Saint Mary's Newsroom

A record number of folks made October’s Jazz Jam at Island City Brewing Company the place to be. Isn’t it time for you to join the H3O Jazz Trio on Sunday, Nov. 18, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Island City Brewing Company’s for this month’s Jazz Jam!?

Think of the Jazz Jam as open mic night … for jazz! Whether you play an instrument or sing, the Jazz Jam is your chance to sit in with a professional rhythm section. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to perform some of their favorite jazz standards.

Interested jammers can choose from a wide selection of jazz tunes, bring their own, or ask the trio if they can play your favorite. Simply sign up on the clipboard and get ready to jam.

Island City Jazz Jams happen on the third Sunday of each month from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the tap room.

At the final Jazz Jam of 2018 on Sunday, Dec. 16, three groups from Jazz at Saint Mary’s will join the jam as they celebrate the end of a great semester with their Jazz Final.

Island City Jazz Jam is free and open to everyone — young and not so young. And if you’re not quite ready to sit in, come and enjoy a great evening of jazz.

For more information, please contact Ashley Haig, Island City Events Coordinator at 507-961-9743 or events@islandcitybrew.com.

About the H3O Jazz Trio

The father and son trio H3O began performing great jazz tunes together when bassist Max Heukeshoven was only 14 years old. Along with older brother Hans on drums and vibes and dad Eric on the piano, the group was asked to play for a private pool party and haven’t stopped since!

A. Eric Heukeshoven is an assistant professor of Music and third director of Jazz Studies at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Hans Heukeshoven is a 2015 graduate of Saint Mary’s with degrees in music performance and computer science and works as a software engineer. Max Heukeshoven is completing a degree in music industry at Saint Mary’s and plans to attend law school in 2019.

H3O performs a wide variety of jazz styles including original music. They have worked as the rhythm section for numerous area professionals including Minnesota Music Hall of Fame’s Les Fields and Dr. John Paulson. Recent appearances include Midwest Music Fest, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Free Family Concert Series, and more. The trio hosts a monthly Jazz Jam at Island City Brewing Company in Winona on the third Sunday of every month from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

More information about the H3O Jazz trio can be found at H3OJazz.com.

Photo caption: Debbie Blissenbach and Julia Kirk sing about their “Favorite Things” at the October Jazz Jam.

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Public Relations/Business Club students enjoyed a tour and “meet the managers” session at Fastenal headquarters in Winona on Nov. 7. Students met with eight senior and middle managers to learn more about the Fastenal business operations and to explore internship and co-op education opportunities. Students engaged in networking with the Fastenal professionals and took a tour of the distribution hub.

Students included Courtney Moser, Mary Loy, Isabella (Bella) Nuck, Lyanna Novak, Carolyn (Carol) Chrastka, Hannah Crowe, Jerry Goodwin, Casey Hanson, Morgan Prokosch, and Jack Knoblauch. Business faculty coordinators were Professors Matthew Klosky and Shelly McCallum-Ferguson. The event was part of the PR/Business Club activities.

Photo caption: From left, Jerry Goodwin, Lyanna Novak, Matthew Klosky (faculty), Bella Nuck, Morgan Prokosch, Carol Chrastka, Hannah Crowe, Courtney Moser, Craig Davis (Fastenal), Mary Loy, Jack Knoblauch, and Casey Hanson.

Students majoring in biology, environmental biology, and psychology presented their undergraduate research at the Seven Rivers Undergraduate Research Symposium, sponsored by Viterbo University on Nov. 9.

Ben Borash, Cole Van Houten, Erin Hettinger, Abbigail Propsom, and Austin Kleman gave oral presentations on the results of their summer internship experiences or their senior research projects. Joshua Balsiger, Michele Remer, and Mark Leonard presented posters of their work resulting from summer internships and an independent study. Kleman won an award for best oral presentation in the social sciences. Balsiger and Remer won a “People’s Choice” best poster award.

Photo caption: Environmental biology majors Cole Van Houten and Erin Hettinger present their summer research on invasive wild parsnip at Saint Mary’s Cascade Meadow facility in Rochester.

On Nov. 9, Saint Mary’s University dedicated its new recording space, Studio ‘S’ — named for Bob Scurio ’57, a longtime benefactor and supporter of Saint Mary’s Music Department.

The studio, located in the lower level of Saint Yon’s Hall, engages students through an active learning environment, filled with state-of-the art digital tools for audio production and sound creation.

Throughout his life, Scurio supported his alma mater, and in his death, he made sure his love of music would live on in future student musicians.

Scurio’s memories of touring and making big band music with the Marinotes — back in the 1950s — were some of the happiest memories of his life. Scurio founded the group, which played big band music, and he often reflected back to the days when he and other Saint Mary’s musicians would pack their music gear into a modified hearse and hit the road, having fun and making memories with every mile.

Once a former movie theatre and a projector room (and most recently a storage area), the space has been completely transformed to a performance area and recording studio, complete with three (soon four) work stations. Scurio’s legacy — and his lifelong love of music — will live on in the students who are eagerly using this new facility.

See more photos from the dedication.

Photo caption: Bob Scurio’s son, Paul, center, met his father’s classmates and friends, Dan Drury ’58, left, and Elmer Pierre ’58, right, at the dedication of Studio ‘S’.

Saint Mary’s Music Industry program was featured in the 11th annual STEAM Summit in Rochester on Nov. 13. The STEAM Summit encourages middle and high school students to pursue science, technology, engineering, art, and math careers by connecting them to business and higher educational institutions which offer STEAM courses in a highly interactive, hands-on format.

Saint Mary’s had a booth showcasing our Music Industry program. The booth featured an interactive activity called “In the Loop” — an electronic music composition built out of audio samples collected throughout the day. Musical talent is not required to participate, although the project was originally designed for music education conferences and music department recruitment. The project highlights some of the technology taught in the Music Industry program, including Ableton Live and the digital audio. Examples of the project can be found on the Saint Mary’s Music Department SoundCloud page.

Read the KTTC story, which features a photo of the “In the Loop” technology.

Photo caption: A. Eric Heukeshoven, assistant professor of Music, interacts with participants using the “In the Loop” technology at the Music Industry program booth during an event this past spring. 

On Nov. 13, students in Professor Jackson’s Accounting Information Systems class traveled to Fastenal headquarters to present their process documentation projects to Fastenal’s accounting management at corporate headquarters. The month-long project had the students working directly with management and accounting personnel at Fastenal to understand, document, dissect and flowchart three disparate processes in key areas of the Fastenal business. Students completed the project by presenting their findings to Fastenal accounting management and additional staff.

Photo caption: Taliya Harris presents at Fastenal headquarters.