Shannon Wettsein, President Shannon Wettstein, pianist, has premiered countless new works throughout the United States and internationally, including performances in New York's Lincoln Center, Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, New Zealand Embassy in Washington D.C. and Japan America Theater in Los Angeles. Awards include the 2003 and 2008 American Composers Forum Commissioning Grant, Merle Montgomery Grant given by Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation and grants from the Minnesota Arts Council. Her solo CD is on the Centaur label; other recordings are available on Tzadik, Innova, and Mode. She holds a doctorate of music arts from the University of California, San Diego, bachelor’s of music (highest distinction) from the University of Kansas and a Master of Music degree (honors) from New England Conservatory. She is on the music faculty of Augsburg College.
Wettstein’s myriad favorite Zeitgeist experiences include the group’s tour of the Czech Republic, the amazing overflow crowd at the 30th anniversary celebration, playing at New York City’s The Stone, and laughing and being moved to tears during every performance with Kevin Kling. “It is an opportunity to come together with bright, creative people to guide the future of Zeitgeist.”
Philip Blackburn, Vice President Philip Blackburn was born in Cambridge, England, and studied music there as a Choral Scholar at Clare College. He earned his Ph.D. in Composition from the University of Iowa where he studied with Kenneth Gaburo and began work on publishing the Harry Partch archives. Blackburn's book, Enclosure Three: Harry Partch, won an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award. He has worked at the American Composers Forum since 1991, running the innova Recordings label and developing re-granting programs and opportunities for composers.
He is also a composer/environmental sound artist and has served as teaching artist for school residencies connected with the Flint Hills International Children’s Festival, creating multimedia performances using home-made instruments.
Blackburn has published articles on topics such as Vietnamese, Garifuna, and Cuban music, the social dynamics of ensemble performance, and the use of sound in public art. He received a 2003 Bush Artist Fellowship and built an art-house in Belize.
His favorite Zeitgeist moment: “Pushing furniture around the new space, channeling La Monte Young.”
Zac Crockett, Secretary The chief technical officer for Residential Science Resources and owner of Hypergolic Motion, Zac Crockett is also a freelance software developer and former Instructional Technology fellow at the University of Minnesota. He earned his doctorate in Music Composition from the University of Minnesota, his master’s in Music Composition from Johns Hopkins University and his bachelor’s degree in Music Composition from Vanderbilt University.
He regularly performs with the Twin Cities-based RenegadeEnsemble and has received numerous arts awards and grants. Crockett enjoys bringing his technical expertise and “next-generation perspective” to the Zeitgeist Board of Directors.
Heather Barringer Percussionist and artistic co-director Heather Barringer joined Zeitgeist in 1990. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a bachelor’s of Music Education and also studied at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory, studying with Allen Otte. In addition to performing and recording with Zeitgeist, she is a member of Mary Ellen Child's ensemble, Crash, and has worked with many Twin Cities organizations, including Nautilus Music Theater, The Dale Warland Singers, Theatre de la Jeune Lune and Ten Thousand Things Theater.
Barringer’s favorite Zeitgeist experiences include the group’s 30th anniversary concert: “For our anniversary, we commissioned 30 composers from our community to write short works for us. Taken individually, each of these miniatures succinctly reveals the musical personality of the composer. As a collection, these works are a snapshot of our Twin Cities musical community. Rehearsing these pieces was like spending time each day with 30 close friends and presenting them to a packed house of enthusiastic new music lovers was a celebratory event indeed.
“Being involved with Zeitgeist gives me the opportunity to be on the very frontier of the musical world and to guide and grow an organization that serves the new music community in the Twin Cities,” she added.
Craig Sinard An entrepreneur, Craig Sinard launched Sinard Marketing, a production company in 1991, which now focuses on marketing, training and promotions for large and small businesses, including Ecolab, Pitney Bowes, Arista Labs and Creative Water Solutions. In addition, he also operates VR-MAX, providing experiential marketing or Omnitheater style productions for trade shows and events.
With a degree in Journalism from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, a master’s in Journalism from Iowa State University as well as continuing education in acting and directing from the American Film Institute, Sinard serves on myriad nonprofit boards and has enjoyed Zeitgeist shows from Peter Otto’s premier with Zeitgeist at the Walker Art Center in the 1980s through the 2011 Hammers, Horns, Skins ‘n’ Squeezeboxes show with Guy Klucevsek.
Carrie Henneman Shaw Carrie Henneman Shaw, winner of the 2010-2011 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Performing Musicians administered by MacPhail Center for Music, has made her mark as an artist who brings a sense of adventure and style to the concert stage. Acclaimed as a “major musical force” (St. Paul Pioneer Press), Shaw collaborates with ensembles across the country, such as The Newberry Consort, LIBER, dal Niente New Music, Ensemble 61 and the Bach Society of Minnesota. Shaw avidly explores 17th-century and contemporary virtuoso works. She is co-artistic director of Minnesota-based Glorious Revolution Baroque. As a new-music interpreter, Shaw has given numerous world and U.S. premieres, most recently the U.S. premiere of acclaimed French composer Phillippe Hurel’s 'Cantus.' She holds degrees from Lawrence University and the University of Minnesota and has served as an instructor at the national Lute Society of America conference in Cleveland.
Brett Wartchow A teaching assistant at the University of Minnesota and audio engineer for Crazy Daisy Productions, Brett Wartchow’s background includes serving as studio manager for Future Music Oregon Studios and audio streaming technician at the University of Oregon, among other positions. He is a doctoral candidate in Composition at the University of Minnesota and has earned a master’s of Music in Intermedia Music Technologies and Composition from the University of Oregon and a bachelor’s in Music from St. Cloud State University. In addition to Zeitgeist, Wartchow volunteers for New Music Scrapbook, the Spark Festival and the Society of Electronic Music in the United States.
“In 2009 I had the privilege of composing a piece for Zeitgeist. Never has any group brought so much sensitivity and personal attention to my music! I’ve enjoyed being an active concertgoer ever since,” he said. “I feel that Zeitgeist’s legacy has been to cultivate a culture of and musical curiosity and enthusiasm among an increasingly diverse community. Inclusion on this board offers me a special opportunity to contribute to the promotion of new music by engaging with listeners, musicians and regional institutions at the grassroots.“
Jeffrey Gram Jeffrey Gram is a founding attorney at the law firm Greenhouse & Gram LLC, focusing his practice on business law, environmental law and litigation. An active supporter of the arts, Gram serves as pro bono counsel to members of the Twin Cities’ arts community through the attorney referral program at Springboard for the Arts. Prior to his legal career, he earned percussion performance degrees at Northwestern University and the University of Akron and taught percussion and directed percussion ensembles at the University of Pittsburgh and Muskingum College (Ohio). Acclaimed as “percussionist/composer extraordinaire” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Gram has performed at the International Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and with several new music ensembles, including Music on the Edge (Pittsburgh, PA), New Music Group Deadelus (Akron, Ohio), percussion group Trio Algetic, and most recently, Twin Cities-based ensembles Zeitgeist and Ensemble 61. He has given world premiere performances of works by composers Roger Zahab and Stuart Saunders Smith, among others. His performance of Thomas DeLio’s work, As Though, Again, can be heard on Neuma Records.