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Fulfilling Graduation Requirement, Ui Saxophone Student's CD is Opening Ears

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Joel Vanderheyden
Fulfilling graduation requirement, UI saxophone student's CD is opening ears

Programming directors and on-air personalities at jazz radio stations keep their ears open for exciting new work in the ongoing stream of new CD releases. When they hear something fresh, they share the music with their listeners.

One of the recent CD's to catch their attention is “Complete Life," by saxophonist Joel Vanderheyden (http://www.joelvanderheyden.com), which has already captured airtime in Iowa, New York, California, Virginia, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Michigan, and was named CD of the Month for August 2009 on KCCK 88.3FM in Cedar Rapids. But his recording is not the typical product to have an impact in the jazz market: It was self-produced as part of his graduate requirement for a doctorate from the University of Iowa School of Music.

After working for several years as a jazz musician and educator, Vanderheyden, who grew up in the Twin Cities area, came to the UI to expand his career opportunities. “I always thought I would ultimately want to end up in an academic teaching situation," he said. “In the sax world there is a demand for people who can play and teach both classical and jazz, and there isn't really a wealth of supply to meet that demand. So I thought it would be a good move to bone up on my classical saxophone chops."

While an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota-Morris, he met UI saxophone faculty member Kenneth Tse (photo, to right, with Vanderheyden), and later rekindled their relationship while serving as director of jazz during a one-year sabbatical replacement at his alma mater. Tse has a strong international reputation as a classical performer and teacher, and he was recently elected vice president of the International Saxophone Committee.

Serendipitously, at the time that Vanderheyden was arranging to pursue his doctorate in classical performance, John Rapson of the jazz studies area was looking for a teaching assistant, so Vanderheyden, who holds a Master's Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Maryland, got involved in the jazz program as well.

“The Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the UI typically involves a language requirement, but they recently added an alternative to that, which is a secondary area of emphasis," Vanderheyden explained. “You meet with a professor in an area secondary to your major, and develop a curriculum that will fulfill a designated number of credits.

“So I met with John, and one of the thesis requirements for jazz masters students is to write, produce and record an album. Although it wasn't a necessary component of my secondary emphasis, it was something that I wanted to do anyway, and I knew that would be a great way to motivate me, so I told him I wanted to put that in as part of my requirement to graduate."

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