Music Majors Unplugged | Career Advice for Aspiring Musicians

8 | Freelancing with Matt Andreini

In todays podcast we talk with Professor Matt Andreini about studying music abroad and freelancing after college.
 
Matthew Andreini is a highly versatile musician, known for his proficiencyacross a diverse range of genres. An in-demand performer, Andreinimaintains an active performance career playing regularly in ensemblessuch as the wcfsymphony and Theater Cedar Rapids, and manyorchestras throughout the Midwest. His dynamic career includesfrequent solo appearances, dozens of concerti performances, as wellas numerous international tours spanning Europe, Central, and SouthAmerica. Notably, as a chamber musician he has shared the stagewith acclaimed groups such as the Boston Brass and the Enso StringQuartet. In the summers, Matt can often be found giving outdoorconcerts with his Rosewood Novelty Band, which performs “xylophonerags” and popular music of the teens and 20s. He is also a member ofthe Sugar Daddies big band which has added several of Andreini’s ownarrangements to their repertoire.As an advocate for contemporary music, Andreini spearheadsinnovative initiatives, commissioning works for solo, duo, and percussionensembles. His collaborations with acclaimed composers like SteveSnowden, Ivan Trevino, Mark Ford, and Kevin Bobo have beeninstrumental in bringing new compositions to life. Recently, he securedgrant funding from the Iowa Arts Council/National Endowment for theArts to record his upcoming album, "Tapestry," featuring a collection ofhis recent commissions.Co-directing the "Iowa/Hungary Project" alongside Hungarianpercussionist Gabor Palotas, Andreini has established a platform forcultural exchange, commissioning and premiering over 50 works sinceits inception. This initiative underscores their commitment to fosteringartistic dialogue and amplifying representation from local communities.In 2017, the duo celebrated a significant milestone with the release oftheir full-length CD, "All Systems Go."Andreini currently serves as a percussion instructor at the University ofNorthern Iowa and is the Personnel Manager for wcfsymphony wherehe also performs in the percussion section. His previous teachingpositions include roles at Hawkeye Community College, SouthwesternCommunity College, and Joyful Noise Drums and Percussion. Thededication he brings to teaching is evident in the success of hisstudents, many of whom have excelled in competitions and pursuedflourishing careers as both educators, performers, and industry leaders.
 
Tapestry | Matt Andreini

7 | Studying Abroad with Matt Andreini

In todays podcast we talk with Professor Matt Andreini about studying music abroad and freelancing after college.
 
Matthew Andreini is a highly versatile musician, known for his proficiencyacross a diverse range of genres. An in-demand performer, Andreinimaintains an active performance career playing regularly in ensemblessuch as the wcfsymphony and Theater Cedar Rapids, and manyorchestras throughout the Midwest. His dynamic career includesfrequent solo appearances, dozens of concerti performances, as wellas numerous international tours spanning Europe, Central, and SouthAmerica. Notably, as a chamber musician he has shared the stagewith acclaimed groups such as the Boston Brass and the Enso StringQuartet. In the summers, Matt can often be found giving outdoorconcerts with his Rosewood Novelty Band, which performs “xylophonerags” and popular music of the teens and 20s. He is also a member ofthe Sugar Daddies big band which has added several of Andreini’s ownarrangements to their repertoire.As an advocate for contemporary music, Andreini spearheadsinnovative initiatives, commissioning works for solo, duo, and percussionensembles. His collaborations with acclaimed composers like SteveSnowden, Ivan Trevino, Mark Ford, and Kevin Bobo have beeninstrumental in bringing new compositions to life. Recently, he securedgrant funding from the Iowa Arts Council/National Endowment for theArts to record his upcoming album, "Tapestry," featuring a collection ofhis recent commissions.Co-directing the "Iowa/Hungary Project" alongside Hungarianpercussionist Gabor Palotas, Andreini has established a platform forcultural exchange, commissioning and premiering over 50 works sinceits inception. This initiative underscores their commitment to fosteringartistic dialogue and amplifying representation from local communities.In 2017, the duo celebrated a significant milestone with the release oftheir full-length CD, "All Systems Go."Andreini currently serves as a percussion instructor at the University ofNorthern Iowa and is the Personnel Manager for wcfsymphony wherehe also performs in the percussion section. His previous teachingpositions include roles at Hawkeye Community College, SouthwesternCommunity College, and Joyful Noise Drums and Percussion. Thededication he brings to teaching is evident in the success of hisstudents, many of whom have excelled in competitions and pursuedflourishing careers as both educators, performers, and industry leaders.
 
Tapestry | Matt Andreini

6 | Education with Erik Rohde

In today's episode, we talk with Erik Rohde about conducting and education!
 
Erik Rohde maintains a diverse career as a conductor, violinist, and educator, and has performed in recitals and festivals across the United States and in Europe and Asia.  He is the Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Northern Iowa and the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Winona Symphony Orchestra (MN). Prior to his appointment at the University of Northern Iowa, Rohde served as the Director of String Activities and Orchestra at Indiana State University where he conducted the Indiana State University Symphony Orchestra and taught violin, chamber music, and Suzuki pedagogy. In Indiana, he also founded the Salomon Chamber Orchestra, an orchestra dedicated to promoting the works of living composers and of Haydn and his contemporaries.Having grown up in Rochester, Rohde is particularly excited to return to his hometown to conduct the orchestra that includes former teachers, classmates, and colleagues. He began his musical studies with Linda Thompson on the violin at the age of 4 and first heard the Rochester Symphony at one of their annual educational concerts a few years later. Having begun his musical journey in Rochester, this is an exciting chance to return and make music in a new way in a community that he loves and one that helped shape the early part of his musical journey.A committed advocate for contemporary music, he has premiered and commissioned many new works by both established and young composers, and is constantly seeking to discover new compositional voices. In addition to regularly bringing new orchestral works to programs each season, he is the violinist of the new music duo sonic apricity, which is dedicated to uncovering and commissioning new works by living composers for violin and viola. The duo released their first recording on the Navona label in December of 2022. At Indiana State University, he helped to host the annual Contemporary Music Festival – now running for over 50 years. He has worked with Joan Tower, Augusta Read Thomas, Libby Larsen, Chen Yi, Meira Warshauer, Elliott Miles McKinley, Christopher Walczak, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Pierre Jalbert, James Dillon, David Dzubay, Marc Mellits, Carter Pann, Narong Prangcharoen and countless others. In 2019, he released two recordings with composer Elliott Miles McKinley, conducting his percussion concerto Four Grooves and performing on his eighth string quartet.
In his native Minnesota, Rohde has served as the Music Director of the Buffalo Community Orchestra, conductor and violinist for the Contemporary Music Workshop, Camarata Suzuki orchestra conductor for the MacPhail Center for Music, String Ensemble conductor at the Trinity School, and first violinist of the Cantiamo and Enkidu String Quartets.  Rohde holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, where he studied with conductors Mark Russell Smith, Kathy Saltzman Romey, and Craig Kirchhoff and violin pedagogue Mark Bjork. He also holds degrees in Violin Performance and Biomedical Engineering.Rohde lives in Cedar Falls, IA with his wife Erin and their children.
 
Betwixt Bach: Suite for Solo Violin (2021) Performed by Erik Rohde

5 | Conducting Career's with Erik Rohde

In today's episode, we talk with Erik Rohde about conducting and education!
 
Erik Rohde maintains a diverse career as a conductor, violinist, and educator, and has performed in recitals and festivals across the United States and in Europe and Asia.  He is the Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Northern Iowa and the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Winona Symphony Orchestra (MN). Prior to his appointment at the University of Northern Iowa, Rohde served as the Director of String Activities and Orchestra at Indiana State University where he conducted the Indiana State University Symphony Orchestra and taught violin, chamber music, and Suzuki pedagogy. In Indiana, he also founded the Salomon Chamber Orchestra, an orchestra dedicated to promoting the works of living composers and of Haydn and his contemporaries.Having grown up in Rochester, Rohde is particularly excited to return to his hometown to conduct the orchestra that includes former teachers, classmates, and colleagues. He began his musical studies with Linda Thompson on the violin at the age of 4 and first heard the Rochester Symphony at one of their annual educational concerts a few years later. Having begun his musical journey in Rochester, this is an exciting chance to return and make music in a new way in a community that he loves and one that helped shape the early part of his musical journey.A committed advocate for contemporary music, he has premiered and commissioned many new works by both established and young composers, and is constantly seeking to discover new compositional voices. In addition to regularly bringing new orchestral works to programs each season, he is the violinist of the new music duo sonic apricity, which is dedicated to uncovering and commissioning new works by living composers for violin and viola. The duo released their first recording on the Navona label in December of 2022. At Indiana State University, he helped to host the annual Contemporary Music Festival – now running for over 50 years. He has worked with Joan Tower, Augusta Read Thomas, Libby Larsen, Chen Yi, Meira Warshauer, Elliott Miles McKinley, Christopher Walczak, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Pierre Jalbert, James Dillon, David Dzubay, Marc Mellits, Carter Pann, Narong Prangcharoen and countless others. In 2019, he released two recordings with composer Elliott Miles McKinley, conducting his percussion concerto Four Grooves and performing on his eighth string quartet.
In his native Minnesota, Rohde has served as the Music Director of the Buffalo Community Orchestra, conductor and violinist for the Contemporary Music Workshop, Camarata Suzuki orchestra conductor for the MacPhail Center for Music, String Ensemble conductor at the Trinity School, and first violinist of the Cantiamo and Enkidu String Quartets.  Rohde holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, where he studied with conductors Mark Russell Smith, Kathy Saltzman Romey, and Craig Kirchhoff and violin pedagogue Mark Bjork. He also holds degrees in Violin Performance and Biomedical Engineering.Rohde lives in Cedar Falls, IA with his wife Erin and their children.
 
Betwixt Bach: Suite for Solo Violin (2021) Performed by Erik Rohde

4 | "Doing the Thing" with Levi Temple Part 2

Levi Temple is a performer/composer/recording artist/future educator from Monticello, Iowa. He is currently in his Junior year at the University of Northern Iowa, working towards his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education - Jazz/General - under the tutelage of Dr. Anthony Williams and Prof. Chris Merz. He is the 2021 recipient of UNI's Thomas Capps Jazz Scholarship as well as the 2021 winner of Iowa's Major Landers Competition for future music educators. His most recent achievement was he was announced the winner of the 2024 Iowa Brass Young Artist Competition.
 
His debut album "What Once Was" is a masterpiece in composition and performance. In this podcast we discuss the process of creating this idea and the work ethic needed for projects such as this.
 
Links to Levi's Work

3 | Album Production with Levi Temple Part 1

Levi Temple is a performer/composer/recording artist/future educator from Monticello, Iowa. He is currently in his Junior year at the University of Northern Iowa, working towards his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education - Jazz/General - under the tutelage of Dr. Anthony Williams and Prof. Chris Merz. He is the 2021 recipient of UNI's Thomas Capps Jazz Scholarship as well as the 2021 winner of Iowa's Major Landers Competition for future music educators. His most recent achievement was he was announced the winner of the 2024 Iowa Brass Young Artist Competition.
 
His debut album "What Once Was" is a masterpiece in composition and performance. In this podcast we discuss the process of creating this idea and the work ethic needed for projects such as this.
 
Links to Levi's Work

2 | Four/Ten Media with Evan Chapman

Today we discuss media production with founder of Four/Ten Media, Evan Chapman.
 
Based in Philadelphia, Evan Chapman is a percussionist, composer, and filmmaker who has built a prolific and unique career by seamlessly blending multimedia and contemporary music. Chapman is a founding member of contemporary-classical percussion trio/rock band Square Peg Round Hole, whose original compositions have been dubbed a “creative adventure” by Bob Boilen (NPR) and have received further acclaim from Modern Drummer Magazine, Paste Magazine, and Mental Floss, among others.
 
FOUR/TEN MEDIA is a production company born from the partnership between filmmakers/percussionists Kevin Eikenberg and Evan Chapman. Kevin and Evan's unique background as classically trained percussionists has allowed the duo to create fresh and musically authentic visual representations of works in the contemporary classical and pop worlds. Four/Ten’s client list includes internationally-acclaimed artists such as the New York Philharmonic, Steve Reich, Caroline Shaw, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Sō Percussion, David Lang, Son Lux, Alarm Will Sound, The Crossing Choir, Third Coast Percussion, and many more. Their work has been featured by major press outlets including The New York Times, Alternative Press, NPR, Mental Floss, Paste Magazine, Q2 Music, and I Care if You Listen, among others.
 
Evan is sponsored by Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Drumsticks, EvansDrumheads, and SJC Custom Drums.
 
https://fourtenmedia.net/
https://www.evanmchapman.com/
https://www.instagram.com/evanmchapman/?hl=en
https://youtube.com/evanmchapman
Four/Ten Media (2024 Reel)
Music for Wood and Strings
 

1 | Commissioning Chamber Music with F-Plus

Today we talked with F-Plus Trio!
 
F-PLUS is a violin, clarinet, and percussion trio committed to collaborating with today's most exciting composers to establish a diverse repertoire for their unique instrumentation. Formed in 2016 at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, the ensemble has performed all over the country, including Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Ear Taxi Festival, the International Clarinet Association "ClarinetFest," and the New Music Gathering. F-PLUS has premiered over 35 new works since its inception, including commissioned works by Chen Yi, Chicago Symphony Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery, Grawemeyer-winner George Tsontakis, Emma O'Halloran, Gemma Peacocke, Perry Goldstein, Matthew Ricketts, and Charles Peck, among many others. The ensembled has been the recipient of commissioning grants and additional funding from the Fromm Foundation, Chamber Music America, the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, New Music USA, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Irish Arts Council and the New Zealand Arts Council. F-PLUS is committed to working with the next generation of composers and performers, and has held residencies at Princeton University, the University of Delaware, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Washington University (St. Louis), University of Texas-Austin, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, UNC-Pembroke, UNC-Wilmington, and Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Stony Brook, Duke, and Illinois State Universities. 
 
With F-Plus we discussed how you can commission music in college and form chamber ensembles that continue after you all graduate. Follow F-Plus on all their social media to stay up to date with their performances and projects!
 
https://www.fplusmusic.com/
https://www.instagram.com/fplusmusic/
https://www.youtube.com/fplusmusic
https://www.facebook.com/fplusmusic
 
 

Music Majors Unplugged Trailer Episode

Welcome to Music Majors Unplugged!