Musical Chairs

Toward the end of the 2022-2023 school year, band and orchestra director Michael Knutson made an announcement that rocked the Buffalo High School Music Department. Many tears were shed one afternoon as the concert ensembles learned that Knutson would be leaving at the end of the year to test his new lesson book for beginning bands at Buffalo Community Middle School. A week later, choir director Zack Carlson-Giving announced to a tearful choir room that he would be leaving BHS after the year was over to pursue other employment opportunities at Wayzata High School. The next school year began with a shiny new schedule and a new, first-year choir director, Isaac Frauendienst. 

On top of the staffing losses, two new employees were brought in: Laura Boillat and Caitlin Hutchcraft. Boillat was brought in at the beginning of the 23-24 school year to combat the loss of Knutson, and Hutchcraft was hired the year prior to manage the Performing Arts Center, but was redirected to take over the management of the overall music department. While they helped in the interim making the transition smoother, they were both short term hires. When they left at the beginning of the 24-25 school year, a vacuum was created with the same amount of work to be done but with less people to get all that work completed.

As the music department began their first year with two new faculty members, the high school implemented a new schedule: three trimesters with five classes per day, instead of the original four classes per day with four quarters per year. This had a huge impact on band director Scott Rabehl, and he detailed some of the things he lost time for as a result of the new schedule and faculty changes. 

“I used to invest quite a lot of time studying the scores for concert band,” Rabehl said. “I haven’t done that in a year and half. That’s a way that I am not as effective as I used to be.”

Another cost of losing Knutson and Carlson-Giving was the lessened importance of extracurriculars. Jazz Band, Chamber Strings, and BHS Singers used to be a very prevalent and important part of the music program at BHS. All three are audition groups, and having a spot in them was a goal for many music students. When Knutson was at BHS, there were three jazz groups, the lowest meant to help students get into jazz and/or learn a new instrument. When Knutson left, Boillat took his spot conducting Jazz II. When Boillat left, all three groups fell to Rabehl, who quickly discovered managing all three groups was a massive task.

“I could definitely tell from talking to some jazz people that when Rabehl was trying to do three jazzes, he was… off his rocker,” orchestra student Lucy Anderson ‘25 said. Because of this added stress, he cut down to two groups at the beginning of the 24-25 school year.

The big changes happened in the band and choir rooms, but that’s not to say the orchestra room didn’t have their fair share of challenges and adjustments. Kristine Wiese was hired in 2021 on a part time basis to conduct the Freshman and Varsity orchestras. When Knutson moved to BCMS, Wiese assumed direction of the third group, Concert Orchestra, which made her a full time employee. The transition into working full time at the high school paired with the loss of Knutson and his experience proved difficult. 

“Even though we had the least amount of transition, I think it still caused Wiese a lot of stress,” Anderson said. “She was having to do some secretary stuff that Hutchcraft was doing before, and so all of a sudden she had all these extra duties on her that usually [were handled by someone else].”

While many stuck by the music department through all the chaos, there were some who left music behind due to all of the changes. The music department has a close-knit culture, and for some that provides a sense of home or security. When all of the staffing changes began, some felt the effects more personally than others. 

“The first time I seriously considered leaving music was when Knutson told us that he was leaving,” Emmerson Breyer ‘25 said. “He was one of the most trusted adults in my life, and he was the reason the music department was a safe place for me. Personally, having him leave was extremely difficult.”

For others, the changes directly impacted their learning and overall music experience, which led to a lessened enjoyment of the music classes. 

“[Band] just sort of turned into running parts and doing reps,” Daniel Jungwirth ‘25 said. “Which removed a lot of the musical expression from the [music.]”

For most who chose to part ways with the department, the choice was not black and white, but filled with pros and cons. There were positives and bright spots that remained within the storm of changes affecting the department, which made the decision to stay or leave very difficult. 

“From the end of sophomore year through all of junior year, I was slowly reaching the decision to leave,” Breyer said. “Knutson leaving was really difficult for me, but at that point, I thought that I would be able to stick it out for the rest of high school. Then, the music department turned into a completely different place than it had been before. It changed a lot, and I missed the way it had been. I knew I had to leave.”

To wrap up all this transition in the music department, the previous choir director, Carlson-Giving, returned from his job at Wayzata for the 24-25 school year, reverting the choir room back to 22-23 form. Many students felt like this transition reverted the choirs to their previous state. Kumail Akram ‘25 is one of the choir students who felt Carlson-Giving’s return helped stabilize the choral ensembles.

“I feel like CG emulates a strong sense of leadership and has a different attitude compared to Frauendiest,” Akram said. “This created a different environment. There are less side conversations and phone issues and that makes us better.”

Through the past two years, the music department has seen massive changes and reshaping, but students have mentioned that they feel like the department is returning to a place where students and staff alike can focus on the reason they are together in the first place: to make music. 

“Rabehl has really been prioritizing the music he selects for us,” Akram said. “He has been conscientious about how the music fits the band, and this has helped us enjoy the music more and ultimately play it better.”

Students found the strength to work and improve during this difficult time, and teachers that have remained continue to guide the department toward calmer waters.