Music
- Faculty Profile - Bradley Kauffman
Bradley Kauffman
Director of Instrumental Music, Bel Canto Singers Director
620-327-8143
bradleyk@hesston.edu
B.A., music education, Goshen (Ind.) College
M.A., choral conducting, University of Iowa (Iowa City)
How did you choose to study music?
Music has been a constant in my life, having grown up a choral director’s son. The seeds of a life in the music profession were further cultivated by encounters in my teens with Alice Parker, renowned composer. Her gift for connecting with the emotion of a piece compelled me to study music, though mostly for my own satisfaction. As a Goshen College sophomore, I studied conducting. I was immediately hooked. Conducting, I discovered, is like acquiring another sense. It transforms one’s musical awareness and sharpens all sorts of skills.
What are your favorite courses to teach? What do you like about them?
This is like answering the question, “Which do you like better, your arms or your ears?” which is to say that they are all my favorites and I find joy in them for different reasons. At Hesston, I get to teach Introduction to Music Theory. It is full of “a-ha!” moments when students gain the language to talk about what they have known instinctively. I get to teach Conducting, where students learn to focus on the big picture of ensemble participation. I get to conduct two amazing ensembles, Bel Canto Singers and the Hesston College Wind Ensemble. It is here that we cultivate artistry and offer up our praise together.
What about your work gives you joy?
There is a point on the journey from sight-reading to mastery when music ceases to be cerebral and becomes an art form. This synergy transports us somewhere else; to a place impossible to describe, where we experience understanding, renewal, joy, or healing. I get to interact with profound ideas every day.
What advantages will music students find at Hesston that they won’t experience anywhere else?
Early opportunities. First-year students have access to leadership roles immediately. Instead of competing with juniors and seniors, our freshmen and sophomores can earn performance experiences they would otherwise postpone until the final college years. Studying at Hesston will accelerate your musical development.
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