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Music

Woodwind Day

Woodwind instrumentalists are invited to participate in Woodwind Day on Thursday, October 20, 2011, from 9:00 am until 3:15 pm, in Memorial Hall. The event is open to college, high school, and advance junior high musicians. The event will include:

• Recital performances by clinicians Nathaniel Johnson on clarinet, Lauren Stephens on flute, Gina Johnson on oboe, and Michael Stephens on saxophone
• Recital performances by CSC students
• Clinics and Master classes presented by our clinicians
• Reading sessions of small ensemble literature

The fee for participation is $15 per student, which covers entry to all performances and clinics. Directors may choose to have the students buy lunch in our cafeteria or bus the students to one of the fast food restaurants in town. CSC Woodwind Day t-shirts will be available for purchase.

Directors, please complete the attached registration form by September 30th to get your students involved.

Please contact Dr. Michael Stephens at 308-432-6320 or mstephens@csc.edu with any questions.

Flute – Lauren Stephens

Lauren Stephens has entered her fourth year as an adjunct instructor at Chadron State College, where she teaches flute and has taught Music Fundamentals and directed the Community Symphonic Band. At CSC, Lauren has maintained an active concert schedule, performing in faculty recitals and as a guest with a number of CSC groups. Mrs. Stephens has also directed bands in Crawford, Crestview Local Schools (Ohio), and Garrettsville Public Schools (Ohio).

Lauren earned her Bachelors in Music Education from Kent State University, with an additional emphasis in performance. Lauren has also studied at Youngstown State University and is currently completing a Masters in Education at Chadron State College. Lauren has studied flute with Diane McClosky, George Pope, and Jane Berkner. Lauren has maintained a private studio for over fifteen years

Lauren lives in Chadron with her husband, Michael, and their two daughters.

Oboe – Gina Johnson

Gina Johnson currently is playing Principal Oboe with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, as well as Second Oboe and English horn with the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra. She is on the music faculty at Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

Gina began playing in professional orchestras at the age of fourteen. At fifteen, Gina received second place in the Virginia and Walter Charles Concerto Competition. At seventeen, she was a winner in the Greater Twin Cities’ Youth Symphonies Concerto Competition. That same year, Gina was a featured soloist in the Schubert Club’s Annual Vietnamese/American Concert. Since then, she has soloed with the Concert Band at the Morris campus of the University of Minnesota (2003), the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra (2004 and 2009), and the Cheyenne Chamber Singers (2005). In 2008, she soloed with the University of Northern Colorado Summer Symphonic Band and the Western Nebraska Winds.

Gina has held positions with the Greeley Chamber Orchestra, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, and Central City Opera House Association. She has also worked with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Ballet, Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera Colorado, and the Arizona Opera Company. Gina has played under numerous conductors, including Marin Alsop, Lowell Graham, Keith Lockhart, and John Paynter. She has also had the pleasure of performing with many acclaimed soloists, such as Anna Christy, Marcin Dylla, Hélène Grimaud, Norman Krieger, Gerard Powers, Christopher O’Reilly, Gil Shaham, and David Shifrin.

In addition to teaching her private students, Gina has been Colorado Christian University’s Professor of Oboe, and the Professor of Double Reeds at the Morris Campus of the University of Minnesota.

In 1998, Gina received her Bachelor of Music Degree in oboe performance from the University of Northern Colorado. Her primary instructors have been Rhadames Angelucci, Peter Cooper, Kenneth Evans, Nancy Ambrose King, and Marilyn Zupnik.

Gina’s non-musical passions include business, herbalism, healthy cooking (and eating!), and being outdoors. She currently lives in Scottsbluff, Nebraska with her husband, Nathaniel, and their three daughters.

Clarinet – Nathaniel Johnson

Dr. Nathaniel Johnson has just begun his ninth year as Instrumental Music Instructor and Band Director at Western Nebraska Community College. Prior to his arrival at WNCC in 2003, he taught at the Morris campus of the University of Minnesota. He also held a one-year appointment at WNCC during the 2000-2001 school year. Nathaniel directs the Western Nebraska Winds and the Fire in the Pan Swingers at WNCC, as well as the Monumental Rock Combo, a blues/funk band that he founded four years ago. This semester he brought back WNCC’s Cougar Athletic Band. He also teaches music theory, music history (popular and classical), and studio clarinet.

Nathaniel holds a Doctor of Arts degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Northern Colorado, where he also earned a Master of Music degree. His undergraduate work in clarinet performance was done at Metropolitan State College of Denver, where he graduated summa cum laude.

Nathaniel’s musical studies began at the age of three with the violin. He then began playing clarinet at age eleven under the tutelage of his father. Nathaniel has also studied clarinet with Alexander Ivanov, Bil Jackson, Joe Lukasik, Thomas Gilmore Masse, and Andrew Stevens. As a clarinetist, he has performed with groups throughout Colorado’s Front Range, including the Alpine Winds, Colorado State University Opera, Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, Greeley Chorale, and Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra.

For twenty-three years, Nathaniel has been an active member of the 101st Army Band, a unit of the Colorado National Guard. He currently serves that organization as conductor, Chief of Operations and Marketing, and leader of the “Open Range” country band. In 2008 Sergeant First Class Johnson was the Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year for all Reserve-Component Army Bands worldwide. He is also a founding Co-Sponsor of the Student Veteran's Organization at Western Nebraska Community College.

Nathaniel is married to Gina Johnson, a professional oboe and English-horn player. They have three daughters, all under the age of six.

Saxophone – Michael Stephens

see Michael Stephens’ faculty profile