Civic Music Educator Awards, Continued Mrs. Nordstrom served several years as treasurer for the Michigan Music Educators Association and was awarded the Hilda E. Humphrey Award for service to the profession early in her career. After moving to Wisconsin, Mrs. Nordstrom served two terms as Early Childhood Music Chair on the WSMA Council, writing articles for the Wisconsin School Musician Magazine on early childhood education topics. She has presented a variety of sessions on music education at many music conferences, including the Wisconsin Music Conference in Madison. Mrs. Nordstrom has enjoyed playing clarinet and auxiliary clarinets for Knightwind Ensemble and the Kettle Moraine Symphony, as well as doubling on woodwinds for community musical theater groups. She still gigs occasionally and continues to sing and play instruments at her church. Mrs. Nordstrom and her husband, Tyler, are proud choir and theater parents for both daughters, band parents for daughter Robin, and soonto-be proud orchestra parents for their daughter, Annalise.
stuDio music instruction
MITCHELL SHINER Independent Percussion Instructor
Chair, Jazz & Contemporary Music, Percussion Faculty, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music Mitchell Shiner is a vibraphonist, drummer, and composer based in Milwaukee. He graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies, where he studied under Professors Steve Houghton, Michael Spiro, Wayne Wallace, Brent Wallarab, and Dr. David Baker. Mr. Shiner serves as the chair of Jazz & Contemporary Music at The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. At WCM, he teaches percussion lessons to students of all ages and facilitates jazz combos and ensembles for middle and high school students and lifelong learners. Through the WCM Connections program, he teaches a World Percussion curriculum to high-need students in the Milwaukee area. The administrative and artistic team at WCM is creating programming that reflects the contemporary music scene—empowering our students to explore a diverse world of music. Mr. Shiner is a bandleader and composer. “Mitchell Shiner Latin Vibes” has been featured by the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Jewish Community Center for events like Latkes Con Salsa and Carnaval De Purim. “Precarious Towers” is a Midwest all-star group of players and educators performing inspired compositions in the spirit of joy and collaboration. “Match Stick” is a tour de force fusion band, playing exclusively genre-bending original material for an electric quartet. While away from noise-making activities, Mr. Shiner enjoys cooking Korean-style food, crafting wind chimes out of teapots and silverware, and taking short walks with his very fluffy Pomeranian named Lucky. Mitchell Shiner’s recordings, performances, and educational endeavors are available at www.shineymusic.com.
Youth music instruction
KARL MUELLER
State Co-Coordinator, Wisconsin Ambassadors of Music Karl Mueller is the co-state coordinator and tuba coach for the Wisconsin Ambassadors of Music. The Ambassadors have provided Wisconsin high school band and choir students the opportunity to represent Wisconsin through performing in England, France, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany since 1994. Mr. Mueller is also the director of bands at Mary D. Bradford High School in Kenosha. He has spent the last 27 years working in the nationally recognized music department of the Kenosha Unified School District, where he currently teaches a beginning band, concert band, a wind ensemble, two jazz ensembles, and a pep/marching band. Throughout his tenure, his bands
have consistently earned high honors at regional and national competitions in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, New York, Louisiana, Washington D.C., Colorado, Florida, Ontario, and Quebec. Mr. Mueller directs the school district’s high school summer marching band, the Band of the Black Watch, earning top awards for parade marching as well as concert performances around the country and Canada. He was honored to serve as the guest band director for the Almaty International Music Festival in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2015, and has enjoyed directing the Brookfield Civic Band since 1997. Mr. Mueller enjoys playing the tuba with the Menomonee Falls Symphony Orchestra and the Alte Kameraden German Band and is a founding member of the Wisconsin Chamber Brass. He also plays euphonium for the Sudler Silver Scroll Award-Winning Knightwind Ensemble. For many years, Mr. Mueller was a member and low brass teacher for the Pioneer Drum and Bugle Corps in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While with the corps, the group won three World Champion titles, in two divisions. He won the Drum Corps Midwest contrabass solo competition in 1991, 1992, and 1994, as well as the Drum Corps Associates contrabass solo competition in 1994.
WELCOME WISCONSIN EDUCATORS March 9, 2024
Mr. Mueller earned his Bachelor’s of Music Education degree from the University of WisconsinWhitewater in 1996, and his Masters of Music Education degree from the University of WisconsinMilwaukee in 2013. He has been selected for “Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities” as a graduate student, and “Who’s Who Among American Teachers” multiple times. Mr. Mueller is a member of the National Association for Music Education, Wisconsin Music Education Association, American School Band Director’s Association, Phi Beta Mu Honors Band Fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Professional Music Fraternity, and is a Conn-Selmer VIP. Mr. Mueller and his wife, Robin, reside in Brookfield with their twin daughters, Alexandra and Alaina, who are also musicians. Mr. Mueller enjoys supporting his daughters in their love of music, art, and sports. He also enjoys bicycling and restoring his 1975 Triumph Spitfire. MSO Education programming is supported in part by grants from the United Performing Arts Fund, and the Wisconsin Arts Board, with Funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Milwaukee Arts Board, and Milwaukee County CAMPAC.
CELEBRATING EDUCATION The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Arts in Community Education (ACE) program changes the way teachers teach and students learn. Nationally recognized as one of the largest and most comprehensive education programs among American orchestras, ACE challenges students to connect subjects through an innovative curriculum that uses the arts and music as a common thread. ACE serves 5,800 students in 22 public, private, charter, and virtual schools in greater Milwaukee and beyond. You can learn more about ACE by visiting mso.org/ace or contacting Director of Education, Rebecca Whitney, at 414-226-7885.
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra welcomes you to the annual “Salute to Educators Night.” We acknowledge Wisconsin educators and thank them for their commitment to creating environments in which youth can flourish and succeed. Tonight’s performance is dedicated to Wisconsin educators in recognition of their vital efforts to enrich the future of our community and nation. For their distinguished contributions to music education, the MSO congratulates the recipients of the 2024 CIVIC MUSIC Educator Awards. The Milwaukee Symphony applauds you for a job well done!