Purdue Philharmonic & Symphony Orchestras Showcase
On Sunday, April 23 at 2:30pm in Elliott Hall of Music, the orchestral section of the Showcase concert weekend will feature both orchestras alongside guest conductor Dan Whisler and guest pianist Keith Teepen.
Dan Whisler is currently Director of Orchestras at the Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, and the Conductor of the New World Youth Philharmonic Orchestra in Indianapolis, Indiana. Prior to moving to Kentucky, he was the Director of Orchestras at Center Grove Community School Corporation in Greenwood, Indiana, Founding and Principal Conductor with Intimate Opera of Indianapolis, and served on the faculty of the String Quartet Program of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado.
Mr. Whisler has conducted over 450 works with over 65 ensembles, including professional orchestras in the USA, England, Spain, Lithuania, Hungary, and Romania. His awards as a conductor include the Downbeat Award in 2011 for Best U.S. College Classical Ensemble (conducting Hallfter’s Tiento del primer tono y batalla imperial), the Bel Canto Award for Excellence in Conducting, and winner of the 2015 American Prize in Conducting.
An active supporter of new music, Mr. Whisler has premiered 30 works, both as a conductor and as a performer, including conducting the world premiere of the Celtic ballet, Diedre of the Sorrows. He is comfortable with opera and musical theatre literature as well, having been on the conducting staff with Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutte, Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, and numerous opera scenes concerts for the University of Northern Colorado Opera Theatre, Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd for Theater Workshop of Owensboro (Kentucky), Holst’s Savitri and Handel’s Giulio Cesare with Intimate Opera of Indianapolis, and Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado and Purcell’s The Fairy Queen with the YPAS music department.
An experienced educator, Mr. Whisler has worked with youth orchestras in Kansas, Colorado, New York, Indiana, and Kentucky (USA). At Center Grove, he increased orchestra student enrollment by over 37 percent and won 17 ISSMA Gold awards in three years. Under his direction, the YPAS Philharmonia was selected to perform in the 2015 Music for All National Orchestra Festival, the 2016 Kentucky Music Educators Association Conference, and the 2017 Chicago Heritage Festival. He graduated summa cum laude with a BME from Wichita State University (Kansas) and earned an MM in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Northern Colorado. His primary conducting teachers include Russell Guyver and Mark Laycock, with additional studies at conducting institutes in Colorado, Oregon, Maryland, and Europe with internationally-renowned mentors, including Jorma Panula, Craig Kirchhoff, Markand Thakar, Colin Metters, and Larry Livingston.
Pianist Keith Teepen has performed in Europe, Asia, South America, and throughout North America. He has collaborated with many of today’s important artists including: famous trumpeter, Tine Thing Helseth, internationally renowned euphonium virtuoso, Adam Frey, tuba virtuoso, Marty Erickson, and internationally renowned trombonist, Scott Hartman. Keith has taught on the piano faculty at Pró-Música Music Festival in Juiz de Fora, Brazil and the International Music Camp at the Peace Garden.
After earning a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from DePauw University School of Music, he received a scholarship to study with Gerald Stofsky in Vienna, Austria. While working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, Keith received his Master of Music degree in piano performance from the University of North Dakota. He has studied under Nariaki Sugiura, May Phang, and Claude Cymerman. Keith has held collaborative piano positions at DePauw University School of Music, Summer Vocal Arts at DePauw, and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Keith stays active as a soloist, chamber musician, and collaborative pianist performing throughout the United States and internationally. Recent and upcoming concerts include performances in Jacksonville, FL, Houston, TX, as well as Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto at Purdue University in Lafayette, IN. In the fall, Keith will be performing a series of joint recitals with pianist, Nariaki Sugiura. Together they will perform solo and duo repertoire in major cities across Asia, including: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Xiamen.
Keith is currently on the faculty of the University of North Dakota as a Piano Instructor/Collaborative Pianist.