Faculty

Pete Whitman
Pete.Whitman@mcnallysmith.edu
Department Head, Brass & Woodwinds
Faculty Member Since: 1998
Primary Department: Brass and Woodwinds
Secondary Department: Ensemble
Formal Education:MM in Jazz Studies University of North Texas; BM in Jazz Studies (UNT).

Professional Experience: Pete has spent over 25 years teaching and playing professionally as a saxophonist, flutist, and clarinetist. He has toured the U.S., Japan, and Brazil with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and has also performed with such distinguished ensembles and musicians as the Minnesota Orchestra, Jack McDuff, Curtis Fuller, the Woody Herman Orchestra, the Jazz MN Big Band, JAZZAX saxophone quartet, Andres Prado and Laura Caviani. Whitman has also recorded extensively as a sideman and has three CD’s out under his name: “Departure Point” (Igmod Records) “The Sound of  Water”(Artegra) and "Where’s When" (Artegra). His latest CD, “Where’s When” features the X-tet, a ten-piece ensemble led by Whitman received a four star rating by Downbeat Magazine (Feb.04).

Scott Agster
Scott.Agster@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2008
Primary Department: Brass and Woodwinds
Formal Education:D.M.A candidate - University of Minnesota; M.A - University of North Texas; B.M. - University of North Texas

Professional Experience: Scott has performed all over the world with such distinguished groups as The UNT One O’Clock Lab Band, The Dallas Jazz Orchestra, Salsa del Soul, the Matt Sawyer Orchestra, Snowblind (founding member and composer), Jack Brass Band, G8, Bella Galla Big Band, The Glenn Miler Orchestra, and The Skunkfoot Seven. Scott has had the opportunity to work and perform with many acclaimed artists including Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, Dave Douglas, Phil Woods, Nicholas Payton, Stefan Karlsson, Slide Hampton, and Paul McKee.  He’s recorded 21 CDs including several KJOS Music Big Band Samplers; The Music of Frank Sinatra (Bella Galla Big Band); Traditionally Speaking (Jack Brass Band); Taking Shape (Snowblind) and Run With It! (Hip-hop group G8). Scott was also a founding member and arranger for the Vector Trombone Quartet, which was a finalist in the International Trombone Association Quartet Competition in Helsinki, Finland in 2003. Scott is currently active as a clinician on low brass techniques and improvisation.  Scott's recent research to determine modern trends in jazz curricula around the United States has been highlighted during the 2007 IAJE conference in New York.

Mark Henderson
mark.henderson@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2010
Primary Department: Brass and Woodwinds
Formal Education:Masters in Saxophone Performance, University of Minnesota; Bachelor of Music, North Texas State University.

Professional Experience: Mark Henderson is a graduate of North Texas State University where he performed with the famous 1:00 Lab Band, which toured the U.S.S.R. on a State Department tour in 1976.

Since 1978, Mark has been a musician in the Twin Cities, working as a freelancer and as the resident woodwind player at the Chanhassen Dinner Theaters from 1988 to 1993. He performs regularly at the Guthrie and Children’s Theaters and is an affiliate member of the Minnesota Orchestra. He was also an original member of the Jazz MN Big Band.

Mark completed a Masters Degree in Saxophone Performance at the University of Minnesota in 1995, and was a member of the University’s Faculty Jazz Quintet. He taught privately at MacPhail Center from 1980 to 1989 and has worked as a jazz clinician for festivals from Alaska to Germany.

Since 1996, Mark has been composing music and sound design, as well as engineering for television and radio commercials. In 2003, Mark and his wife Mary started a new company, Dirty Dog Productions, which is producing ad music, as well as corporate video and DVD’s for small business clients in addition to many orchestrations and arranging endeavors. In 2006, Mark arranged all the live orchestrations for the Robert Robinson Christmas Tour, featuring a 12-person orchestra and a 100-member choir.

Clint Hoover
Clint.Hoover@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2009
Primary Department: Brass and Woodwinds
Formal Education:BA in Studio Arts from Augsburg College

Professional Experience: One of a select handful of musicians to have mastered both the chromatic and diatonic harmonica, Clint's work has earned him a place in the Encyclopedia of the Harmonica. From pre-war blues to modern jazz, Clint has delved deep into the musical possibilities of the harmonica.

Clint is a sought after studio session player and has appeared on countless recordings. His own CD's have received rave reviews internationally. He performs on a regular basis, appearing in concerts, clubs and jobbing dates.

Currently he works regularly with the jazz quartet East Side and appears with West Bank legend, Papa John Kolstad. Clint is a highly respected harmonica educator with over 25 years experience teaching private lessons and workshops. In New York City he attended the Parsons/New School Jazz program and studied with renowned classical harmonicist Robert Bonfiglio.

Dave Jensen
Dave.Jensen@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 1999
Primary Department: Brass and Woodwinds
Secondary Department: Ensemble
Formal Education: Summa Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music

Professional Experience: Dave Jensen is a member of Hornheads, a Billboard magazine award-winning a cappella jazz group. As a group, they have released three solo albums and recorded eight concept albums for Target. As a horn section, they have recorded for artists in the US, Japan, Argentina, Denmark, Portugal, and the UK.

From 1991 through 2001, the NPG Horns/Hornheads recorded nine albums with Prince and the New Power Generation, including three Gold and two Platinum albums with international sales of more than $20 million. During this time they performed with Prince around the world. Before Prince, Dave spent three years on tour with the Artie Shaw Orchestra. This included the PBS special “Ballroom Dancing” with Bobby Short and Juliet Prouse.

Dave's trumpet and flugelhorn can also be heard on the recordings of Chaka Khan,”Come to my house”; Larry Graham, “GCS 2000”; Jonas Brothers, "Lines, Vines and Trying Times"; "Girl 6" soundtrack album, Warner Brothers; "Pret-A-Porter" soundtrack album, Columbia; Mandy Moore, “Coverage”; Mavis Staples, “The Voice”; Phil Upchurch, “Love is Strange”; Tevin Campbell, “Get Ready”; Pedro Abrunhosa, “Tempo”; Illya Kuryaki, "Leche"; GeGe Telesforo, "Gege and the Mother Tongue"; Gyumi Matsutoya, "Faces"; Setimo Ceu, "Setimo Ceu"; Ricky Peterson, “A Tear Can Tell”; Scott Krippayne, "All of Me"; Rosie Gains, "Closer than Close"; Pete Whitman X-Tet, "Where's When"; Dave Graf, "Just Like That"; Carmen Electra, “Carmen Electra”; Blenders, "Loveland"; Ben Sidran, Bruce Henry, Laura Caviani, Prudence Johnson, Lucia Newell, Mick Sterling, Klezmerica, Debbie Duncan, Connie Evingson, George Avaloz, The Steeles, the JazzMN Big Band, and others.

Dave works as a musician for Broadway shows. He has also performed Duke Ellington’s “Nutcracker Suite” with the Minnesota Orchestra.

Performances with touring artists have included Aretha Franklin, James Moody, Dave Weckl, Tony Bennett, Pepper Adams, Billy Eckstine, Dick Oatts, Sammy Davis Jr., Rosemary Clooney, the Woody Herman Orchestra, and many others.

Dave graduated summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music.

James Marentic
James.Marentic@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2005
Primary Department: Brass and Woodwinds
Formal Education: Master of Arts, Music Composition, California State University, Los Angeles / Composition, Harmony, Counterpoint, Orchestration, University of MN

Professional Experience:

Big Bands: Don Ellis, Jimmy Dorsey, Mel Lewis, Lionel Hampton, Ed Shaughnessy, Harry James, Charlie Persip, Combos: Frank Strazzeri, Bill Perkins, Frank Butler, Freddie Redd, Music director and European tour: Anita O’Day.

Producer: composer, arranger, sax, flute album James Marentic, “Nimbus”

Other teaching experience: Private teaching studio for all levels since 1985.

Awards and Honors: National Endowment for the Arts-composition grants, 1978, 1986, 1993. Outstanding Musicianship Award-IAJE, 1995. Grants for film scoring study-ASCAP 1977-BMI-1989.

Memberships: BMI 1982-Present. BMI Jazz Composers Workshop 1996-2005.

Other training: Private studies Saxophone: George Coleman, Steve Grossman, David Leibman, Bob Berg, Clifford Jordan, Phil Sobel, Dr. Jeffery Benedict. Piano/Arranging: Jackie Byard, David Berkman. Clarinet: Eddie Daniels. Flute: Emil Niosi, Harold Bennett.

Bill Olson
Bill.Olson@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2005
Primary Department: Brass and Woodwinds
Formal Education: MM (Performance) Eastman School of Music, BM (Performance) University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Professional Experience: Five By Design, Gap Mangione Big Band, Maria Schneider, Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, Children’s Theatre Company, Princess and Holland America Cruise Lines. Other teaching experience: MacPhail Center for Music, Madison Conservatory of Music. Other training: Henry Mancini Institute, Los Angeles, CA. Awards and Honors: Saxophone Methods Teaching Assistantship, Eastman School of Music; Downbeat Magazine Award Best Classical Instrumental Soloist (02); UWEC Concerto Competition Winner (01). Memberships: Twin Cities’ Musicians Union.

Janis Weller
Janis.Weller@mcnallysmith.edu
Chair, Liberal Arts
Faculty Member Since: 2007
Primary Department: General Education
Secondary Department: Brass and Woodwinds
Formal Education:Ed.D in Educational Leadership from University of St. Thomas (in progress); M.A. in Human Development (focus on musician career development); B.A. in music, Luther College; completed masters coursework in musicology and flute performance, University of Minnesota

Professional Experience: As a flutist, Janis is particularly devoted to working with living composers and new music. She has premiered over 100 new works and been part of over 30 commissions. A founding member and co-artistic director of the Sylmar Chamber Ensemble, Janis has also performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble, Minnesota Composers Forum, and many other ensembles. She freelances in the Twin Cities area.

She developed and taught innovative courses in career development and music business at the University of Minnesota, Augsburg College, and University of St. Thomas, and flute at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and MacPhail Center for Music.

Janis serves on the Commission for the Education of the Professional Musician of the International Society for Music Education (ISME). She has presented workshops, papers, and poster sessions on a variety of musician career issues nationally and internationally at conferences of ISME in Hanoi, Vietnam and Barcelona, Spain, and in Bologna, Italy in 2008, in addition to the College Music Society, Suzuki Association of the Americas, Minnesota Music Teachers Association, Minnesota Music Educators Association, National Careers Conference 2005, Minnesota Career Development Association, and National Flute Association.