Visual & Performing Arts

Dr. Jeff Erickson is the Director of Jazz Studies and Instructor of Saxophone at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. Previously he was a Senior Lecturer for the UW Colleges, where he taught studio saxophone, jazz, music theory and aural skills courses for UW-Marathon County, UW-Marshfield, and UW-Online. Prior to teaching in the UW system, he taught saxophone and jazz studies courses at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. He has degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, DePaul University, and a DMA in Jazz Saxophone Performance with a cognate in Classical Saxophone Performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also busy as a guest artist and clinician at jazz festivals and schools throughout Wisconsin. He is one of just three current Wisconsin university saxophone instructors profiled in the 2018 book Wisconsin Riffs: Jazz Profiles from the Heartland.

His performing experience includes appearances with such artists as Clark Terry, Kurt Elling, Wayne Newton, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Frankie Valli, Bernadette Peters and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. He has also performed professionally with symphony orchestras, touring Broadway shows and been featured on a number of recordings. While living in Chicago he led his own jazz quartet and performed in numerous big bands, including the Big Band of Chicago, Barrett Deems’ big band and the 911 Mambo Orchestra. He has also played with many salsa and merengue bands and served as the musical director for Martin Vicente’s nine-piece afro-salsa group Energia! From 2003-08 he was the lead alto saxophonist and director for The Wisconsin Jazz Orchestra. Currently, Erickson leads his own jazz quartet that performs throughout Wisconsin and is a member of the saxophone quartet Voyageur and the La Crosse Jazz Orchestra. In addition to writing and arranging for jazz ensemble, he writes for his jazz quartet, and  he performed three of his own compositions at the  North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference. He is also active in JEN, the Jazz Education Network, presenting at multiple conferences on jazz and improvisation, including his original research on the use of rhetorical devices in jazz improvisation.

Faust Overture by Emilie Mayer 

Very few audiences today know the music of Emilie Mayer, but in the late 19th century she was one of those rarest people—a female composer whose music was performed frequently and admired by critics. Her path to that fame was a difficult one. Born into a middle-class family in what is today far northwestern Germany, Mayer lost her mother when she was two, and 26 years later, her father died tragically. 

Mayer had studied the piano when she was a child but had never made any effort in the direction of a career in music. Now, perhaps propelled by the family catastrophe, she made the bold decision to study composition. She moved to Stettin (now in Poland) and studied with Carl Loewe, the great singer and composer of songs. Loewe immediately recognized Mayer’s talent, saying “Such a God-given talent as hers has not been bestowed upon any other person I know.” She soon achieved remarkable success when two of her symphonies were performed in Stettin to admiring reviews. In 1847, at age 35, she moved to Berlin to continue her studies with Adolf Bernhard Marx, and three years later an orchestra in that city gave an all-Mayer concert. 

Over the remaining three decades of her life she composed, performed and traveled throughout the German-speaking world, and her music was widely admired. Mayer was prolific; her catalog of works includes one opera, eight symphonies, seven overtures, seven string quartets, twelve cello sonatas and nearly 130 songs. 

And then . . . her music essentially vanished. Much of it had not been published, performances dwindled, and before long she was forgotten; the 1980 New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians made no mention of her at all. Now, very gradually, her music is being rediscovered, performed and recorded. 

The publication of the two parts of Goethe’s Faust (in 1808 and 1832) galvanized composers, who saw in that striving, doomed figure an ideal subject for music. Emilie Mayer composed her Faust Overture in 1880, when she was 68, and it premiered in February 1881 in Berlin; further performances followed in Karlsbad, Prague, and Vienna. 

Mayer casts her work as a concert overture rather than as a tone poem that “tells” the story of Faust, Mephistopheles and Marguerite: A slow introduction gives way to an Allegro in sonata form based on several different themes, and the overture moves from its dark opening in B minor to a resounding conclusion in B major.  

It is tempting to seem to make out certain figures in this abstract music: Is the sinuous introduction a portrait of Mephistopheles? Is the vigorous Allegro a depiction of the striving Faust? Is the lyric secondary material associated with Marguerite? The only clue that Mayer offers comes in the overture’s closing pages: the moment the music moves from B minor to B major, she writes in the score: Sie ist gerettet (“She is saved”), a reference to Marguerite’s redemption in Part II of Goethe’s Faust. Otherwise, her powerful overture remains abstract, a work inspired by Faust rather than attempting to depict its events in music. 

-Note by Eric Bromberger 

Lyric Metal by Brian Balmages  

The inspiration for this unique work was Benjamin Michael Albro, a student at Emmaus High School who passed away all too soon after a tragic accident. Ben played cello in the orchestra, and I was told he really enjoyed playing my music. I also discovered that Ben was a bigt fan of heavy metal and truly adored the Finnish cello quartet “Apocalyptica,” a group that fuses classical training with high energy rock and metal music. Given my own tendency to draw on various styles of music as I write, this seemed to be the perfrect opportunity to explore the world of heavy metal in context of a string orchestra. 

Brian Balmages is known worldwide as a composer and conductor who equally spans the worlds of orchestral, band, and chamber music. His music has been performed by groups ranging from professional symphony orchestras to elementary schools in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Sydney Opera House, Toronto Centre for the Arts, and many more. He is a recipient of the A. Austin Harding Award from the American School Band Directors Association, won the 2020 NBA William D. Revelli Composition Contest with his work Love and Light, and was awarded the inaugural James Madison University Distinguished Alumni Award from the School of Visual and Performing Arts. In the same year, he was commissioned by his other alma mater, the University of Miami, to compose music for the inauguration of the institution’s 6th president, Dr. Julio Frenk. His music was also performed as part of the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service, which was attended by both President Obama and Vice President Biden. 

 As a conductor, Mr. Balmages enjoys regular engagements with all-state and regional ensembles as well as university and professional groups throughout the world. Notable guest conducting appearances have included the Midwest Clinic, Western International Band Clinic, Maryborough Music Conference (Australia), College Band Directors Conference, American School Band Directors Association National Conference, numerous state ASTA conferences, Teatro dell’Aquila (Italy), and others. He is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association and has taught instrumental conducting at Towson University where he also served as Assistant Director of Bands and Orchestras. Currently, he is Director of MakeMusic Publications and Digital Education for Alfred and MakeMusic. 

-Note by the composer. 

Khromorphia by Katahj Copley 

Khromorphia is a captivating musical journey inspired by the fusion of Khroma, the goddess of colors, and Morpheus, the god of dreams. This rhapsody delves into the realm of dreams using music to paint the vibrant tapestry of a dreaming mind. The piece begins with an ethereal fogginess, mimicking the hazy onset of a dream, where reality and imagination intertwine; the dream gains clarity, revealing a lucid and vivid dreamscape. Colors dance and weave together in a kaleidoscopic display, mirroring the influence of Khroma.  

Like much of my music, this piece infuses orchestral grandeur with the rhythmic beats and harmonic language of R&B and hip hop. This dynamic fusion creates an atmosphere of ecstasy and exhilaration, elevating the emotional journey within the dream. 

Georgia native, Katahj Copley (he/him/his) premiered his first work, Spectra, in 2017 and hasn’t stopped composing since. As of now, Katahj has written over 100 works, including pieces for chamber ensembles, wind ensembles, and orchestra. His compositions have been performed and commissioned by universities, organizations, and professional ensembles, including the Cavaliers Brass, California Band Director Association, Admiral Launch Duo, and “The President’s Own” Marine Band. Katahj has also received critical acclaim internationally with pieces being performed in Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and Australia.  

Katahj received two Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of West Georgia in Music Education and Composition in 2021. In 2023, he received his Masters in Music Composition from the University of Texas at Austin - studying with Omar Thomas and Yevgeniy Sharlat. He is currently studying music composition at Michigan State University.  

 Aside from composing, Katahj is an excited educator who teaches young musicians the joy of discovering music and why music is a phenomenal language. 

“Music for me has always been this impactful thing in my life. It can soothe, it can enrage, it can quiet, and it can evoke emotions that are beyond me and this world we live in. I believe that music is the ultimate source of freedom and imagination. The most freedom I have had as a musician was through composing. Composition is like me opening my heart and showing the world my drive, my passion, and my soul.” 

-Note by the composer. 

Pavane Pour une Infante Defunte by Maurice Ravel 

Born to a music-loving family, Ravel attended France's premier music college, the Paris Conservatoire; he was not well regarded by its conservative establishment, whose biased treatment of him caused a scandal. After leaving the conservatoire Ravel found his own way as a composer, developing a style of great clarity, incorporating elements of baroque, neoclassicism and, in his later works, jazz. He liked to experiment with musical form, as in his best-known work, Boléro (1928), in which repetition takes the place of development. He made some orchestral arrangements of other composers' music, of which his 1922 version of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is the best known.  

As a slow and painstaking worker, Ravel composed fewer pieces than many of his contemporaries. Among his works to enter the repertoire are pieces for piano, chamber music, two piano concertos, ballet music, two operas, and eight song cycles; he wrote no symphonies or religious works. Many of his works exist in two versions: a first, piano score and a later orchestration. Some of his piano music, such as Gaspard de la nuit (1908), is exceptionally difficult to play, and his complex orchestral works such as Daphnis et Chloé (1912) require skillful balance in performance.  

Ravel was among the first composers to recognize the potential of recording to bring their music to a wider public. From the 1920s, despite limited technique as a pianist or conductor, he took part in recordings of several of his works; others were made under his supervision.  

The composer was known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects. Along with Claude Debussy, he was one of the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music.  

Pavane pour une infante defunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess) was commissioned of the 24-year-old Ravel in 1899 as a somewhat whimsical salon piece for piano and premiered in 1902 by Ricardo Vines to much acclaim. The composer was a bit bewildered by the work’s popularity, but nonetheless orchestrated it in 1910 to even greater success. 

With the Pavane, by contrast, we see his love of older musical forms from the Renaissance, in this case a moderately paced court dance. He chose the title because he was fond of the sonority of the French words (“infante defunte”) and the piece was not meant to be a funeral lament for a child. Rather, Ravel hoped to evoke the scene of a young Spanish princess delighting in this stately dance in quiet reverie, as would have been painted by Velazquez in the Spanish court. 

What the Pavane gives us is Ravel’s gift for exquisite melody and his mastery of orchestration. Its perfectly balanced sections between strings, woodwinds and golden glowing brass create a quiescent, inner-splendor; dance-like but meditative. Ravel’s cleverness with pizzicato propels the dance along with graceful but slightly shuffling feet; the harp glissandos swoop with the young dancer’s lifting arms. 

-Program Note by Max Derrickson 

Sabre Dance from the ballet, Gayane by Aram Khachaturian 

Aram Khachaturian remains one of the most brilliant composers to come out of the former Soviet Union. So highly regarded was Khachaturian in Russia that his obituary was written by none other than Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Communist Party at the time. One of the pallbearers at the funeral was the Premier of the Soviet Union, Aleksey Kosygin.  

The composer described his native Tbilisi as “a city rich in a music tradition of its own. From boyhood I was steeped in an atmosphere of folk music. As far back as I can remember, there were always Armenian, Georgian and Azerbaijanian folk tunes played and sung … The original substance of these impressions, formed in an early childhood in close communion with the people, has always remained the natural soil nourishing my work.” With these words in mind, it is not surprising to find that most of Khachaturian’s music is thoroughly steeped in modal melodies, driving rhythms, exhilarating dance patterns and instrumental combinations reminiscent of folk orchestras of his Armenian heritage. He lies buried in Yerevan, Armenia. 

Sabre Dance is Khachaturian’s single best-known piece. The composer dashed it off in a single evening and was greatly surprised by the enormous popularity it achieved. It is now commonly used by figure skaters, at circus performances, and in numerous films, animated films, TV series, video games and commercials. It exists in almost countless arrangementsfor orchestra, band, several for solo piano, and one for violin and piano by Jascha Heifetz. 

-Note by Robert Markow 

Dr. Martin I. Gaines proudly serves as the conductor of the UWL Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and Concert Band as well as teaching courses in Conducting, Clarinet, and Music Education. Prior to this posting he served as the Director of Instrumental Studies at Morningside University and the Associate Director of Bands at McNeese State University. He holds degrees in conducting and music education from the University of Arizona (DMA), Middle Tennessee State University (MM), and the historic VanderCook College of Music (BMEd). 

As an active conductor, clinician, and music producer, Dr. Gaines’ most recent recording project David Maslanka: Music for Wind Ensemble was released in January 2021 on the Toccata Classics Label. He has also served as producer for an album featuring the wind orchestra music of Nigel Clarke. Prior to his academic appointments, he also served as the principal conductor for the Arts Express Orchestra in Tucson, Arizona and as the founding conductor of the UArizona chamber ensemble Solar Winds.

Prior to pursuing graduate studies, Dr. Gaines taught middle and high school bands and orchestras for fifteen years in Illinois, Alabama, Georgia, and most recently in Florida. His bands have consistently received top marks from adjudicators and were often featured in clinic performance, e.g. the Southeastern Band Clinic at Troy University (2010) and the University of North Florida Invitational Festival (2010, 2014). He was also named Teacher of the Year in 2015 for Oakleaf High School (FL). Dr. Gaines holds professional memberships in CBDNA, College Music Society, College Orchestra Directors Association, International Conductor’s Guild, NAfME, National Band Association, Tau Beta Sigma, WASBE, and is a Life Member of Kappa Kappa Psi.

Dr. Christopher M. Hathaway, conductor and singer, is Professor and Director of Choral Studies at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. His responsibilities at UWL include conducting the university’s premier choral ensemble, the UWL Concert Choir, as well as the Treble Chorus, and Choral Union. In addition to his responsibilities leading the choral ensembles, Dr. Hathaway is the Director of Choral Music Education where he teaches classes in choral conducting, choral techniques, and choral methods. He also serves as the supervisor for the undergraduate choral music education students in their field work and student teaching.

Before moving to La Crosse, Hathaway’s conducting engagements include leading the Women’s Chorus at the University of North Texas and serving as assistant to Dr. Richard Sparks and the internationally acclaimed UNT Collegium. While in Texas, Hathaway also served as Assistant Conductor to Dr. Jerry McCoy and the Fort Worth Chorale. During the 2013-2015 seasons, Dr. Hathaway served as the Assistant Conductor for The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay: the official symphony chorus for the Florida Orchestra. In this position, he assisted with the preparation for performances including Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, Fauré's Requiem, Duruflé’s Requiem, Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé, Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, and Orff's Carmina Burana. 

Prior to his graduate work, Hathaway served as a choir director in the school systems of Kalamazoo and Otsego, Michigan. Choirs under his direction consistently achieved the highest professional ratings at both the district and state levels.

Dr. Hathaway earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting at the University of North Texas and a dual Master’s of Music in Choral Conducting and Vocal Performance from The University of South Florida. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University in Music Education where he studied with Dr. Joe Miller. 

Dr. Kourtney R. Austin is Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She earned her Ph.D. in Performing Arts Health at the University of North Texas, and also holds degrees in voice from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and music education from Northwest Missouri State University. Dr. Austin also studied Speech Pathology and Voice Science at the University of Iowa and is a Certified Vocologist. She previously used this expertise in her own business, Heartland Healthy Voices, providing vocal health seminars, voice rehabilitation, private voice lessons, and transgender voice training in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Dr. Austin was a Teaching Fellow at the University of North Texas and has held faculty positions at Midwestern State University, Grayson College, the Community Music School of Webster University, as well as serving as Artistic Director of CHARIS, The St. Louis Women’s Chorus. She is a frequent presenter of performing arts health research throughout the United States and in Australia. Her current research interests include using spectral analysis to quantify characteristics of the vocal onset as it applies to vocal efficiency and fatigue. She has presented on varying topics of performing arts health and voice science all over the world including The Voice Symposium in Shanghai, China; The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Australia; the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia; The Voice Foundation Symposium in Philadelphia; and The Performing Arts Medicine Association International Symposium. In June 2024, Dr. Austin will present her research at the National Association of Teachers of Singing National Conference in Knoxville, TN. She is a current member of PAMA, PAVA, The Voice Foundation, and NATS.