prizes in the Carmel, Music Teachers National Association, Neale Silva, and North American Saxophone Alliance Saxophone Quartet competitions. In addition, student soloists have been awarded first prize in the Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Woodwind Artist national competition as well as prizes in the North American Saxophone Alliance Classical Saxophone Competition and the Concord Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition.
Degree Information
Faculty
- Suzanne Jordheim, flute
Lecturer in Music
Suzanne Bunker Jordheim was a winner of the 1984 National Flute Association Professional Performers Competition and has performed in recitals at the National Flute Association Convention and Carnegie Recital Hall. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in flute performance magna cum laude from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Ms. Jordheim was graduate assistant at Northwestern University where she graduated with a Master of Music degree in flute performance. She has studied flute with Walfrid Kujala, William Bennett, Robert Aiken and Jean Pierre Rampal.
Ms. Jordheim performed as soloist with the Oregan Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and Fox Valley Symphony and toured throughout forty-four states as flute soloist with the Fred Waring Show. She has performed for "Young Audiences," "Sunday Afternoon Live from the Elvehjem" on Wisconsin Public Radio, and in Dave Brubeck's cantata, "Beloved Son," broadcast on Wisconsin Public Television. Suzanne was selected as Miss Oregon 1977 and was among the top 10 finalists in the Miss America Pageant.
Suzanne Jordheim serves as instructor of flute on the faculties of Lawrence University and Ripon College, teaches numerous master classes, and conducts the Lawrence Arts Academy Flute Choir. She plays flute and piccolo in the Fox Valley Symphony and is on the national advisory board of the Gemeinhardt Flute Company.
Contact by e-mail: suzanne.jordheim@lawrence.edu
- Howard Niblock, oboe
Professor of Music
Howard Niblock, oboe, has been a member of the faculty since 1981. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1972, majoring in Philosophy and English Literature; in 1973 he received the Master of Music degree from Michigan State University. His oboe teachers have included Daniel Stolper, Marc Fink, John Mack, Richard Killmer, and Harry Shulman.
Mr. Niblock has performed widely in Europe in cities such as Vienna, Munich, Paris, Rome, and Milan, among others. He has been a featured performer at conferences of the International Double Reed Society in 1979 and 1997, 1998, and 1999. In the United States, his chamber music performances include appearances with the Chamber Music Festival of Saugatuck, the Birch Creek Chamber Music Festival, and numerous guest appearances with the Lawrence Chamber Players. In all, he has performed over twenty different oboe concertos with ensembles in eight states, the District of Columbia, and three foreign countries.
Mr. Niblock has also established his reputation as a teacher; his former pupils have performed as members of many fine orchestras both in the United States and abroad. In 1980, he was guest lecturer at the Vienna Academy of Music. In addition to the oboe, Mr. Niblock has developed his interests in other diverse fields, most especially that of musical aesthetics, a study which unites his musical career with his earlier work in philosophy and literature. His publications include essays, articles, reviews, arrangements, and original compositions, and many have appeared in such journals as The Instrumentalist, The Double Reed, and The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, as well as in the New Grove Dictionary of Music in the United States.
Contact by e-mail: howard.niblock@lawrence.edu
- Monte Perkins, bassoon
Lecturer in Music
Monte Perkins has taught the bassoon studio at Lawrence University since 1987. A former member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, he is principal bassoon of the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra and was named a Puchner Artist, representing the noted German bassoon maker J. Puchner in recitals and clinics throughout North America. In 1990 he was appointed and remains Conductor / Music Director of the Festival City Symphony, a professional regional level orchestra based in Milwaukee. Under his leadership the orchestra received an Award of Merit from the National Federation of Music Clubs for promoting and performing American music.
Contact by e-mail: monte.perkins@lawrence.edu
- David Bell, clarinet
Associate Professor of Music
Clarinetist David Bell received his training at Oberlin Conservatory where he was a student of Lawrence McDonald and Northwestern University as a student of Robert Marcellus. Other teachers have included Larry Combs, Arnold Jacobs, and Clark Brody. He has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, and the Milwaukee Symphony and has toured internationally with the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Solaris Wind Quintet.
Prior to coming to Lawrence, Mr. Bell has held faculty positions at the Oberlin Conservatory, Baldwin-Wallace College, the University of Akron, West Virginia University, and Western Illinois University. Former students perform with ensembles such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the National Symphony, and others hold appointments at colleges and universities throughout the country. Mr. Bell is a member of the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra and has held Principal chairs with the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Opera, Cleveland Ballet Orchestra, and Akron Symphony Orchestra. He continues to be a frequent guest teacher and clinician nationwide.
Mr. Bell is a member of the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, and the Midsummer Music Festival. He is also a member of the La Crosse (WI) Symphony, and performs with the Fox Valley Symphony. He appears frequently as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the Midwest.
Contact by e-mail: david.bell@lawrence.edu
- Steven Jordheim, saxophone
Professor of Music
Steven Jordheim was a winner of two major international performance competitions: the International Competition for Musical Performers in Geneva, Switzerland in 1983 and the Concert Artists Guild International Competition in New York in 1984. He presented his New York debut recital at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1985 and has performed as a recitalist and soloist with orchestras in Italy, China, Switzerland, France, Canada, Taiwan, and the United States. Jordheim holds degrees in music performance from Northwestern University and the University of North Dakota and has studied with Frederick Hemke and Jean-Marie Londeix.
Since joining the faculty of the Conservatory of Music at Lawrence University in 1981, Jordheim has taught courses in saxophone, chamber music, music education, and instrumental pedagogy. In 2001, Jordheim received the Lawrence University Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has been an artist-teacher of saxophone at the Xi'an Conservatory of Music in China, the International Saxophone Chamber Music Festival in Faenza, Italy, the Hsing Tien Kong Festival in Taiwan, and the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan. He has served as adjudicator for the Concert Artists Guild International Competition, the North American Saxophone Alliance Classical Saxophone Performance Competition, and the Hsing Tien Kong Competition in Taiwan. Steven Jordheim's recording of David Maslanka's Song Book for alto saxophone and marimba, and Sonata for alto saxophone and piano is available on compact disc on the Albany Records label. His performance as conductor of Rodney Rogers’ Two Views for saxophone ensemble, percussion, piano, and double bass with the Lawrence University Saxophone Ensemble is available on the Albany Records label, and his performance of James Chaudoir’s Pentragrams was released on the Capstone label.
Works composed for Steven Jordheim include:
- The Valley of Fire for saxophone quartet and organ -- William Albright
- We Fall . . . We Rise for saxophone ensemble -- Javier Arau
- Duo Concertante for saxophone and piano -- Leslie Bassett
- Consilience for saxophone quartet -- Philippe Bodin
- Ballade for saxophone and chamber orchestra -- Michael Halstenson
- Trio for flute, saxophone, and piano -- Michael Halstenson
- Songbook for alto saxophone and marimba -- David Maslanka
- Light (con una luce superna) -- Joanne Metcalf
- Dialogue Symphonique for saxophone and chamber orchestra -- Lucie Robert
- The Nature of this Whirling Wheel for saxophone and piano -- Rodney Rogers
- Two Views for Saxophone Ensemble, Percussion, Piano, and Double Bass -- Rodney Rogers
- Hydra for saxophone quartet -- Kenneth Schaphorst
Jordheim's latest recordings can be found here.
Jordheim’s research interests include endoscopic study of the vocal tract in standard and extended saxophone techniques.
Contact by e-mail: steven.jordheim@lawrence.edu
- Sara Kind, saxophone
Instructor in Music
Active as a performer and educator, saxophonist Sara Kind completed her saxophone performance degree at Lawrence University under the guidance of Steven Jordheim. Ms. Kind continued her studies at Youngstown State University where she earned her Master of Music in Saxophone Performance while serving as saxophone teaching assistant and studying with Dr. James Umble. She has appeared as soloist with ensembles throughout the Midwest including the Concord Chamber Orchestra, the Lawrence University Wind Ensemble, the Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra and the Youngstown State University Percussion Ensemble. Her quartet has appeared twice at the United States Navy Band Saxophone Symposium, a group that was also honored to perform Michael Colgrass’ Urban Requiem with the Lawrence University Wind Ensemble. She has performed live on Wisconsin Public Radio after winning their Neale Silva Competition twice and was a prizewinner at the North American Saxophone Alliance Classical Performance Competition. An avid proponent of new music, Ms. Kind recently premiered a piece by John Hollenbeck entitled Ziggurat (Exterior) at NYC’s Whitney Art Museum and recorded Dave Morgan’s Suite Sara, written for Ms. Kind in 2009. Other recent projects include a 2010 Midwest tour featuring the music of composer Mohammed Fairouz.
Contact by e-mail: sara.a.kind@lawrence.edu
Studio
Fine tune your performance with our instrument intensive Studios:
Visiting Artists
- Peter Kolkay (bassoon)
- Nadina Mackie Jackson (bassoon)
- David Shifrin (clarinet)
- Saxton Rose (bassoon)
- Ian Clarke (flute)
- Paul Edmund-Davies (flute)
- Linda Chatterton (flute)
- Jan Eberle (oboe)
- Amy Goeser Kolb (oboe)
- Jean-Marie Londeix (saxophone)
- William Street (saxophone)
- J. Michael Holmes (saxophone)
