Employee Directory

Terry Beckler

Professor of Music, Percussion

Johnson Fine Arts Center 174

Darci Bultema

Professor of Music, Voice/Opera

Spafford Hall 320

B.S. North Dakota State University

M.M., G.P.D. Peabody Conservatory of Music

D.M.A. North Dakota State University

In addition to her operatic repertoire, Dr. Bultema has appeared as a soloist in an assortment of orchestral works with The Florida Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Miami Chamber Symphony, Peabody Symphony Orchestra, Washington DC Youth Orchestra, and the Fargo Moorhead Symphony. In these venues her voice has been showcased in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the Chants d'Auvergne of Canteloube, Griffes' Three Poems of Fiona Macleod, and oratorios of Bach, Handel, Haydn, and Rossini.

Dr. Bultema¡¯s talent and promise were recognized and nurtured through her participation as a Young Artist with Florida Grand Opera, Tulsa Opera, and Natchez Opera. Adding to her acclaim, a concert review by Classical New Jersey of her interpretation of Cilea¡¯s Il son l¡¯umile ancella, Son pochi fiori from Mascagni¡¯s L¡¯amico Fritz, and Bachelet¡¯s exquisite art song Ch¨¦re Nuit, was quick to note ¡°Miss Bultema¡¯s ability to float those stratospheric notes with ease and grace,¡± as well as her ¡°luscious legato line, completely even production throughout the compass and sumptuous crescendos.¡± 

A frequent recitalist, Dr. Bultema has long been a supporter of lesser-known song composers, including Amilcare Ponchielli, on whom her doctoral document was written. Under the auspices of the International Grieg Society, she was recently selected to present art songs composed by Edvard Grieg in Norway. Her recent introduction to Norwegian and the songs of Grieg has provided her with exposure on the international scene.

Voice students of Dr. Bultema's are frequent winners and finalists with the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) auditions in South and North Dakota. Many of her students continue their vocal training and education at prestigious institutions such as Peabody Conservatory of Music, Boston Conservatory, University of Maryland Opera Studio, and the University of Colorado in Boulder. A champion of music education, Dr. Bultema consistently has graduates from her voice studio experience success as music educators throughout the region and country, winning many accolades for their choirs and classroom teaching.

Dr. Bultema has earned a bachelor of science degree from North Dakota State University and a master of music degree from Peabody Conservatory of Music, where she earned a prestigious graduate performance diploma in voice and opera.  She also has a doctor of musical arts degree from North Dakota State University.

Marla Fogderud

Associate Professor of Music

Spafford Hall 309

D.M.A., Michigan State University

M.M., Wichita State University

B.M., Concordia College

Dr. Marla Fogderud, a native of North Dakota, is an active stage performer and recitalist throughout the United States and Europe. She was an apprentice artist with the Des Moines Metro Opera and has performed roles with Opera Kansas, Wichita State University Opera, Fargo Moorhead Opera, and Michigan State University Opera. She has been a soloist with the Cincinnati International Chorale, Wichita Symphony, Wichita State University Orchestra, Greater Grand Forks Symphony, Michigan State University (MSU) Concert Band, MSU Philharmonic and MSU Symphony. 

Dr. Fogderud has appeared on the Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., faculty recital series; Minnesota Public Radio Regional Artist broadcasts; North Dakota Museum of Art Summer Concert Series; Plymouth Music Series (Wichita); Nordv?ndt Concert Series (Minneapolis); the 2006 National Opera Association Convention and the 49th NATS National Conference (2006).

In 2009, she attended the Lotte Lehmann Akademie in Perleberg, Germany, on a full-tuition scholarship, where she worked with renowned soprano Karan Armstrong. Dr. Fogderud was invited to return to the program in 2010. A specialist in Norwegian art song, she has also appeared as a guest performer in Rolf Stang¡¯s play Grieg, Edvard Grieg. Since 2007 she has performed a lecture recital, ¡°Norwegian Art Song in the 'Golden Age,' ¡± for multiple audiences, and developed a Norwegian song workshop first given at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D., in 2009. International engagements include solo recitals in Hamar and Oslo, Norway, and concerts in southern France and the Brandenburg region of Germany. She performed in May 2015 at the International Grieg Songfest in Bergen, Norway. Most recently, she presented a lecture recital at the May 2017 conference, ¡°SalzBergen: Exploring the Intersection of W.A. Mozart and Edvard Grieg,¡± hosted by the Edvard Grieg Society of the Great Lakes.

Dr. Fogderud received her D.M.A. from Michigan State University, M.M. in voice and opera from Wichita State University and a B.M. degree from Concordia College. She also studied at the Norwegian National Academy of Music (Norges musikk h?gskolen) in Oslo, where she worked with sopranos Ingrid Bjoner and Siff Pettersen. She is in demand as a private voice teacher, vocal adjudicator, language coach, and translator.

Fritz Hemke

Assistant Professor of Music, Woodwinds/Jazz

Johnson Fine Arts Center 121

M.M., Northwestern University

B.A., Northwestern University

Grant Manhart

Professor of Music, Trumpet/Jazz, Music Department Chair

Johnson Fine Arts Center 123

Audrey Miller

Associate Professor of Clarinet/Music, Director of Bands

Johnson Fine Arts Center 122

Travis Netzer

Lecturer, Euphonium/Tuba

Johnson Fine Arts Center 124

B.M.E, Northern State University

M.M., Western Michigan University

D.M.A., Arizona State University (Tuba Performance)

Dr. Travis Netzer is a lecturer of tuba and euphonium at NSU. He grew up in Ipswich, S.D., and attended Northern for his bachelor's degree in music education. During his undergraduate degree studies, Netzer competed in the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Brass Competition and reached the national level of the competition two years in a row, placing runner up his second year. He received a graduate assistantship to attend Western Michigan University for his master¡¯s degree in music performance and earned a doctorate of musical arts at Arizona State University, where he was the graduate assistant to Dr. Deanna Swoboda. While there, he competed and advanced to the semifinals in the International Tuba Euphonium Solo Competition in 2014.

Netzer recently received a developing artist grant from the South Dakota Arts Council to develop his musical project, "Rock Tuba," in which he uses electronics to distort his sound and play rock music.

Michael Skyles

Instructor of Voice, Director, Musical Theatre

Spafford Hall 301A

B.M.E. University of Illinois

M.M. Cleveland Institute of Music

D.M.A. North Dakota (currently)

Tenor Michael Skyles joined the music faculty at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., in 2009. Mr. Skyles received a bachelor's degree in music education from the University of Illinois in 1992, and obtained his master's of music in vocal performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1996. A certified vocologist, he specializes in voice lessons, vocal pedagogy, and diction for singers, and is music director for theatre at Northern.

Born and raised in the Chicago area, he previously maintained a private voice studio and taught voice at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. In recent years, his students have advanced to compete at the national level. In 2009, one of his students was selected to be a finalist with the NFAA YoungArts program in classical voice, an honor bestowed on only 12 students from across the country, and was the first finalist in any discipline ever from North Dakota. In 2010, another of Mr. Skyles' students was selected to be an NFAA Young Arts finalist in musical theater. Following this student's performance at the finals, he was invited for further competition and workshops in New York and was selected to be a Presidential Scholar.

More recently, many of Mr. Skyles' students have won or placed in competitions hosted by the Metropolitan Opera National Council, National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), and Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). Not only have his students competed well, but many of his students are attending high-profile graduate programs, and are performing on Broadway and in regional musical theater and operas.

As a performer, Mr. Skyles has been featured with a number of opera companies across the United States, including Lyric Opera Cleveland, Natchez Opera in Mississippi, Florida State Opera, and Brevard Opera in North Carolina. In recent engagements, Mr. Skyles has performed the roles of Nemoriono in Sounds of South Dakota's L'elisir d'amore, Pong in South Dakota Symphony's production of Turandot, Remendado in Fargo Moorhead Opera's production of Carmen, Mr. Erlanson in Muddy River Opera's production of A Little Night Music, Ferrando in CandleOpera's production of Cosi fan tutte, Rodolfo in N.O.V.A.'s production of La boheme, Arturo in Bowen Park Opera's production of Lucia di Lammermoor, and Larry/Matt in Face on the Barroom Floor with Fargo Moorhead Opera.

Mr. Skyles' concert performances have included the Beethoven 9th Symphony (tenor soloist) with the South Dakota Symphony, An Afternoon of Opera with the Huron Symphony Orchestra, Sch??tz Musikalische Exequien with Early Music Chicago, Bach's Magnificat with Urban Baroque in Chicago, Schubert's Mass in G, countless performances as tenor soloist in Handel's Messiah, and other varied concert works around the country. He also has performed as a professional member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and the Grant Park Symphony Chorus.

Christopher Stanichar

Associate Professor of Music/Director, Aberdeen University-Civic Symphony

Johnson Fine Arts Center 120

D.M.A., M.M., Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

B.M., Central Washington University

¡°It was as though he were telling a story with his hands.¡±   ¡ª Pravda Cevera (Russia)

¡°One of the best musical conductors to appear in Latin America¡±¡ª Diario Xalapa (Mexico)

"The ever-smiling and extremely animated (Stanichar) guided the Everett Symphony through a superb performance filled with wit and charm¡­ It was the kind of charismatic interaction with the audience and orchestra that showed the brilliance of Stanichar's directorial methods."

¡ªMukilteo Beacon (Seattle)

Christopher Stanichar (b. 1969) is an active conductor, composer, and educator. He is a popular conductor, having directed some of the finest orchestras in Europe, Russia, Mexico, and the United States. Stanichar is skilled at conducting all styles of music, whether it is the classical repertoire, new music, or pops repertoire. 

He has collaborated with a wide variety of artists, including members of St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, The Texas Tenors, Mark O¡¯Connor, the rock band Kansas, members, and many other world-class musicians. 

He is also at home as an educator, working with ensembles of all ages, and using his passion for music as a catalyst to get the best out of the orchestras he conducts.

The Northwest Iowa Review noted: ¡° ¡­ We were impressed with Stanichar¡¯s obvious energy, great joy of directing and outright enthusiasm.¡± 

Stanichar is assistant professor at Northern State University, where he serves as the director of the Aberdeen University/Civic Symphony. Celebrating its 102nd season, the orchestra is the oldest continuous orchestra in the state of South Dakota, and attracts musicians from Minnesota, North Dakota, and Iowa, as well as the surrounding area. Dr. Stanichar is the 17th conductor of the orchestra, and proud to carry on the tradition of great orchestral music in the Hub City of Aberdeen.

Stanichar is an active professional conductor throughout the Midwest, serving as music director of the Worthington Area Symphony Orchestra in Southwest Minnesota (since 2010)¡ªa recipient of several regional grants, and broadcast regionally in a holiday special with the native American band, Brul¨¦, on Pioneer Television (Minnesota PBS).

Stanichar earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts in conducting at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he was a student of Gerhard Samuel. He has participated in master classes with Ilya Musin, Daniel Lewis, Gerard Schwartz, Ken Keisler, and Bystr¨ªk Re?ucha, among others. 

Stanichar was conducting assistant for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, working closely with maestros Jesus Lopez-Cobos and Erich Kunzel. He also received a Fulbright Scholarship to the Slovak Republic, allowing him to study and conduct professional orchestras in the homeland of his ancestors.

He has been music director to several exceptional orchestras: Seven Hills Sinfonietta (Cincinnati), Orchestra Omaha, Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra (Omaha), the Tri-City Symphony Youth Orchestra, Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra, and is founding music director of the South Dakota Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Stanichar is an active composer whose works have been commissioned and performed throughout the world. His original work, Trisagion, was used in Ric Burns¡¯ PBS documentary on Andy Warhol. 

More recent projects include a full-length cantata, St. Mark Passion, written for the 150th anniversary of Augustana University as part of a Granskou grant. TrevCo-Varner Music publishes several of his works for English horn. 

His composition, Tales of Hans Christian Anderson, is the first concerto for nyckelharpa, a Swedish folk instrument, which premiered with the Hastings Symphony Orchestra in Nebraska. This work was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2014. 

In 2020, he was commissioned to compose the song cycle, She Loves, for colleagues Audrey Miller and Darci Bultema as part of a South Dakota Arts Council grant. In 2022, he received the prestigious Nora Staael Evert grant to write orchestral accompaniments for the band Brul¨¦, which will debut in 2025. 

Most recently, his composition Pink Ribbon for Susan, written for his friend Susan Hill as a tribute to her battle with breast cancer, was published by Edizioni Musicali Eufonia as his first European publication.

In his free time, Stanichar¡¯s interests outside of music include Russian icons, foreign languages, and biking, and he is an avid pinball player. The most important thing to him is his family, and his children are active in the arts.