Orchestra Faculty
Jane Capistran
Orchestra Strings
Guest Artist
Jane Capistran is in her third year as Conductor of the Concordia College Chamber Orchestra. In addition Mrs. Capistran teaches violin and viola, and supervises the String Music Education student teachers. A native of Moorhead, MN, Mrs. Capistran studied violin in junior high and high school with Isabelle Thompson and Robert Strava at Concordia College. She received her BS in Music Education from Bemidji State University, and her Master of Arts in Violin Performance from the University of Iowa. Previously conductor of orchestras at Fargo South High, Mrs. Capistran currently conducts the F-M Area High School Youth Symphony and is the founding conductor of the First Lutheran Church Chamber Orchestra in Fargo. She continues to serve as a guest conductor and clinician for string festivals and workshops in the upper Midwest. Mrs. Capistran is the Assistant Concertmaster of the F-M Symphony and first violinist in the Dakota Rose String Quartet.
Dan Italiano
Orchestra Conductor
While this is Dan’s 15th year as TPAS Mainstage Musical Orchestra Conductor, it is the 39th production he has conducted. During the school year, he teaches orchestra at Fargo North High School, a program recognized as one of the finest in the Midwest. Dan’s major instrument is violin, which he plays in the FM Symphony and the FM Silver Strings; he is also a percussionist. Dan has performed with many Midwest groups, including the Waukesha Symphony, Grand Forks Symphony, Milwaukee Civic Orchestra, and the FM Civic Opera Company. Dan has continued his education in conducting studies with such musicians as Hugo Jan Huss, former conductor of the Rumanian Radio Orchestra, and the late John Paynter of Northwestern University. He is a past president of the ND Music Educators Association and the ND Chapter of the American String Teachers Association. In 1996 Dan was named NDMEA Music Educator of the Year.
Dr. Kyle Mack
Orchestra Brass
Guest Artist
Dr. Kyle Mack has been a member of the NDSU faculty since 1993. He teaches Applied Low Brass, Music Education Classes, and Basic Conducting. He directs the Jazz Program and the Varsity Band and assists with the Gold Star Marching Band and Concert Band. He also serves as the Music Director for the F-M Jazz Arts Group Big Band. Dr. Mack’s trombone playing can be heard on the F-M Jazz Arts Group Big Band’s CD, And That’s That.
Before coming to NDSU, Dr. Mack directed elementary through high school band programs in ND and Maryland and taught at Simpson College in Iowa. While at Ball State he served as Assistant Director of Bands and Assistant Director of Jazz Studies. Immediately preceding his NDSU appointment, he was the Director of Bands at Valley City State University.
Dr. Mack has been an active clinician, adjudicator,and guest conductor in North Dakota, Minnesota, Indiana, and Iowa, and he performs regularly as a trombonist.
Dr. Leigh Wakefield
Orchestra Woodwinds
Guest Artist
Dr. Leigh Wakefield, originally from Minneapolis, received his undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Music from the University of Minnesota. He has since earned an MA in Clarinet from the New England Conservatory of Music and has completed the DMA at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Wakefield has performed as principal clarinetist in the New Bedford Symphony and the Nashua Symphony, as well as being an active chamber musician in the Boston area. Currently, he is principal clarinetist with the F-M Symphony Orchestra, the F-M Opera Company, and a member of the F-M Symphony Wind Quintet, Concordia Wind Trio and the Concordia Wind Quintet. Dr. Wakefield has performed at the International Clarinet Fest, the International Double Reed Society Convention, and the Minnesota Music Educators Convention. Dr. Wakefield is an Associate Professor of Music (clarinet, chamber music, and woodwind methods) at Concordia College. During his 18 years there he has also been the Conductor of the Concordia College Cobber Band and the Jazz Ensemble.