Coffee concert story

Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to attend the Frances Cohler Coffee Concert. Needless to say, it was a fantastic experience. Aside from the great performance, I felt a sense of calm in contrast to the business of campus life. As a matter of fact, it helped me focus on my work even after the concert ended. The thing I didn’t know, however, is that that feeling was not an accident. It was intentionally, purposely set up by the founders of the concert series so that average students like myself would find themselves sitting in Abbott Concert Hall on a Friday feeling that sense of relaxation. After interviewing with now retired director of the UWRF Symphony Band and founder of the Frances Cohler Coffee Concert Series, Dr. Kristin Tjornehoj, I came to discover the passion behind the concert series and the impact it can have on campus as a whole.

The Frances Cohler Coffee Concert Series originally didn’t start as a concert series at all. Rather, it started out as a weekly sectional practice for different parts in the UWRF Symphony Band as a way for students to practice with their sections in an academic environment without having to dedicate time outside of class.

Since Tjornehoj was and still is a believer in the idea that physical interaction with performances in turn makes students better performers by giving them a standard to reach, Dr. Tjornehoj started inviting professional musicians to perform at these sectionals to provide examples on how to perform. This all comes to when piano professor Dr. Ivan Konev was performing alongside the Isles Ensemble in Minneapolis, MN. Wanting to hear their concert, Dr. Tjornehoj invited Dr. Konev and the Isles Ensemble to perform on a Friday after band. And since band ended at noon, every performance after would follow in their footsteps, with the Isles Ensemble themselves being recurring performers for the past 6 to 8 years.

“I brought one the [sectional] groups in, I think there were six to eight people, "said Dr. Tjorrnehoj, “And then I started doing it formally and sharing it with others.”

Starting out, Dr. Tjornehoj was the only one working on the logistics of the Coffee Concert, working on all arrangements to make it as an “enrichment opportunity” for the symphony band, before deciding to open up the performances to the public at around five or six concerts per semester. Some of the more notable performances apart from the professors of the UWRF Music Program include Evern Ozel; an international award winning classical pianist raised in Minnesota who has been playing piano since he was 3 years old. Another is Hans De Jong, who -aside from being one of the best saxophone players in the world- is notable for being part of the start of guest performers playing in UWRF Symphony Band and Orchestra concerts the same week of their Coffee Concert performance as well.

But there was a big hurdle when it came to the Coffee Concert sticking around; the Coffee Concert Series -to this day- does not have a formal budget from the university. Dr. Tjornehoj personally funds the Coffee Concerts alongside the Jerome Family Foundation and financial donations from alumni and the UWRF Foundation.

All of this was done because of Dr. Tjornehoj’s core beliefs on the impact music has on students. Dr. Tjornehoj believes that music is a way for people to come together and make the world better whether you’re playing an instrument or watching a concert. As such, she had spent her time at UWRF as a professor finding ways to provide opportunities for students to experience performing arts. Aside from the Coffee Concert Series, Dr. Tjornehoj also opened the way for student group rates at the Minnesota Orchestra for music students in the university’s bands. But by having the Coffee Concert Series available to students on campus in anaffordable and accessible way, students can easily gain an appreciation for performing arts, as well as freely support them and find a sense of community by gathering with others.

“We live in such a digital age where you can access things online,”Dr. Tjornehoj stated. “But you aren’t creating community unless you’re interacting with people. So it is my view and my mission, if you will, to connect people through music. These concerts are designed to expose anyone to music, and I can guarantee [...] you can grow personally as well as musically.”

The Frances Cohler Coffee Concert Series schedule can be found alongside the entire performance schedule for the UWRF Music Program at https://students.uwrf.edu/music/events.