Doug Snapp
Been with the MSO since: 1992
Hometown: current (Mankato) - grew up in Greenfield, Massachusetts
Education: (all music degrees) Bachelors and Masters degrees - University of North Texas, Doctorate - University of Northern Colorado
My day job: 2 positions: Professor of Music/Director of Jazz Studies at MSU, and Executive/Artistic Director of the JazzMN Arts Organization and JazzMN Big Band in Minneapolis/Saint Paul.
Earliest musical memory: My parents jam sessions with all the area musicians in our cellar as I was growing up.
Favorite thing about performing music: I love playing in many musical settings (i.e., jazz, symphony, shows, weddings, brass quintet, etc.).
Other instruments I play: sing and play a little piano
The composition I would most like to perform: My favorite MSO performance was the Saint-Saens organ symphony (#3)
Best part about being an MSO musician: I love the bond that we have developed. There is not the snooty or pressure type environment that you see in some of the professional orchestras, yet we all work hard to create beautiful music.
What's on my iPod or in my CD player: My background and my major professional emphasis is on jazz, although I enjoy listening to a variety of styles (i.e., my students and my kids heavily influence new music for me to hear).
Other interesting facts(s): My wife (Patricia), is a very fine vocalist (she has been featured with MSO numerous times) and voice professor at Gustavus.