Where Are They Now? spotlights Minnesota Varsity Featured and Showcase Artists from 2011 to 2015.
Pianist Brianna Drevlow from Thief River Falls, Minn. was a Minnesota Varsity 2011 Featured Artist. She recently got in touch with Classical MPR's Christine Sweet to share her latest news.
Brianna Drevlow, piano, 2011 Featured Artist
Age: 21
Hometown: Thief River Falls, Minn.
Attends: Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.
I am a senior this year at Concordia College in Moorhead, majoring in Music Theory/Composition with a minor in Piano Performance. I am a freelance composer and have enjoyed the many collaborative opportunities offered to me with the music department at Concordia and beyond. I am also the president of the Concordia's Beat CD, which is a student organization dedicated to learning more about the audio production industry and collaborating with recording artists. Last June, I was selected as a Student Government Association Research scholar, and was invited out to New York University to participate in a fully funded film scoring workshop hosted by ASCAP and the Society of Composers and Lyricists, where I was able to combine my loves for musical collaboration, composing, and sound engineering all into one place. It was an amazing experience to work with many talented composers from the industry and learn new techniques of composition from them, as well as record with some of the most talented musicians from across the country.
Currently, I am in the graduate school search process and putting together my senior year portfolio with my teacher, Dr. Steven Makela, who is a tremendous teacher and has been helping me throughout the process, as well as receiving wonderful guidance from Dr. Rene Clausen. I am also thoroughly enjoying my continuation of classical piano study, under Dr. Jay Hershberger. The more time I spend in the music department, the more I realize what a special place Concordia is when it comes to fostering and providing a wonderful community for young artists to grow and learn.
However, none of my opportunities at Concordia College would have been possible without the generous scholarships and financial support from Minnesota Public Radio, as I was a recipient of one of their music scholarships to Concordia College, so thank you so very much to MPR for making my dreams as a freelance composer a living reality, as well as providing young artists like myself the opportunity to perform and record with a professional organization. I cannot stress enough how special and truly unique this program really is.
In other news, I was recently crowned Miss Thief River Falls 2015, a local pageant affiliated with the Miss America Organization, and have had a wonderful time promoting my personal platform, "Kids Get Arthritis Too: Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness," which is inspired by my little sister, Brenna, who lives with JRA every day. I encourage you to visit my Facebook page, "Miss Thief River Falls 2015 — Brianna Drevlow" and click "like" to stay updated with me throughout the year!
For information on this year's season of Minnesota Varsity, please visit the Minnesota Varsity homepage.
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