Music senior Nathan LeMahieu can boast of having the best practice room on campus.
LeMahieu, who gets comfortable by taking off his shoes when he practices, can play his instrument whenever he wants and as loud as possible — all within the spacious confines of Alice Millar Chapel.
“The fact that I can come in to (Alice Millar) whenever I want and play such a large instrument is acoustically great for me,” said LeMahieu, who has been Alice Millar’s organ player for four years. “There’s many claustrophobic-looking practice rooms on campus, but I get to practice here, which is really nice.”
But LeMahieu is the last actual organ performance major to enjoy such privileges.
The organ and church music degree programs, the School of Music’s oldest, were officially terminated. Music Dean Toni-Marie Montgomery recommended its cancellation based on low enrollment and the departure of Douglas Cleveland, the program’s only full-time faculty member.
Although there are four students in the organ performance doctoral program and six undergraduates who study the organ, LeMahieu is the last official organ performance major at NU.
“The cancellation devalues the degree I have here because it is based on the current strength of the program at the university,” LeMahieu said.
His future still looks promising, LeMahieu said. He will attend Notre Dame University next fall to study organ performance and theology.
He plans to earn a doctorate in theology and then teach religion at a university. He’d like to play the organ part-time.
“I’ve always had a steady job playing for churches,” he said. “It’s all a matter of it being a part-time job or a full-time one.”
LeMahieu began playing organ at a summer music institute at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay at age 14.
“(The organ) was interesting because it was really loud,” LeMahieu said. “It was the loudest sound one person could make.”
LeMahieu, from Sheboygan, Wis., came to NU in 2000 because he was attracted to the five-year-double degree program offered by the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Music.
He chose to major in organ performance because he thought it might increase his chances of admission, he said. Working as an organist could also help pay for school.
For LeMahieu, the cancellation of the organ program was disappointing and unexpected.
“(The cancellation) was a bit surprising considering the role that the organ program has played for the School of Music,” he said. “Every (composer) we study in the School of Music played and wrote for the organ.”
But LeMahieu, who is also a dedicated NU sports fan and is very involved with Campus Crusade for Christ, said he enjoyed most of his college experience.
“I would certainly never recommend someone to come here to study music, but my experiences have been great in ways that I never expected,” he said. “I now wear purple everyday, either on the outside or underneath. I even did the fight song as my encore in my (senior) recital.”
Students and professors who are acquainted with LeMahieu said they have no doubt he will succeed in the future.
“He has done very well this year — the best that anyone can do under his circumstances,” said Margaret Kemper, associate professor of organ performance. “He has great talent and makes that instrument sound fabulous. He’ll just do wonderful things in graduate school.”
Reach Allan Madrid at [email protected].
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