Technical Senior School - Music

Music

Tech High School has a strong music program, with orchestra, band, and choir as the three major components. Many students take two different music classes. The orchestra, led since 2009 by Kara Mather, is broken into three groups, according to ability: Concert Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra. The Chamber Orchestra is a smaller elite team of musicians who have volunteered to practice before school one day a week. It performs at special events in the community, as well as at Tech. Symphony Orchestra is the primary orchestral group at Tech, and the Concert group comprises mostly freshman and sophomore students. A notable previous director of the orchestra program is Steven Eckblad, now retired, who is still a prominent musician in the St. Cloud area, teaching cello and bass while playing bass in the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra. Some Tech students also participate in the St. Cloud Symphony. The band is conducted by Gary Zwack, and the choir by Kevin Kiffmeyer. Starting in the 2012-13 school year, an AP music theory course will be offered, taught by Zwack. The Tech Band and Orchestra have a tradition of going on tour every two years to a major city in the United States. In 2012, the destination was New Orleans, Louisiana, and in 2010 the destination was New York City. The 2014 destination is yet to be determined.