Bemidji State Choral Music Program Celebrating 80th Anniversary at Homecoming

September 15, 2017

Bemidji State University’s choral music program will celebrate its 80th anniversary with an alumni concert and its traditional Carl O. Thompson Memorial Concert in conjunction with the university’s Homecoming activities, Sept. 23-24.

Dr. Paul Brandvik

More than 75 alumni are expected to return to Bemidji for the reunion concert. Dr. Paul Brandvik, who directed choral music at BSU from 1967-1998, will attend and conduct a piece during the concert.

The Bemidji Choir Reunion Concert begins at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at Bemidji’s Evangelical Covenant Church, located at 5405 Hart Lane NW. The concert is open to all free of charge.

The Carl O. Thompson Memorial Concert will feature the university’s four primary ensembles—the Bemidji Choir, Chamber Singers, Wind Ensemble and Blue Ice jazz band. It also will include 2017-18 vocal music scholarship recipient Derek Bebeau, a senior from Redwood Falls, Minn., and instrumental scholarship recipient Mike Newton, a senior from Pequot Lakes, Minn. Bebeau is a baritone and Newton will be playing the euphonium.

The concert begins at 3 p.m. Sept. 24 in the Thompson Recital Hall of Bemidji State’s Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex. Tickets for the concert are $10 for adults, with all students admitted free of charge.

Bemidji Choir Reunion Concert

Bemidji State’s Department of Music, which is celebrating the 80th anniversary of its internationally renowned choral music program, are welcoming dozens of alumni back to campus for a Bemidji Choir Reunion Concert. The department expects more than 75 alumni to be in attendance, with current students bringing the choir to more than 110 members for the Sept. 23 performance.

“Bemidji State University has an 80-year legacy of singing and choral music,” said Dr. Dwight Jilek, director of choral music programs at Bemidji State. “It’s a wonderful thing to celebrate. In this tradition, the Bemidji Choir has had participants from all over the world, and the choir has performed all over the world.”

Jilek said the investment of the BSU alumni in the program’s continued success and vitality is one of the things he finds to be the most special about the Bemidji Choir.

“That support is felt clearly by our faculty and students, and we are so very thankful for it,” Jilek said. “It will be a powerful thing to stand on stage with more than 100 people and use our shared experience at Bemidji State. To come together in song.

“It’s particularly special that our current students will be able to stand side-by-side with members who not only have sung for decades, but also can point to Bemidji State University as a place where a profound mark was made on them.”

Performing in the Reunion Choir Concert will be the Bemidji Alumni Choir, a group comprised of former members of the Bemidji Choir directed by Mark Carlson; the Bemidji Choir directed by Dr. Dwight Jilek; and the Bemidji State Reunion Choir, comprised of current and former members of the Bemidji Choir directed by Brandvik and Jilek

Carl O. Thompson Memorial Concert

BSU’s Carl O. Thompson Memorial Concert traditionally caps a weekend of Homecoming festivities on campus.

In addition to featuring this year’s winners of the concert’s namesake scholarships, the concert will feature performances by BSU’s four primary ensembles:

  • The Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. Dwight Jilek, professor of music and director of choral activities. The Chamber Singers is a 16-member ensemble specializing in small-choir pieces such as early English carols, Renaissance madrigals and chansons and selected contemporary works. In addition to its annual concert schedule, the Chamber Singers produce BSU’s annual Madrigal Dinners.
  • The Bemidji Choir, founded by Thompson, under the direction of Jilek. The Bemidji Choir has gained a national and international reputation for excellence. Each year, the choir produces several concerts and recordings and tours regularly.
  • Blue Ice, directed by Scott Guidry, assistant professor of music and director of bands. Blue Ice is an auditioned jazz band that tours regionally and has performed in Mexico and Hawaii. Annual performances include the Jingle Jazz Concert and the BSU Jazz Festival.
  • Wind Ensemble, directed by Guidry. The Wind Ensemble is a group focused on contemporary wind band pieces as well as 20th century concert band classics.

As September is recognized National Suicide Awareness Month, the Bemidji Choir will perform two pieces in support of suicide awareness and prevention — “Please Stay” by Minneapolis composer Jake Runestad and “The New Moon” by Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds.

“Please Stay” is inspired by stories of overcoming depression and choosing life over death. Jilek said the lyrics were inspired by a series of tweets Runestad saw that used the hashtag #IKeptLiving.

“The New Moon” is a choral setting of a poem written by Sara Teasdale, a poet who struggled with depression. Ešenvalds will be visiting Bemidji State as a visiting composer this spring.

Proceeds from the concert support the department’s two Carl O. Thompson Scholarships.

A Brief History of Choral Music at Bemidji State

While Bemidji State University has gone through a variety of changes through its nearly 100-year history, the choral program has seen only four conductors officially posted at its helm — Carl O. Thompson (1937-67), Dr. Paul Brandvik (1967-1998), Dr. P. Bradley Logan (1998-2016) and Dr. Dwight Jilek (2016-present).

Thompson established the university’s A Capella Choir, the annual Oratorio and Christmas Concerts and began managing the weekly Convocation Programs. He encouraged community support and participation through annual master-work performances of choir and orchestra, which community members were invited to join. Thompson led BSU’s choir programs for 31 years, passing the baton to his successor Brandvik in 1967.

Brandvik founded BSU’s annual Madrigal Dinners, a holiday tradition that continues to this day, and took the choir on its first European tour in 1970. He also led the music department into its new home in the Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex, which opened in 1971. Over the next three decades, Brandvik continued to develop a national and international reputation and also expanded its community collaborations with The Bemidji Chorale, Bemidji Choir, and The Bemidji Symphony Orchestra.

Logan succeeded the retiring Brandvik in 1998. Under his direction, the BSU Chamber Singers were selected to sing at the 2002 convention of the North American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), and directed the choirs in performances at Carnegie Hall in 2002 and 2015. They also performed at the 2001 and 2014 Minnesota ACDA Conventions, the 2006 North Dakota Music Educators Convention and at Minnesota Music Educators Conventions in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

Jilek is beginning his second year at BSU and is currently planning an international tour to the Baltic States with the Bemidji Choir in the spring. In addition, he will be the featured director for the Real Men Sing Festival at Staples-Motley High School in October.

Calendar

Sept. 23 – 6:30 p.m. – Bemidji State University Department of Music presents BSU Choral Music 80th Anniversary Concert, featuring the BSU Alumni Choir and Dr. Paul Brandvik, BSU professor emeritus of music. Location: Evangelical Covenant Church, 5405 Hart Lane NW, Bemidji. Admission: free. Information: (218) 755-2915.

Sept. 24 – 3 p.m. – Bemidji State University Department of Music presents Carl O. Thompson Memorial Concert, featuring BSU music ensembles and winners of BSU’s 2017-18 vocal and instrumental music scholarships. Location: Thompson Recital Hall, Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex, BSU campus. Admission: $10 adults, students free. Information: (218) 755-2915.

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Bemidji State University, located amid the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling more than 5,100 students, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and eight graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. The university’s Shared Fundamental Values include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and international and multicultural understanding.

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