Drury University’s small class sizes allow students to get to know their professors on a more personal level. However, you may not be aware that many of your favorite professors spend their time fronting bands and composing music when they aren’t grading papers. 

Dr. Rick Maxson 

First and foremost, Dr. Rick Maxson is a communications professor. However, many know that Dr. Maxson’s true passion is the ukulele. He and his wife Karen make up the ukulele duo Uke 66.

According to the duo, they found inspiration for Uke 66 right here in Springfield, Mo., the birthplace of Route 66. Like the highway itself, the Maxsons believe that all people, regardless of age or income, can “get their kicks” from the carefree and unassuming music of the ukulele. 

While Uke 66 is best known for their island music, they also love to play folk, pop, jazz and original tunes. Check them out on FaceBook or their promo page on Gig Salad: https://www.gigsalad.com/uke_66_springfield. 

Everything from Chicago to L.A. is what you’ll get when you get your kicks with Uke 66.

Dr. Charlyn Ingwerson

Photo via Dr. Ingwerson. (Of Dr. Ingwerson)

While English is her main forte, Dr. Charlyn Ingwerson found a way to fuse her passion of music with her passion for language. 

“As a songwriter, it’s a preoccupation with words and that’s really how I ended up in various songwriting groups,” explained Dr. Ingwerson.

While Ingwerson has not taken the stage in nearly 20 years, she has had many experiences that have stuck with her. 

“In the early eighties there were a lot of songwriting groups. I was actually in one with a couple of the members from the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. I made a couple of trips to Nashville, though I never permanently relocated there. I sang in a country band for a while, I loved that. I sang the blues in a couple of blues bands, including The Recliners and the Midnight Train,” said Dr. Ingwerson.

“I also sang back-up for many years, which is just the greatest gig ever; there is no stress in being a back-up singer,” she laughed. 

Years of songwriting has certainly influenced Dr. Ingwerson’s career path.

“I was in an opera workshop here at Drury, though I wasn’t a student here. I went to a performance high school, but I realized I didn’t need a degree in music to be a singer. Going to school and having a degree in English gave me plenty of opportunities to work with songwriters and artist reps – usually they came to me when the grammar just wasn’t right,” she explained.

Dr. Blaine Whisenhunt

Photo of the Ozark Sheiks via Dr. Whisenhunt.

Dr. Blaine Whisenhunt is an art professor at Drury University. When he’s not teaching art, however, he is the primary songwriter, singer and guitarist for the Ozark Sheiks, which was founded in 2012. The band consists of Dr. Whisenhunt, Tom Parker, Isaac Neale, Jessica Balisle, and Steven Spencer.

“The band serves as a vehicle for counter cultural expression interrogating all things held sacred regionally and societally as a whole. In this way, it is one part instrumentalist and one part post-punk performative music,” said Dr. Whisenhunt.

The Ozark Sheiks have one full album, “Run Devil Run,” available on all streaming services, and a self-released EP on Soundcloud titled “American Dream.”

At this time, the band performs and records only three or four times a year. However, you can catch Dr. Whisenhunt and the rest of Ozark Sheiks at Lindberg’s Tavern on March 28. Like and follow them on Facebook and Instagram @ozarksheiks to keep up to date with the group.

Dr. Carlyle Sharpe

Photo via Carlyle Sharpe on Facebook

Dr. Carlyle Sharpe is an established composer and professor of music theory and composition at Drury University. On Feb. 5, his new choral/orchestral work titled “Of These Years I Sing” premiered in the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.  

When asked what prompted him to write the work, Sharpe replied, “Christopher Koch, the director of Drury’s orchestra and wind symphony, had been asking me to write another choral/orchestral work since he performed the Missouri premiere of ‘Proud Music of the Storm’ with the Springfield-Drury Civic Orchestra and Drury University Chorale back in 2008. Unlike ‘Proud Music of the Storm,’ which was taken from a single poem by Walt Whitman, ‘Of These Years I Sing’ is drawn from 11 different poems by Whitman.

“The work is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Shirley Ritter Carle. Although my mother and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye on our politics, we both cared very much for the direction of the country, and I was very careful in trying to select a collection of poems which focused on freedom, death and the triumphs and messiness of democracy, as well as the importance of women and mothers in society,” explained Sharpe.

The performance was described by many as powerful and moving. 

“I have had my works performed all over the world, in major venues and with major orchestras and choral societies, and I can honestly say, I have never had an experience quite like the one I had in the hall that evening,” Sharpe said. “There’s nothing quite like having a major work premiered by your students, friends and colleagues to an equally supportive audience that also includes members of your family.”

The entire piece is now available for viewing on YouTube.

Dr. Tina Claussen 

It’s not surprising to learn that Drury’s jazz professor is in a band – she conducts several, after all. Dr. Tina Claussen is an accomplished saxophonist at Drury, as well as the director of Jazz Ensembles I and II, and Jazz Combos I and II.

“I’m in a large jazz ensemble/big band called the Missouri Jazz Orchestra – usually referred to as MOJO. Randy Hamm – my jazz and saxophone counterpart at MSU – runs the ensemble, so I play the Alto II book,” explained Dr. Claussen.

The band plays the first and third Tuesdays of every month at the Hepcat downtown, which is Springfield’s newest – and only – jazz club. Only students 21 and older can attend this club to see Dr. Claussen and MOJO play. 

Dr. Daniel Ponder

Dr. Daniel Ponder is the director of the Meador Center for Politics and Citizenship and a professor of Political Science at Drury University. He is in a band called American League and occasionally plays bass for Maxson’s band, Uke 66. He plays a variety of instruments such as bass, mandolin and guitar and is currently learning how to play the banjo.

When asked how American League formed, Ponder replied, “Well, I play in the intergenerational rock band, and David Hinson, who is a DU administrator, also played in it. We got to talking and became friends, and he asked if I wanted to join a band. I said yes immediately – I have been in several bands in my life and was in a pretty active one when I lived in Colorado, but really hadn’t found one here. So when he asked, I lept at the chance.”

The band describes themselves as eclectic and mainly plays Rock music. They cover artists and bands such as Bob Dylan, Traffic, Nirvana, Coldplay, Deep Blue Something, Cage the Elephant, Alice Merton, the Beta Band, the Killers, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears and others. 

“We do something new just about every practice,” explained Ponder.

The American League has played out a few times at venues such as Moon City Pub and Lindberg’s Tavern. They are scheduled to play at Shuffle on April 30. 

The talent at Drury is not limited to the students. There are many professors that go above and beyond, not only in their academic work, but also on the stage.

Article by Delilah Gadd and Madelynn Fristo