Jeffrey Agrell

Emeritus Associate Professor of Horn  Jeffrey Agrell joined The University of Iowa School of Music faculty after many years as Associate Principal Horn with the Lucerne (Switzerland) Symphony Orchestra. He has won awards as both a composer and a writer, with nearly a hundred published articles to his credit and many compositions published, recorded, and performed worldwide on TV & radio, concert stages, festivals and competitions. He frequently gives concerts, lectures, and workshops nationally and internationally. He co-hosts an improvisation workshop for horn players with New York jazz hornist John Clark and is on the Advisory Council of the International Horn Society. He has recorded three CDs of contemporary improvisations: Repercussions (horn and piano; Wildwind Records) with pianist Evan Mazunik; Side Show Tim, a Soundpainting recording by Cerberus (horn, trumpet, tuba; Dane Records), and Mosaic, improvised interpretations of early music by Duende (horn, cello, piano; MSR Classics). His current projects include an improviser's handbook. an anthology of his articles on the horn (Thompson Editions), and a horn technique method.

Workshops

Creative Music in the Elementary Classroom - Music Education

Every child is creative when they enter elementary school. The challenge for educators is to find a way to keep them this way by the time they leave it. Music is a powerful and easy way to accomplish just that. This session will outline ways to give children experiences in creative music through musical games, rhythm, movement, and storytelling.

Improvisation in Large Ensembles - Music Education

The Good News: Creating one’s own music is loaded with all kinds of musical vitamins and minerals and is just plain fun, and fun is motivation, motivation means people gladly work harder and longer and the final result is success and good attitudes all around. The Bad News: Creative music is a challenge to integrate into large ensembles like band, choir, and orchestra. How do you get so many people at once involved? This session will explore ways to make creative music a part of every student's experience in a large ensemble.

Creative Music - Hands On! - Music Education

Theory is of limited use when not combined with practice. The best way to understand nearly anything is to jump in and do it, not just talk about it. This session will give everyone a chance to try out some improvisation games, experience Soundpainting (a gestural system of improvisation), and generally enjoy group improv in a hands-on, no theory allowed creative music workshop experience. No instruments needed, but you may bring small objects that make noise when struck, shaken, stirred, or otherwise set in vibration.