Keith Sweger, Professor of Bassoon, came to the Ball State University School of Music in the fall of 1993. His responsibilities include teaching applied and class bassoon and performing with the Musical Arts Quintet, faculty ensemble in residence at Ball State University. Previously, Dr. Sweger taught on the faculty of Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Dr. Sweger has performed with the American Wind Symphony, Anderson Symphony, Madison Symphony, Marion Philharmonic, Oshkosh Symphony, South Bend Symphony, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Penn’s Woods Festival and Green Lake Festival Orchestras. He was co-founder of the Algoma Wind Quintet, the resident faculty quintet at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and from 1988 through 1995, was a member of the Oakwood Chamber Players of Madison, WI. Dr. Sweger is currently principal bassoon with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra, contrabassoon with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and performs regularly with the Indianapolis Symphony and Indianapolis Chamber Orchestras.
His recording credits include Songs of Madness and Sorrow (Arsis CD127), On the Beach At Night (Capstone CPS-8672), Expressions in Units (NR 246-CD), Christmas Lights (E-2054) and August Was Foggy (Alicia) and upcoming releases on the Capstone and New World labels. In addition, he has recorded such diverse projects as Disney on Ice, national tours of Broadway shows and cartoon scores. Active in period performance, Dr. Sweger performs on a Levin reproduction of an Eichentopf 6-keyed Baroque bassoon (c.1740) and a DeKonigh reproduction of a Grenser 9-keyed Classical bassoon (c.1800).
Dr. Sweger has been a recitalist at conferences of the International Double Reed Society (IDRS), Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI, Inc.), College Music Society (CMS), National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors (NACWPI), Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and Music Educators National Conference (MENC) and at numerous colleges and universities around the country and abroad. In these recitals, he has performed many of his own arrangements and transcriptions of works by J.C. Bach, Schumann, Bartok, Barber and others. Dr. Sweger has also premiered works by composers such as James Chaudoir, Jody Nagel, Ernesto Pellegrini, Daron Hagen, Keith Kothman and Greg Steinke.
Active in the International Double Reed Society, Dr. Sweger hosted the 35th annual conference of the society on the Ball State campus in July of 2006. The five-day conference brought 1200 musicians from around the world together for performances, lectures and master classes and featured many of the greatest current double performers and teachers. In addition, Dr. Sweger serves on the Executive Committee of the IDRS, holding the position of Secretary, and is the Coordinator of the 2008 Gillet-Fox International Bassoon Competition.
Students of Dr. Sweger have received many honors, winning both undergraduate and graduate concerto contests at Ball State University and competitions such as the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and the Kokomo Symphony Young Artist competitions. Also, his students are playing in orchestras and teaching in universities, colleges and public schools around the country. Most recently, a former student won the Assistant Principal Bassoon position with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and a current student won the Principal Bassoon position with the Michigan Opera Theater. His undergraduate students have been accepted into graduate programs at Rice, Juilliard, New England Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music, Peabody, McGill, Michigan, San Francisco Conservatory and others and his students have been selected to attend the Tanglewood, Aspen, Sarasota, Kent Blossom, Texas, Brevard, Opera in the Ozarks, Manchester, Bowdoin, Penn’s Woods and Domaine Forget Music Festivals. Dr. Sweger was named the recipient of the 2007 College of Fine Arts Dean’s Teaching Award.
Each July, Dr. Sweger hosts the Ball State High School Bassoon Camp, drawing over 70 students from across the country and abroad for seven days of bassoon study. Guest clinicians for the camp have included Leonard Hindell, Stephen Paulson, Paul Nordby and Michael Trentacosti.
Dr. Sweger earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in bassoon performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1990. In addition, he holds degrees from Bowling Green State University and Lebanon Valley College, where he graduated summa cum laude. His principal studies have been with Richard Lottridge, formerly with the Chicago and New Orleans Symphony Orchestras, and Robert J. Moore, formerly with the National Symphony Orchestra.
Related Links
Personal Web site
International Double Reed Society