Dr. Rebecca Nederhiser is a passionate conductor, scholar, music educator, and oboist. She currently conducts the Wartburg Community Symphony; leads the Kammerstreicher string ensemble; and teaches music theory, oboe, and conducting at Wartburg College. In her short time at Wartburg, Nederhiser has created community engaging traditions, including an inaugural string camp, the formation of the St. George String Quartet, and collaborations/clinics with national composers and artists including Neave Trio, Reena Esmail, Jocelyn Hagen, Gao Hong, Ruth Marshall, and John Hagen from the Texas Tenors. Most recently she embarked on a European tour with Kammerstreicher to Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, England, and Germany, performing in prestigious halls across Europe, including the St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
Known for her collaborative spirit, Nederhiser has created innovative concert experiences, including a community performance of Handel’s Messiah involving over 100 chorus members, cutting edge AI-imagery for Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite, and a Music Takes Flight local art competition in conjunction with Respighi’s The Birds. In February 2023, she commissioned nationally renowned composer Jocelyn Hagen to write a ground-breaking work in celebration of the Wartburg Community Symphony’s 70th anniversary in collaboration with the Wartburg Choir. Featuring the talent of Isaac Gale (AI generative artist), Brian Newhouse (poet and managing director of Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media’s classical programming) Scott Winters (Ion Concert Media) and the Wenger Corporation (surround sound installation), the orchestra and choir performed Hagen’s music while an AI-generated movie was projected onto the screen through the syncing technologies of Ion Concert Media. This cutting-edge technology eliminated the need for click tack, allowing the music to be organically linked to the images in real time. To their knowledge, the WCS is the first orchestra to perform a work with the simultaneous combination of AI-generated movie, choir, and surround sound. Most recently, Nederhiser was recognized for this innovative concert , earning 3rd place in the 2024 American Prize competition for the Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming.
Through Trace Chamber Society, Nederhiser has pursued research of Schönberg’s Society for Private Musical Performances and their chamber arrangement methodology. This has included highlighting the work of modern-day arrangers Iain Farrington from England and Peter Stangel from Germany. Most recently, Nederhiser traveled to Vienna to celebrate Arnold Schönberg’s 150th anniversary, continuing this research at the Arnold Schönberg Center. Her passion for women composers has also taken her to the Royal College of Music in London, investigating the unpublished manuscripts of composer and conductor Avril Coleridge-Taylor.
Nederhiser has a music education degree from Warner Pacific University, earned master’s degrees from Washington State University (oboe performance), and Central Washington University (orchestral conducting) and a DMA in orchestral conducting from UNL. In her spare time, Nederhiser enjoys hiking, reading, cooking, traveling, and exploring her local coffee shops.
Known for her collaborative spirit, Nederhiser has created innovative concert experiences, including a community performance of Handel’s Messiah involving over 100 chorus members, cutting edge AI-imagery for Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite, and a Music Takes Flight local art competition in conjunction with Respighi’s The Birds. In February 2023, she commissioned nationally renowned composer Jocelyn Hagen to write a ground-breaking work in celebration of the Wartburg Community Symphony’s 70th anniversary in collaboration with the Wartburg Choir. Featuring the talent of Isaac Gale (AI generative artist), Brian Newhouse (poet and managing director of Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media’s classical programming) Scott Winters (Ion Concert Media) and the Wenger Corporation (surround sound installation), the orchestra and choir performed Hagen’s music while an AI-generated movie was projected onto the screen through the syncing technologies of Ion Concert Media. This cutting-edge technology eliminated the need for click tack, allowing the music to be organically linked to the images in real time. To their knowledge, the WCS is the first orchestra to perform a work with the simultaneous combination of AI-generated movie, choir, and surround sound. Most recently, Nederhiser was recognized for this innovative concert , earning 3rd place in the 2024 American Prize competition for the Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming.
Through Trace Chamber Society, Nederhiser has pursued research of Schönberg’s Society for Private Musical Performances and their chamber arrangement methodology. This has included highlighting the work of modern-day arrangers Iain Farrington from England and Peter Stangel from Germany. Most recently, Nederhiser traveled to Vienna to celebrate Arnold Schönberg’s 150th anniversary, continuing this research at the Arnold Schönberg Center. Her passion for women composers has also taken her to the Royal College of Music in London, investigating the unpublished manuscripts of composer and conductor Avril Coleridge-Taylor.
Nederhiser has a music education degree from Warner Pacific University, earned master’s degrees from Washington State University (oboe performance), and Central Washington University (orchestral conducting) and a DMA in orchestral conducting from UNL. In her spare time, Nederhiser enjoys hiking, reading, cooking, traveling, and exploring her local coffee shops.
