Saint Meinrad Archabbey Cultural Events will present a woodwind concert titled “Woodwind Serenades” on November 5, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. Central Time in the St. Bede Hall Theater.
The concert will be performed by John Dee on oboe, Iura de Rezende on clarinet, and Ben Roidl-Wardon on bassoon. The program will feature Joseph Canteloube’s Rustiques, Francisco Mignone’s Valsa da Outra Esquina, Mauricio Murcia Bedoya’s Saturday, and Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Trio for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon, W182.
John Dee is the Bill A. Nugent Endowed Professor of Music Performance and professor of oboe at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was principal oboe of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra and Florida Grand Opera for over twenty years and oboe professor at the University of Miami and the HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton, FL. Prior to this, he was principal oboe of the Florida Orchestra in Tampa, FL, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
Dee has performed with several orchestras and as a soloist in the United States and internationally. He was featured in weekly broadcasted programs with the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra on over 140 radio stations. He has performed for Pope John Paul II and can be seen on the internationally syndicated television series The Joy of Music.
Dee’s performances have been heard on NPR’s Performance Today, he is a regular guest artist at the International Double Reed Society annual conferences. Having received the Outstanding Teacher Award from the National Endowment for the Arts several times, he appears in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. He also assisted the Yamaha Corporation in the development of their professional-model oboe in Japan.
Iura de Rezende has appeared as a performing artist in venues throughout the United States, South America, and Europe, such as the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Stadt Casino in Basel, and Sala Cecília Meireles in Rio de Janeiro. He was a member of the Oficina Música Viva New Music Ensemble, with whom he recorded several projects for broadcast television.
After concluding his undergraduate studies in Brazil, de Rezendecompleted a double master’s degree at the Academy of Music in Basel (Switzerland), receiving the soloist diploma and a clarinet pedagogy diploma. After continuing his studies at the University of the Arts in Berlin, he obtained a doctorate in clarinet performance, music history and literature, and early music performance from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, as a Fulbright Scholar.
De Rezende was a professor of clarinet at the Federal University of São João del Rei in Brazil for over 15 years. He has taught master classes at universities and schools of music throughout the United States, Brazil, Europe, and South America. In 2022, de Rezende was appointed as an assistant professor of clarinet at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Ben Roidl-Ward is the assistant professor of bassoon at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He also holds positions as principal bassoonist of the Chicago Sinfonietta, co-principal bassoonist of Sinfonia Da Camera, and second bassoonist of the Illinois Symphony. A leading performer of contemporary music, Roidl-Ward is solo bassoonist of Chicago’s Ensemble Dal Niente and serves as a contemporary leader for the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, where he performs throughout Europe with the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra, co-curates the annual Lucerne Festival Forward, and teaches in the Lucerne Festival Academy. Roidl-Ward has participated in the premieres of over 125 compositions to date.
Prior to his appointment at the University of Illinois, Roidl-Ward held teaching positions as assistant professor of bassoon at the University of Northern Iowa, guest faculty at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and instructor of bassoon at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI. He currently serves as a mentor for the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative, a program that prepares students from underrepresented backgrounds for admission to top music schools. Roidl-Ward has presented masterclasses at Northwestern University, the Oberlin and Peabody Conservatories, SUNY Fredonia, and the State Universities of Arizona, Louisiana, Colorado, and Oklahoma.
Last year, Roidl-Ward released his debut solo album, Axis Mundi, which was featured on Bandcamp Daily’s “Best Contemporary Classical on Bandcamp: November 2022.” Roidl-Ward is an alumnus of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. He received his DMA from Northwestern University, where he studied methods of notating the bassoon’s multiphonics.
The program is free, open to the public, and no registration is required. Parking is available in the Guest House and student parking lots. For more information, contact Krista Hall during business hours at 812-357-6501. For updates on the day of the performance, call 812-357-6611.