Concordia College Double Reed Day
Dedicate a day to double reeds on November 11. All events are free and open to the public, and all ages and ability levels are welcome.
Events include a faculty recital, masterclass led by guest artists, classes/sessions by guest artists.
New This Year: Guest artist Alyssa Morris will perform her composition of double oboe concerto "Of Infinity" alongside Kelley Tracz (Concordia oboe faculty) and The Concordia Band!
Tentative Schedule
All events will take place on Concordia's campus in Hvidsten Hall of Music.
| 8:30 a.m. | Check In |
| 9:00 a.m. | Welcome & Bassoon Recital (Recital Hall) |
| 9:30 a.m. | Fundamentals |
| 10:30 a.m. | Masterclasses |
| 12:00 p.m. | Lunch (on your own) |
| 1:30 p.m. | Reed Making Class |
| 4:00 p.m. | Concert with The Concordia Band featuring Alyssa Morris & Kelley Tracz performing "Of Infinity," written by Alyssa Morris |
Guest Artists
Alyssa Morris
Alyssa Morris has delighted audiences around the world with her “exceptional” and “soulful” musicianship (Fanfare.) American Record Guide describes her playing as “stunning,” exhibiting “unmistakable…virtuosity.” Alyssa serves as Assistant Professor of Oboe and Music Theory at Kansas State University, and as the principal oboist of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra and Wichita Grand Opera. She has appeared as a soloist in venues throughout the United States, Scandinavia, the British Isles, and Western Europe. She performed as a concerto soloist at the Kennedy Center, and with the Topeka Symphony in a performance of her original concerto Dreamscape. Alyssa was a recitalist at the 2014, 2016, and 2018 International Double Reed Conventions in New York City, Columbus, Georgia, and Granada, Spain, and a featured performer at the 2021 Virtual International Double Reed Symposium. Alyssa has been a featured performer and composer on National Public Radio’s program “Performance Today,” and live on Kansas Public Radio’s program “Classical Music in the Morning.”
An award-winning oboist, Alyssa is a 2021 American Prize semi-finalist in the Solo Instrumental and Virtual Performance divisions, was a Music Teachers National Association state first prize recipient, a recipient of 2nd prize at the MTNA Semi-Finals, and a three-time winner of the Utah State Fair performance competition. Alyssa was a 2016 PEO scholar, and was selected as the Idagrace Guy Endowed Scholar. She was the only music major in 2016 to receive a top ten position in this competition amongst the hundreds of female doctoral students who applied from the United States and Canada. As a PEO scholar, Alyssa was awarded $15,000 in support of her research.
Alyssa previously held the position of associate principal oboe in the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and 2nd oboe in the Utah Wind Symphony. She has additionally performed with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Cincinnati Bach Ensemble, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, the Utah Baroque Ensemble, and the Utah Lyric Opera.
Alyssa is a co-founder of Aglow Trio with flutist Karen Large and pianist Amanda Arrington. Aglow Trio (a trio for flute, oboe, and piano) is dedicated to bringing light and optimism to their audiences by carefully curating programs aimed at highlighting new and unique voices. Aglow Trio was a featured performing ensemble at the 2021 World Flutes Festival, the National Association of College Winds and Percussion Instructors Conference, and the Flute New Music Consortium Conference.
Regarding her equally expansive work as a composer, Alyssa’s chamber music is performed extensively around the world. Alyssa was a recipient of an International Barlow Composition Commission, and she was the Composer-In-Residence for the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra’s 2020-2021 season. Her music has been presented at several International Double Reed Conventions, the Japan Double Reed Society Convention, the National Flute Association Convention, the National Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest, and the Society of Composers Inc. National Convention.
Alyssa has been commissioned to write music for the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, the U.S. Air Force Woodwind Quintet, the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Dr. Mark Ostoich (University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music), the Sundance Trio (Brigham Young University), and Carolyn Hove (principal English horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic), to name a few.
Her music is published by TrevCo Music Publishing and C. Alan Publishing, and has been recorded on the Blue Griffin, Centaur, Equilibrium, MSR Classics, Parma, and Tantara labels. Alyssa can be heard performing on the MSR Classics label, in her solo albums “A Higher Place” (2018) and “Ruminations” (2022.) Fanfare magazine writes the following about her album “A Higher Place:”
“Alyssa Morris…brings something that we don’t always hear in the music of our time–wit. Add to this a true melodic gift, an ability to evoke a range of moods, and a strong imagination, and the result is a composer whose music is gratifying even on repeated hearings.”
As a sought-after clinician, Alyssa has given performances and live and virtual master classes at Arkansas State University, Baylor University, Brigham Young University, Brigham Young University-Idaho, Central Michigan University, Emporia State University, Northwestern Louisiana State University, Oklahoma State University, Stephen Austin State University, SUNY-Potsdam, the University of Arkansas, the University of Iowa, the University of Nevada-Reno, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the University of North Texas, the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Texas in Arlington, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and Utah Valley University. Alyssa has been a featured artist for the SHE Women in Music Festival, resident guest artist for the Double or Nothing Double Reed Camp, an adjudicator for the 2016 International Double Reed Composition Competition,
Alyssa earned her BM and MM degrees in oboe performance at Brigham Young University, where she studied with Dr. Geralyn Giovannetti. She earned her DMA in oboe performance with a cognate in composition at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she studied with Dr. Mark Ostoich, Dwight Parry, and Lon Bussell. She lives in Kansas with her husband and two children. They enjoy exploring the beautiful midwestern prairies together.
Martin J. Van Klompenberg
Originally from Holland, Michigan, Martin J. Van Klompenberg currently teaches bassoon and chamber music at the Challey School of Music at North Dakota State University. From 2013 – 2022, he served as a member of the United States Army Band program, performing with the 101st Airborne Division “Air Assault” Band (Fort Campbell, KY), the 282nd Army Band (Fort Jackson, SC), and the 323rd Army Band “Fort Sam’s Own” (Fort Sam Houston/San Antonio, TX). Prior to joining the ranks of military musicians, he attended the University of Arizona, where he obtained the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree, studying with William Dietz. He also earned degrees from Arizona State University and Western Michigan University, studying with Albie Micklich and Wendy Rose, respectively. He has also studied composition with award-winning composer Jenni Brandon.
A proponent of new music, Martin is active in commissioning projects for new works for bassoon, commissioning and premiering new works by Jamie Leigh Sampson, Lisa Neher, Rob McClure, Shao Fern Teo, Dylan Findley, and Brain Bunker. He has been fortunate to perform at conferences for the International Double Reed Society, the International Clarinet Association, the National Flute Association, the College Music Society, and the Texas Music Education Association, among others. He has also presented solo and chamber recitals throughout the United States.
As a composer, his works have been performed by artists such as the Heartland Marimba Ensemble, the University of Georgia Contemporary Ensemble, Scott Pool (Bassoon – Texas A&M at Corpus Christi), Valerie Cowan (The United States Army Fife and Drum Corps), and Erin Webber (Oboe – The University of Texas at San Antonio), and at venues such as the National Flute Association annual convention, the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest, Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention, Vox Novus and the Tutti New Music Festival. In 2023, he was chosen as a winner of the International Double Reed Society Commissioning Competition. His work, 3 Travelers for solo bassoon, was premiered by bassoonist Kunatorn Teekakul at their 2023 Annual Conference in Thailand.
When not playing bassoon, Martin enjoys spending time with his wife, Abbie, (Assistant Professor of Music Education, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN), and his two rescue dogs, Sirius and Luna, visiting America’s zoos and supporting the Chicago Cubs.
Event Hosts
Kelley Tracz, Oboe
Dr. Kelley Tracz is an oboist currently based in Minneapolis. She is the Assistant Professor of Oboe at Concordia College, and is very active as both a performer and educator in Minnesota and beyond. Kelley has performed with numerous orchestras across the country, including the Minnesota Orchestra, South Dakota Symphony, New World Symphony, Quad City Symphony, Sioux City Symphony, Brevard Music Center Festival Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, Ohio Light Opera Orchestra, Greensboro Symphony, Central Texas Philharmonic, and more. She can be heard on the Minnesota Orchestra's upcoming release of Mahler 3 with Osmo Vänska, as well as a world premiere piece by John Luther Adams with the South Dakota Symphony. As a chamber musician, Kelley has performed in various festivals including the Festival of Lakes in Alexandria, MN, Bay View Music Festival, and other independently produced recitals around the country. Kelley has been a featured soloist with the UNC Greensboro University Band, Austin Symphonic Band, Kansas State University Wind Ensemble, Packard Wind Band, and is also a past winner of the Midwest Double Reed Society Young Artist Competition.
Kelley has performed at the International Double Reed Society Conference in Boulder, CO, and most recently premiered Alyssa Morris' new double oboe concerto alongside the composer at the 2023 conference in Thailand. As a clinician, Kelley presented at the 2023 Minnesota Music Education Association conference and Minnesota Band Directors Association, the focus of the presentation aimed at helping band directors in both urban and rural communities successfully start a student on oboe or switch them over from another instrument, when resources such as reeds, lessons, and repair may not be easily accessible due to financial or geographical challenges.
As a passionate and dedicated educator, Kelley has given masterclasses and served as a clinician to young oboists and fellow music educators in Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, North Carolina, and Texas. Students of Kelley’s have advanced to Region, Area, and All-State ensembles in Texas and Minnesota, and have also been accepted into various schools of music across the country, including The Eastman School of Music, UT Austin, UMKC Conservatory, and Southern Methodist University. Kelley has served as a faculty artist for the national double reed camp, Bocal Majority, and was the premier instructor for the 2017 camp in Austin, TX. She was the oboe instructor at Camp Bernstein of Blue Lakes Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, MI for three consecutive seasons and has served as the oboe instructor for the Kansas State University Music Camp for seven seasons.
Kelley received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Oboe Performance and Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Ethnomusicology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. During her time at UNCG, Kelley studied with Dr. Ashley Barret and served as the Teaching Assistant for the Oboe Studio. Kelley also served as a Teaching Assistant for the Ethnomusicology Department. Kelley holds her Masters of Music degree from the University of Minnesota, where she was a Berneking Fellow, serving as rotating principal oboist of many of the top ensembles in the School of Music, and was a member of the school’s graduate woodwind quintet. Here she studied with former Principal Oboe of the Minnesota Orchestra, John Snow. She completed her Bachelors of Music degree at Kansas State University, studying with Dr. Nora Lewis. Kelley has also studied extensively with Dr. Andrew Parker of UT Austin.
Russell Peterson
Russell Peterson is associate professor of saxophone, bassoon, and jazz studies at Concordia College. An accomplished bassoonist, composer, and classical/jazz saxophonist, Russell is the winner of several prizes, including the top prize at the 1995 International Geneva Saxophone Concours (Switzerland), and first place winner at the 1995 MTNA National Music competition in both woodwinds and chamber music. He holds degrees from Youngstown State University (Ohio), Le Conservatoire de Bordeaux (France), and Bowling Green State University (Ohio). He has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in the United States as well as Europe, including the Dana Chamber Orchestra, (USA), Concordia Orchestra, (USA), Bowling Green Philharmonic, (USA), L'Orchestra de la Suisse Romande, (Switzerland), Collegium Musicum, Basel (Switzerland), the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra (USA), the Orchestra Conservatorio Superior De Musica del Liceu (Spain), the Western New York Chamber Orchestra (USA), and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic (Russia).
As an orchestral musician, he has served as bassoonist with several symphony orchestras and is currently principal bassoonist with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony. An active chamber musician, he has performed extensively throughout Europe and the United States with the Transcontinental Saxophone Quartet, the Hard-Bop Saxophone Quartet, The Post-Traumatic Funk Syndrome, and as bassoonist with the Concordia Wind Quintet.
In addition to his appointment at Concordia, he has also served on the faculty at Youngstown State University (Ohio), The University of Toledo (Ohio), Interlochen Summer Arts Academy, and the International Music Camp.