Northern Illinois University (NIU) Instructor of Percussion and Director of Percussion Studies at the College of DuPage (IL) Ben Wahlund stops by to talk about his teaching at both universities, the role of instructor/lecturer vs. professor, and PAS experiences (03:15), his compositional career and the Mile Marker Zero project (29:30), growing up all over the world with a military band director father, his early musical experiences, and settling in North Dakota (46:40), his undergrad degree at the University of Mary (ND), teaching middle school in Iowa, getting to the Chicago area and doing his master’s at NIU (01:03:50), and finishing with the Random Ass Questions (potty mouth!), including discussions of accessibility, Chicago sports, great books, and important travel experiences (01:18:45).

Finishing with a Re-Rave on the 2018 documentary film King in the Wilderness (01:49:00).

California Wildfire Contribution Links:

American Red Cross

World Central Kitchen

Los Angeles Regional Food Bank

Pasadena Humane Society

California Fire Foundation

Ben Wahlund links:

Ben Wahlund’s NIU page

Ben Wahlund’s homepage

Ben Wahlund’s College of DuPage webpage

Previous Podcasts Guests Mentioned: