The Growth of the Drury Music Program

By Daniel Kieffer

There has long been a tradition of musical excellence at Drury. No one has been more “instrumental” in advancing the quality of performances and raising expectations of the musical programs at Drury like Dr. Christopher Koch.

Dr. Koch began his time at Drury in 2005. He entered as assistant professor of music and director of Orchestra and Wind Symphony. He teaches various classes and leads the classical instrumental ensembles on campus.

One may say that Koch has visions of grandeur. He has constantly dreamt of tours and run-out concerts, recruiting trips and large-scale performances. All of these ideas were previously unthinkable. They had never happened at Drury, especially with instrumental groups. This year, all of that has changed.

After four years of hard work, the instrumental ensembles are being recognized by the administration of Drury and the community. The Drury Wind Symphony was selected by the Missouri Music Educators Association (MMEA) to play and the statewide gathering of all the music educators from all different levels. This is one of the highest honors any instrumental ensemble can be selected for in the state.

Another recent development is the Kansas City tour. The music department visited Kansas City last week on a school-sponsored recruiting trip. During this time, the Wind Symphony, Jazz Ensemble I, a chamber orchestra group and the Drury Singers attended different schools in Kansas City, performing and talking to students. On Thursday evening, all the groups performed a concert at a local church.

Dr. Koch has spearheaded the efforts on the Kansas City tour. This was his brainchild and his fellow faculty as well as the administration took the idea and they all made it happen. Koch has been responsible for finding hotels and venues to perform at, making sure the groups are welcomed in the schools rather than imposing.

Koch is also responsible for the Springfield-Drury Civic Orchestra. This is a group of Drury students joined by members of the community from all levels of skill working collaboratively. The ensemble originally was comprised of only 40 members. Since Koch's arrival, the SDCO has outgrown the stage of Clara Thompson Hall with a staggering 90 member roster.

Since the stage of Clara Thompson no longer adequately fits the ensembles, having violins sitting outside of the lights and having guest artists tripping over oboes as they walk out, the SDCO is moving to a larger space. On Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. the SDCO will have its debut performance on the stage of Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.

In conjunction with the Drury Singers and the Drury Concert choir, the SDCO will perform George Enesc's Romanian Rhapsody No. 2, Manuel de Falla's Suite from the Three Cornered Hat and will be performing the regional debut of Springfield local and Drury professor Dr. Carlyle Sharpe's Proud Music of the Storm.