Musician balances teaching, performing, traveling with Keillor

By Communications staff, Washington State University
 
 
Gypsy, jazz and more
at Jan. 27 Faculty Artist Series
 
PULLMAN, Wash. – WSU faculty members Dave Snider and Richard Kriehn will perform a lively mix of swing, jazz and Brazilian choro at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, in Bryan Hall as part of the School of Music Faculty Artist Series.
 
Tickets cost $10 for general admission, $5 for non-WSU students and senior citizens and are free for WSU students with ID. Tickets will be available in the lobby one hour before the concert.
Proceeds will benefit the School of Music scholarship fund.
 
Snider teaches jazz bass, combos and jazz history and performs with the faculty group Jazz Northwest. He has performed with Jon Faddis, Gabe Baltazar and Marvin Stamm. He has won first-place awards as bassist and composer at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow, Idaho.

PULLMAN, Wash. – During high school, Richard Kriehn listened to “A Prairie Home Companion” (PHC) while driving in his car. Twenty years later, he flies out of Lewiston, Idaho to perform for the world-famous public radio program.

Kriehn, an instructor of music at Washington State University, first performed with the live broadcast variety program, hosted by Garrison Keillor, in October 2006. Fresh out of graduate school, Kriehn was working in Moscow, Idaho, and heard PHC was looking for regional talent. He sent a letter and CD of his music to the show’s

main office and was invited to perform in the WSU Beasley Coliseum show in Pullman.

 
‘Like winning the lottery’

That was just the beginning. In summer 2010, Kriehn was a guest performer with PHC in Spokane after he contacted Rich Dworsky, leader of the program’s Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band. Kriehn was asked to be a guest on another show in Columbus, Ohio, which led to an invitation to join the 2010 Summer Love Tour – one month of 25 gigs.

“It’s like winning the music lottery,” said Kriehn of his experience with the PHC. “I’ve been preparing and practicing and was ready for this to happen before it happened.”

 
Learning and sharing go both ways
Kriehn is academic advisor for the WSU School of Music and teaches violin, guitar, survey of music literature and introduction to music technology classes. A fan of all music, he toured in Nashville from 1996-2001 and has performed with artists such as Travis Tritt, Aaron Tippin and Michael Peterson.
 
PHC and his previous performances give Kriehn the ability to share his real world experience with his students, he said. He helps oversee “Train of Thought,” a student bluegrass group, and brings ideas back for the group to try and to supplement what he teaches in class.
 
Conversely, his teaching comes in handy when he’s on the road.
 
“I’ve used my teaching experience to help arrange fiddle tunes with younger musicians on the show,” he said. His music education enables him to write out charts and perform with little practice.
 
“Every show doesn’t get figured out until the day before, and we can’t repeat songs,” Kriehn said. “Everything’s new. It’s a pretty quick turnaround; we put 20-30 songs together and use about two-thirds of them on the show.”
Packed weekends, world travel
Out of about 35 broadcasts in the recent PHC season, Kriehn has been asked to perform in about 25 shows.
 
On New Year’s Eve, he traveled to Honolulu with his family to perform as part of the Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band. In August, Kriehn and the PHC will embark on an 11-day cruise along the coasts of Spain and Portugal. The remainder of the season will be in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nashville and Los Angeles.
 
His weekend performance schedule typically includes travel on Fridays to attend a 1-8 p.m. rehearsal, a 10 a.m. Saturday rehearsal and a 5-7 p.m. live broadcast.
 
‘Improv on top of improv’
You never know what to expect working on the show, Kriehn said. Keillor is good at reading the audience and, when on tour, morphs his script from night to night.
 
During the show, Keillor will point to musicians and signal them to play a solo or duet, Kriehn said. Keillor also may decide to end a song early or add more verses.
 
“It’s improv on top of improv,” Kriehn said. “The whole script may change.”
 
In March, Kriehn will have three weeks off. He will finish the season in mid-July for about a month’s break.
 
“A Prairie Home Companion” can be heard on 91.7 FM at 5 p.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m. Sundays in Pullman. For a list of other frequencies, visit the Northwest Public Radio website. 
  
 
Contacts:
Richard Kriehn, WSU School of Music, 509-595-3244, richardkriehn@gmail.com
Sandra Albers, WSU School of Music, 509-335-4148, sandra_albers@wsu.edu