Ithaca College

School of Music Dean Karl Paulnack will be the featured keynote speaker at the 2018 Iowa Bandmasters’ Association Conference in Des Moines next week. He will speak on the topic of Bands in the 21st Century.  In addition, he will offer a series of workshops for IBA members designed to help musicians create personal mission statements, a process designed to encourage and develop human and artistic authenticity, originality and uniqueness.

Dean Paulnack will also perform the world premiere of Swing Landscape: Rhapsody for Piano and Wind Orchestra by composer James M. David. The work, which is written for and dedicated to Paulnack, was commissioned by the IBA for this occasion, and will be performed with the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra winds, under the direction of Dr. Rebecca Phillips.
 
Myron Peterson, President of the IBA, said: “Karl had been on my radar since 2012 when the text of one of his speeches made its way around the internet and into IBA’s quarterly magazine.  Fast forward to 2016 when the opportunity to invite a keynote speaker was on my to do list, Karl was the first and only person I invited.  Thankfully, he said yes!”
 
“Our goal for the headline concert was to hire the professional wind and percussion musicians of the Des Moines Symphony to play music from the wind ensemble repertoire that we don’t get to hear very often.  The Des Moines Symphony was enthralled with the opportunity to branch out in this manner and to perform for an audience of highly trained musicians and music educators.  Knowing Karl has world-class capabilities on the piano, it seemed like a natural fit to ask him to appear as a guest with the Des Moines Symphony Winds. 
 
And having Dr. Rebecca Phillips in town, it was a logical step to ask her to conduct the ensemble.   Rebecca suggested we work with her friend and colleague at Colorado State University, composer James M. David, to commission a new work to be premiered for piano and wind orchestra.  This seemed to strike a primal chord in Karl’s psyche, as we learned he has great joy in bringing new music into the world.  We are elated, truly, to have Karl, Rebecca, James, and the Des Moines Symphony Winds collaborating on what promises to be an inspirational concert for Iowa band directors and musicians.”