Winds (Band Instruments)

*Instructor available in summer (in addition to fall & spring)

Northwestern Student Instructors

Graduate Instructors

Faculty Instructors

Chantal Abendroth – clarinet

Chantal Abendroth is a K-12 Instrumental Music Education Major at Northwestern College. She is currently a student teacher and has the privilege of working with 5th grade and high school band students. Chantal has been playing the clarinet for 12 years and has studied clarinet privately for 11 of those years. Most recently, she studied with Jan Scholl, clarinet instructor at Northwestern College. Chantal has also taken piano and violin lessons in the past and greatly enjoys learning new instruments and growing in her abilities on the clarinet so that she can continually find new and exciting ways to teach her students. Chantal has been actively involved in her college symphonic band, orchestra, clarinet choir, and chamber winds ensembles. Finally, Chantal has an enormous passion for music and teaching. She has a deep desire in her heart to bring music into the lives of children. Playing and teaching music is one of the most powerful ways she has found for reaching people and changing lives. Psalm 28:7

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Miriam Dennis – trumpet

Miriam Dennis began studying trumpet at age 10. She is currently a member of the Northwestern College Orchestra, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, and Brass Ensemble. In addition to participating in college musical ensembles, Miriam is also a member of the Wayzata Symphony Orchestra and maintains an active freelance performance schedule. She has participated in the Masterworks Music Festival in Winona Lake, Indiana, and worked with the Minnesota High School All-State Orchestra as an intern for two years. Her primary instructor is Dr. Philip Norris, and she has also studied with Manny Laureano and Robert Dorer of the Minnesota Orchestra. As a junior K-12 Instrumental Music Education Major, Miriam seeks to inspire excellence and instill a love of music in her students.

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Elizabeth DeYoung – french horn

Elizabeth DeYoung began studying French horn when she was 10 at the Dassel-Cokato Middle School and continued playing and taking lessons throughout high school. During her junior and senior year in high school she received an opportunity to teach a couple of middle school French horn students for a couple of summers. She also spent a year at the Association of Free Lutheran Bible School teaching piano in various areas in the Twin Cities. Now a junior at Northwestern College, Elizabeth is studying higher level horn as a General Music major under the horn instructor Matthew Wilson. Elizabeth has performed in various competitions, honor bands, churches, and concerts as a soloist and as part of many ensembles. She is passionate about teaching students about the French horn and about excellence in music.

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Mandy Potts – flute

Mandy Potts is a flute performance major at Northwestern College where she is principal flute of the Orchestra. Recently, Mandy won awards in both the Northwestern College Concerto-Aria Competition and the College and Graduate Woodwinds/Brass Category of the Schubert Club Competition. Prior to her Northwestern College studies, she was a member of the University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. She currently studies with Julia Bogorad Kogan (Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra) and Michele Frisch (Minnesota Opera Orchestra) and has also participated in numerous masterclasses with top artists including Bonita Boyd (Eastman School of Music) and Adam Kuenzel (Minnesota Orchestra). Mandy strongly believes that the ultimate goal of music is to glorify the Lord.

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John Baumgartner* – trombone

John Baumgartner is a 2012 Music Performance graduate from Northwestern College, where he participated in many of the school ensembles. He is currently active in the Twin Cities music scene, and plays in a wide variety of ensembles and styles. He has studied privately with active local trombonists Dr. John Tranter, Dr. Jeremy Kolwinska, and Dave Graf. John desires to see his students advance in their ability to express themselves musically, and to also come away with a greater love and appreciation for music.

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Neil Baumgartner III* – trumpet

Neil Baumgartner III is a music education graduate of Northwestern College. He has studied trumpet for 10 years, and has been teaching for four. He is currently studying trumpet with Dr. Phil Norris of Northwestern College and while attending Northwestern played in the Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, Orchestra, Brass Ensemble and Brass Quintet, and he participates in his church orchestra. In the past Neil has played in The Minnesota Youth Symphonies, various honor bands, and the Roseville/Shoreview Homeschool Band. Neil has a passion to see his students improve in every aspect of their musicianship, and finds it a joy to to see his students learn.

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Neil Baumgartner Jr.* – low brass/trumpet/horn

Mr. Baumgartner received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Mars Hill College, in Mars Hill, NC. He studied trombone under Richard Cryder and Wayne Bowman. He has worked with middle school and high school bands in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Minnesota and has played in a variety of musical groups including the Fairfax City Band and the Fairfax Swing Band of Fairfax, Virginia and church orchestras and ensembles in Virginia and Minnesota. He enjoys performing and teaching many different musical styles. To see students improve in their musical abilities and to grow in their enjoyment of music is something he finds to be a great joy.

Degrees: B. Music Education (Mars Hill College, Mars Hill, NC); M. Div. (Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, Germantown, TN); M. A. Linguistics (University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX)

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Erika Heglund* – flute

Erika Heglund is a graduate of Northwestern College with a degree in Music Education. She has been teaching flute through the Academy of Music since 1997. Erika enjoys teaching all types of students, from those who desire to stay interested to those who plan to major in music. Customizing lessons to meet the needs of each individual student is paramount in her teaching practice. Erika believes that in the practice and mastery of new skills on the flute a greater level of personal expression can be attained.

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Annabel Naglak* – trumpet

Annabel Naglak recently graduated from NWC with a Bachelor of Arts in General Music. She began piano lessons at age 5 near her hometown of Story City, IA and participated in IMTA (Iowa Music Teachers Association) competitions throughout her childhood. In college, Annabel was active in the music department, participating in activities such as the Jazz Band, Orchestra, piano department, and the Concerto/Aria Competition of 2010, of which she was named winner of the concerto division; because of this, she had the honor of performing a piano concerto with the NWC Orchestra during the spring semester. Annabel loves to teach music because each student learns more than just the specific instrument he or she studies. Hard work, discipline, and confidence are among the many wonderful things that can be cultivated as one studies piano, trumpet, etc. As a teacher, Annabel has high expectations for every student. While taking into account the learning needs, weekly schedule, and body language of each student at each lesson, her deepest desire is that her students improve in an encouraging atmosphere.

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Adam Nowak* – saxophone

Adam Nowak is a graduate of Northwestern College with a general music major and a minor in Art. He has been teaching private saxophone lessons through the Music Academy for three years. His favorite genre of music is any style of jazz. In his free time, Adam loves to be outdoors; he is an avid hunter and fisherman.

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Andrea Sheppard – flute

Andrea Needham is a graduate of Northwestern College with a degree in General Music. She has been playing both piano and flute for over twelve years, most recently studying piano with Dr. Lange and flute with Michele Frisch. Andrea loves performing, and enjoys participating in local ensembles as the opportunity arises. She has been teaching music lessons since high school and loves the challenge of tailoring lessons to each new student. Her goal in teaching music is to encourage each student to love music and to learn life skills such as perseverance, a good work ethic, and time management through learning and instrument. Aside from music, Andrea loves studying philosophy and theology and loves being outdoors.

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Susan Stevenson* – flute

Sue Stevenson has a Bachelor of Music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1991 and studied with Julia Bogorad (flutist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra) at the U of M, 1991-1993.  Her graduate studies in flute performance were at Indiana University 1993-1994. Sue has taught privately for 23 years and has loved watching her students grow in musicianship and into adults, nurturing a love for music while developing their skills, as well as future patrons of the arts.

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Lindsey Thompson* – oboe

Originally from Colorado, oboist Lindsey Thompson is in her first year of her Masters in oboe performance at the University of Minnesota. She is on a full scholarship and plays in principal oboe and second in the University Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. She is also the oboist of the Mill City Quintet. Lindsey is in her first year with the Academy of Music and enjoys working with students and helping them discover a love for music. She also has maintained a private studio since 2008. Lindsey received her Bachelors degree Summa Cum Laude, in Music performance at the University of Colorado in May 2011. During her time there, Lindsey studied with Peter Cooper and played in the University of Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble rotating principal and second oboist. Also during her time in Colorado, Lindsey subbed second oboe with the Colorado Symphony.

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Crystal Vorderbruggen* – clarinet, saxophone

Crystal grew up in Wadena, Minnesota on a dairy farm as the oldest of three girls and graduated from Wadena-Deer Creek High School in 2005. She began playing the clarinet in fifth grade and was the section leader all through high school. Crystal also learned to play the tenor saxophone as a tenth grader, and was the baritone saxophonist for her high school jazz band for two years. She attended every honor band when she had the opportunity to, including honor ensembles held at the University of Minnesota, Morris; University of Minnesota, Duluth; Bemidji State University; and St. Olaf College – since she was first able to as an eighth grader.

Crystal majored in instrumental music education major, and she loves kids of all ages! She hopes to teach and direct band, but she is unsure what level she wants to teach as of this moment. Crystal is hoping her experiences with the Academy will aid her in deciding the age group she would like to work with.

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Heidi Amundson* – flute

Heidi Amundson has been playing piano for twenty years and violin and flute for 15. She has her Bachelors degree in violin performance from the University of Denver in Colorado (studying with CSO concertmaster, Yumi Hwang-Williams), and her Master's degree from Rice University in Houston (studying with Cho Liang Lin). Currently she is a DMA candidate at the University of Minnesota with Sally O'Reilly. Heidi has taken both traditional and suzuki lessons and enjoys combining the two methods to make a perfect match for each student. She has most recently served as faculty at Rice University's Preparatory Music School and loves teaching all levels and styles. "The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul." J.S. Bach

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