UWEC
Clarinet
Day
April 6, 2019
Special Thanks to our Sponsors:
Dr. Mike Gruetzner
Clarinetist Mike Gruetzner strives to bring excitement and energy to the concert stage as well as the classroom. He is particularly passionate about contemporary music and has shared this passion internationally through solo performances of modern repertoire. Beyond his performing career, Gruetzner has maintained an active teaching schedule where he has taught clarinetists of all ages ranging from beginning junior high students to graduate music majors. He received his Doctorate of Musical Arts from The University of Southern Mississippi, where he studied under the direction of Dr. Jacqueline McIlwain, and received both his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from the University of New Mexico, where he studied under Professor Keith Lemmons.
Dr. Gruetzner has performed with a variety of professional orchestras, including the New Mexico Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, and the Meridian Symphony. His orchestral experience is not limited to the traditional concert stage, however. He has performed live with 9-time CMA Musician of the Year Mac McAnally, and recorded clarinet on McAnally’s 2017 album entitled Southbound: The Orchestra Project. Gruetzner has excelled as a soloist as well. He was invited to give two solo recitals as part of the Arte Joven(Young Art) Music Festival in Mexico, and also won first place in the University of Southern Mississippi Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition, winning the opportunity to perform Scott McAllister's rock-inspired 2001 work Black Dog: Rhapsody for Clarinet with the USM Wind Ensemble.
Beyond the realm of performance, Gruetzner holds a passion for teaching music. He currently is Visiting Instructor of Clarinet at the University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire. Over the past ten years, Mike has also taught at a number of junior high and high schools in New Mexico and Mississippi, where he had various duties including teaching private lessons, running woodwind sectionals, leading full ensemble rehearsals, and assisting with marching bands. Along with his work in local schools, he maintains a clarinet studio, teaching private lessons to students of all skill levels.
Dr. Jackie McIlwain
A Chicago native, Dr. Jackie McIlwain, is Assistant Professor of Clarinet at The University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. McIlwain's diverse performance experience includes numerous recitals in a variety of styles from the standard repertoire of Debussy, Brahms, and Mozart to Scott McAllister's X Concerto and world premieres of Alan Thiesen, Charles Ingram, Daniel Whaley, and Kristy Adams. Along with these solo performances, Dr. McIlwain has played with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra , Meridian Symphony Orchestra (MS), Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra (FL) and Murfreesboro Philharmonic Orchestra (TN), among others. Since 2000, she has been fortunate enough to travel and perform in over half a dozen countries in Europe and the Far East serving the role of principal clarinetist.
One of Dr. McIlwain's goals as a music educator is to share information about the body to other musicians in order to prevent injury and promote musicianship and facility. Dr. McIlwain is an Andover Educator, which grants her a licensure in Body Mapping and the six-hour course “What Every Musician Needs to Know about the Body.” Other research regarding musicians’ injuries can be seen in her doctoral treatise, “Common Injuries Among College Clarinetists: Definitions, Causes, Prevention, and Treatment Methods.” As part of her research for this project, Dr. McIlwain surveyed over 600 college clarinetists nationwide, gathering information on common injuries and ailments of “today's clarinetist.”
Dr. McIlwain's major teachers include Dr. Todd Waldecker, Professor Howard Klug and Dr. Frank Kowalsky, and has earned degrees from Middle Tennessee State University (B.M.), Indiana University (M.M.) and The Florida State University (D.M.) She has previously taught at Southeastern Louisiana University and The Florida State University.
Dr. McIlwain is a Vandoren Regional Artist and Backun Musical Services Artist.