Northern Illinois University
School of Music
College of Visual and Performing Arts

Clarinet Cornucopia

Saturday, March 2, 2024, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Join NIU School of Music's Professor of Clarinet Gregory Barrett and clarinet guest artist Christian Stene for a day dedicated to Clarinet players! Throughout the day you will participate in a group warm-up session, masterclasses, Cornucopia Choir rehearsals and concert, and enjoy Christian Stene's recital-research presentaion, and the Ensembles Concert.

Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. in the School of Music Concert Hall Lobby. Warm-up begins at 9 a.m. There is a scheduled lunch break at 12:30 pm. You are welcome to bring your own lunch or visit any of the surrounding restaurants in DeKalb.

There is a $20 event registration fee. A link to payment will be sent in the confirmation email.

The registration deadline is February 29. We will send you PDFs of your music for the Cornucopia Choir.

Please complete all registration form fields that apply. If you are a middle school or high school student, please select "undergraduate student" for type of student and complete the following questions to the best of your ability.

Clarinet Cornucopia Registration

Questions? Contact Austyn Menk at avmenk@niu.edu.

Clarinet Cornucopia Program of Events

Christian Stene is the Associate Professor of clarinet and Ph.D. Artistic Research Fellow at The Grieg Academy – Department of Music at the University of Bergen, Norway. He is also the National Chairperson (Norway) for the International Clarinet Association (ICA) and a Buffet Crampon and Vandoren performing artist. Christian was the principal clarinetist of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra from 2010 to 2022 and the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra from 2007 to 2010.

A native of Bergen, Christian began playing the clarinet at age eleven. After preliminary studies at The Grieg Academy, he continued at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam to study with the former principal clarinetist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, George Pieterson. Christian then entered the Royal Danish Academy of Music where he completed his orchestral diploma studies with Lee Morgan, principal clarinetist of the Royal Danish Orchestra, in one year. He was further accepted into the soloist class at the Royal Danish Academy of Music as well as the concert class at the Musik-Akademie der Stadt Basel with François Benda. Christian made his debut in Copenhagen in 2007 with the highest mark obtainable. In the 2009/10 season, Christian took a sabbatical to study with Yehuda Gilad at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

In 1998 Christian won the Norwegian Soloist Championships which started a long line of solo appearances. He has been a soloist with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra on several occasions, the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra, the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, the University of Oslo Symphony Orchestra, the Agder Chamber Orchestra, the ARCO Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Danish Academy of Music Orchestra, and the Nordic Youth Orchestra. Christian is the recipient of the Betty and Valdemar van Hauens Music Endowment, the Léonie Sonning’s Talent Prize, Aennchen and Eigil Harbys Fund, Ingerid, Synnøve and Elias Fegersten's Foundation, and the Jacob. R. Olsen and Johanne G. Olsen’s Endowment.

In addition to teaching the clarinet class at The Grieg Academy, Christian regularly gives masterclasses in Norway as well as in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Belgium, Singapore, Malaysia, and the U.S.A. He also coaches The Norwegian National Youth Orchestra and other regional youth orchestras.

Christian regularly appears as guest principal clarinet in various Scandinavian, European, and Asian orchestras, notably the Philharmonia Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also an active chamber musician whose interest in historical performance practice includes performing on period instruments.

Christian can be heard on recordings playing solo (LAWO), chamber music (Classico and LAWO), and in orchestra with the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra (Naïve) and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (Chandos, BIS, Hyperion, Ondine, Aurora, and LAWO).

For more information and sound examples please visit: www.christianstene.com