Dr. Rebecca Nederhiser is a passionate conductor, scholar, music educator, and oboist. She currently conducts of 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, Renee Esmail, Jocelyn Hagen, and America's Got Talent Bàrbara Padilla, and John Hagen from the Texas Tenors.
Known for her collaborative spirit, Nederhiser has created unique orchestral experiences for performers and audiences alike. In 2017-2018, she partnered with the Central Washington Dance Academy and Central Washington Dance Ensemble, conducting performances of the The Nutcracker and Pucinella Suite. In 2019, she led performances of Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire leading to the formation of the ensemble, the Trace Chamber Society (TCS). Performance highlights from TCS have included a NET broadcasted performance with the UNL Opera of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen and a performance of Copland’s Appalachian Spring (Suite for 13 Instruments). Funded by a Hixson-Lied grant, Nederhiser received special permission from the Copland estate to pursue original choreography of the suite with the UNL Dance Program.
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 a click track, allowing the music to be organically linked to the images in real time. To her knowledge, the Wartburg Community Symphony is the first orchestra in the world to perform a work with the simultaneous combination of AI-generated movie, choir, and surround sound.
Through Trace Chamber Society, Nederhiser has pursed research of Schoenberg’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. In October 2021, she was also selected to co-present on her topic “Viewing the Score Through the Eyes of the Composer,” at the national College Music Society (CMS) convention held in Rochester, NY and the international CMS conference held in Columbia.
At Hood River Middle School, Nederhiser served as the Director of Music for six-years. Under her tenure, the music program flourished and in 2014 was awarded a $280,000 grant from the Oregon Community Foundation in partnership with Arts and Education of the Gorge. Recognized for their innovative programming, high-standards of excellence, and vision for engaging underserved students, the grant’s impact was featured in the 2017 winter edition of Oregon Education Association magazine.
Nederhiser has a Music Education degree from Warner Pacific University, Master degrees from Washington State University (oboe performance), Central Washington University (orchestral conducting), and her DMA in orchestral conducting from UNL. In her spare time, Nederhiser enjoys hiking, reading, cooking, traveling, and hanging out at her local coffee shops.
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, Renee Esmail, Jocelyn Hagen, and America's Got Talent Bàrbara Padilla, and John Hagen from the Texas Tenors.
Known for her collaborative spirit, Nederhiser has created unique orchestral experiences for performers and audiences alike. In 2017-2018, she partnered with the Central Washington Dance Academy and Central Washington Dance Ensemble, conducting performances of the The Nutcracker and Pucinella Suite. In 2019, she led performances of Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire leading to the formation of the ensemble, the Trace Chamber Society (TCS). Performance highlights from TCS have included a NET broadcasted performance with the UNL Opera of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen and a performance of Copland’s Appalachian Spring (Suite for 13 Instruments). Funded by a Hixson-Lied grant, Nederhiser received special permission from the Copland estate to pursue original choreography of the suite with the UNL Dance Program.
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 a click track, allowing the music to be organically linked to the images in real time. To her knowledge, the Wartburg Community Symphony is the first orchestra in the world to perform a work with the simultaneous combination of AI-generated movie, choir, and surround sound.
Through Trace Chamber Society, Nederhiser has pursed research of Schoenberg’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. In October 2021, she was also selected to co-present on her topic “Viewing the Score Through the Eyes of the Composer,” at the national College Music Society (CMS) convention held in Rochester, NY and the international CMS conference held in Columbia.
At Hood River Middle School, Nederhiser served as the Director of Music for six-years. Under her tenure, the music program flourished and in 2014 was awarded a $280,000 grant from the Oregon Community Foundation in partnership with Arts and Education of the Gorge. Recognized for their innovative programming, high-standards of excellence, and vision for engaging underserved students, the grant’s impact was featured in the 2017 winter edition of Oregon Education Association magazine.
Nederhiser has a Music Education degree from Warner Pacific University, Master degrees from Washington State University (oboe performance), Central Washington University (orchestral conducting), and her DMA in orchestral conducting from UNL. In her spare time, Nederhiser enjoys hiking, reading, cooking, traveling, and hanging out at her local coffee shops.
