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The Recital Hall in the Du Fresne Performing Arts Center at Winona State University (WSU) erupted with applause as Professor Daniel Sheridan took the stage Tuesday night.
With his clarinet in one hand and a smile on his face, Sheridan, along with three others, performed an all-French program in the first faculty recital of the 2023-2024 school year for WSU.
Sheridan is a solo recitalist, orchestral and chamber musician and a music educator. He performs with the Rochester and Winona Symphony Orchestras, and he is in his sixteenth year on the music faculty at WSU.
“A couple of times here in Winona, I’ve been able to stand in front of the orchestra and play with them, which was really cool,” Sheridan said. “Playing pieces that you learn and hope one day you can play in front of an orchestra, those are some of the best times.”
Sheridan holds a degree in Music Education from Oklahoma State University, and degrees in Clarinet Performance from the University of Akron and The State University of New York and Stony Brook, two universities he also taught at prior to WSU. He also was a part of the faculty at Cameron University and The College of Wooster. The position at WSU opened, and he eagerly applied.
“I was offered the position, and it was a huge incentive,” Sheridan said. “I love the area, the bluffs, and it’s a really great place, both professionally with the orchestras and to raise family.”
On stage, Sheridan was joined by Eric Brisson, pianist and professor of music at WSU, Kristi Krause, who played the oboe and teaches applied oboe at WSU and Harry Hindson on the bassoon, who is a current member of the La Crosse Jazz Orchestra. Caylee Ludwig, a fourth-year student at WSU, shared her thoughts on the performance.
“I think it’s really cool to see faculty come together and put on a performance like this,” Ludwig said. “A lot of people don’t even know we have events like these, but it’s awesome to see the professors in action.”
Sheridan explained that he first started playing in fifth grade, when he was shown a bunch of instruments and was asked to choose one.
“I went to the beginning band night where you’re supposed to pick your instrument and I walked up and told the band director I wanted to play the saxophone,” Sheridan said. “He told me, ‘You look like someone who could play the clarinet really well,’ and since I was a pushover, I picked it up. I got pretty good at it.”
Ludwig also mentioned the importance of these events to the students who are studying music on campus, too.
“I think for the students, it’s really beneficial to see what it looks like to perform on a stage and to see the process of a performance, too,” Ludwig said. “For them, they get to watch their professor in class and then see it in live action, which is something you can’t get anywhere else.”
Sheridan mentioned how these events impact not just the students, but the community, too.
“All of us who are faculty perform regularly for our students, that’s part of what we do,” Sheridan said. “It’s really important for their educational journey, it’s important for us to keep our chops going, and hopefully it’s an incentive for people in the community, post-COVID, to come out and listen to some beautiful music.”
Sheridan has committed his entire life to music and performing, and claimed he would not have it any other way.
“To say it’s been my livelihood and it’s put a roof over my family’s heads is certainly very true, but I don’t know what I would do without it,” Sheridan said. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, and I’m doing it, so I’m very fortunate in that sense.”
