Join us for a wonderful evening of music under guest conductor William Klouse and featuring celebrated saxophone soloist Erik Steighner!
Praised by the Tacoma News Tribune for his “effortless lyricism” as well as his “smooth tone and fluid virtuosity,” saxophonist Erik Steighner has performed with ensembles including the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the Federal Way Symphony, the Northwest Sinfonietta, the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, the San Antonio Symphony, and Symphony Tacoma. Steighner teaches at Pacific Lutheran University, the University of Puget Sound, and Tacoma Community College, where his course load has included Saxophone, Chamber Music, Music Theory, Ear Training, Music Appreciation, and Digital Music. He is also on faculty at the University of Puget Sound Community Music Department and is the founder and conductor of the South Sound Saxophone Ensemble.
Steighner has premiered dozens of solo and chamber works and appears on CD releases from labels including Albany Records, Alea Publishing, Mark Custom, Naxos, Reference Recordings, and Vienna Modern Masters. Steighner holds bachelor’s degrees in music and English from the University of Puget Sound and master’s and doctoral degrees in saxophone performance from The University of Texas at Austin. While living in Austin, he served on the faculty at Texas State University. – https://eriksteighner.com/biography/
William “Bill” Klouse is a well-known conductor, retired music educator, and band clinician who taught Music at all grade levels in Washington State for over 45 years. Bill was a former band director at Prescott School District and Walla High School, Band Director and Music Department Chair at Bellarmine Preparatory High School (Tacoma), Meeker Middle School (Tacoma SD) and Liberty Middle School in the Bethel School District – his bands consistently achieved high levels of musicianship.
In 1990 while at Bellarmine Preparatory School Bill was asked to be the housing chair of the WMEA All State in Tacoma. Realizing that students were no longer safe in home stays he developed the first hotel stay for the conference, he devloped a new system of booking hotels, finding chaperones, assigning rooms, booking school district buses, and arranging catering services for student meals.
Bill also served as Conference Band manager three times, had the privilege of being selected as Junior All State Band conductor in 2018, andl was President of the WIAA West Central District III Music Committee. He over saw all Solo and Ensemble competitions and Large Group Band, Choir and Orchestra competitions for the WCDIII for ten years.
He is the recipient of the 2002 and the 2006 Commencement Bay Outstanding Music Educator award and was named the Washington State WMEA/WIAA Music Educator of the Year 2007. Bill was elected to the Washington State Music Educators Hall of Fame and in 2009 and received the National Federation of High Schools Regional Music Educator of the Year award for Northwest region including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska in the same year.
Bill has played Tuba for the Tacoma Concert Band for 30 years and has served two terms on the Board. He had the privilege of guest conducting TCB for the winter concert in 2016. Bill also is the TCB summer concert series producer.
In retirement he was named conductor of the South Puget Sound New Horizon’s Band in Olympia Washington. Under his baton the band has grown to 70 members.
Bill is Past President of the Mountain Region Music Educators Association, and he also is the founder and former director of the Connections Program through WMEA. The Connections program helps new and young music educators in their formative years. See his articles in the WMEA publication The Voice.