Music Events
Guest Artist Recital: Trio di Velluto, brass trio
Date and Time
Friday, February 7, 2020 7:30 PM
Description
The Trio di Velluto was officially formed in 2015 as a subgroup of the Henderson State University Faculty Brass Quintet. Members Dr. Todd Cranson (tuba), Dr. Amy Laursen (horn), and Dr. Jamie Lipton (euphonium) commissioned Italian composer Corrado Saglietti to write a trio for the new ensemble in 2016, and the group took their name from the resulting piece, which they premiered at the 2017 Northwest Tuba Euphonium Regional Conference in Pullman, WA. Since then, the trio has commissioned new pieces from Barbara York, Mark Scott, and Anna Segal. They recently performed at the International Women’s Brass Conference at Arizona State University and the International Tuba and Euphonium Conference at the University of Iowa. The trio also completed two regional tours in the spring of 2019 and will tour in Michigan in February of 2020. Drs. Cranson and Laursen, who married in 2016, are currently faculty members at the University of South Dakota, while Dr. Lipton remains on the faculty of Henderson State University.
Dr. Todd Cranson is Assistant Professor of Low Brass
and Director of Athletic Bands at the University of South Dakota . He
taught tuba and performed at the Hot Springs Music Festival for six
years, the final three of which he also served as Executive Director.
Additionally, he spent summers performing with the Great Western Rocky
Mountain Brass Band in Silverton, Colorado, the Yankee Brass Band
based in New England, and at summer courses in Kalavrita, Greece;
Quebec, Canada; and Rome, Italy.
A specialist in 19th Century American Music, Dr. Cranson
performed extensively with the Vintage Brass Band of Springfield,
Illinois and successfully defended his dissertation, "The
Humboldt Brass Band: An Early History and Critical Edition of
a Post-Civil War Town Band."
Previous teaching appointments include positions at Henderson
State University, the University of Illinois Springfield, and
Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, Louisiana. Dr. Cranson earned
his DMA from the University of Illinois, MM in instrumental conducting
from the University of Arkansas, and a BM and BME from Louisiana
State University. Additionally, he earned a Post Graduate Diploma with
distinction in performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in
Manchester, England where he was a student of Roger Bobo and James Gourlay.
In addition to his enthusiasm for teaching and performing, Todd
is a passionate home brewer, opened a brewery in Hot Springs National
Park, and includes stops at virtually every brewery in his path when
traveling! He is happily married to Dr. Amy Laursen who tolerates both
his hobbies and his tuba playing, as they frequently perform chamber
music together!
Dr. Amy Laursen is the Assistant Professor of Horn at the University of South Dakota. She joined the University of South Dakota in the fall 2017 as an Adjunct Professor in the music department teaching Written Theory and an online section of World’s Music; and was hired as the Assistant Professor of Horn beginning in the Fall of 2018. Previously, Dr. Laursen was the applied Horn Instructor at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, AR. There she taught applied horn, music theory and music education courses - including coordinating the annual HSU Elementary Music Workshop. While at HSU, Dr. Laursen regularly performed with the HSU Faculty Brass Trio, Faculty Brass Quintet, Faculty Woodwind Quintet, Natural State Brass Band, the Orchestra of New Spain where she played natural horn, and substituted with the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. She currently is the Principal Horn in the Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra (IA), substitute horn with the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra (IA), and substitute horn with the Billings Symphony Orchestra (MT). Additionally, she is the horn player in the low brass trio, Trio di Velluto, with her husband Dr. Todd Cranson and her good friend, Dr. Jamie Lipton. The trio has commissioned new works for the ensemble and has performed at numerous conferences.
In the fall of 2015, Dr. Laursen completed her DMA in Horn Performance from University of North Texas where she studied with Dr. William Scharnberg. Her dissertation, “Determining the Authenticity of the Concerto for Two Horns, WoO. 19, Attributed to Ferdinand Ries” hopes to bring recognition to the relatively unknown work. Additionally, while at UNT she performed and recorded with the Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, Baroque Orchestra, Opera program, and in the Center for Chamber Brass Quintet. As a teaching fellow at UNT, Dr. Laursen taught brass methods and in the horn studio and was heavily involved in the Music and Medicine program working with Dr. Kris Chesky.
Dr. Laursen received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Wyoming in 2006 and a master’s in Horn Performance from UNT in 2008. Before returning to UNT to begin her doctoral degree, she taught elementary general music, band, and orchestra for two years in Wyoming. She has taught private lessons in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, in Arkansas, Iowa, and South Dakota. Dr. Laursen is happily married to Dr. Todd Cranson, and together they have a dog, Joey. She enjoys gardening, yoga, and cooking.
Dr. Jamie Lipton is the Associate Professor of Low Brass at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. As a Willson performing artist, Dr. Lipton has performed throughout the United States and all over the world, most recently in João Pessoa, Brazil. She is a past winner of the Falcone Euphonium Artist and ITEC Euphonium Artist competitions, and is now in high demand as an adjudicator. Dr. Lipton has been on faculty at many of the leading American brass workshops and frequently appears as a clinician at conferences and festivals. Currently, she is a board member and principal euphonium of the Natural State Brass Band in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is also a member of Trio di Velluto with Dr. Todd Cranson (tuba) and Dr. Amy Laursen (horn).
In her position at Henderson State University, Dr. Lipton teaches applied euphonium and trombone. Her students regularly participate in intercollegiate bands, and many of her alumni are now successful music educators throughout Texas and Arkansas. Under her direction, the HSU Tuba Choir has performed at several conferences and the HSU Brass Band, the only collegiate brass band in Arkansas, tours twice a year. Dr. Lipton is the faculty advisor to HSU’s chapters of Sigma Alpha Iota and Tau Beta Sigma, and she is an honorary member of both organizations as well as Kappa Kappa Psi.
Dr. Lipton holds music education and euphonium performance degrees from Northwestern University and the University of North Texas, and her major influences include Rex Martin, Dr. Brian Bowman, and the late Dr. Vern Kagarice. In her free time, she enjoys travel, studying Spanish and Portuguese, watching soccer, playing with her dogs, and attempting to be entertaining on social media.
Contact
Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance
616.331.3484