Northwestern University Alumni

Northwestern University and the Northwestern Alumni Association extend our warmest wishes this holiday season to all of our alumni and friends. We hope you will enjoy this musical arrangement of Northwestern’s “Alma Mater” in a special video message featuring President Michael H. Schill and a trio of jazz students from the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music.

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About the Bienen Jazz Trio

Ethan Bouwsma ’26 MMus, Dante Espinoza-Villaseñor ’28, and Brandon Harper ’27 are students at Northwestern University’s Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music. All three are pursuing degrees in the jazz studies program, directed by Derrick Gardner.

Bouwsma is a master’s jazz percussion student studying under Willie Jones III. A Chicago-based drummer, composer, and educator, Bouwsma has played with artists of varying genres, including performing in numerous jazz ensembles. He is the leader of his own original-music jazz project and is a member of Fake Baseball, an eclectic art-pop band based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Bouwsma, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University, has performed at festivals across the United States and toured Colombia. He also offers private lessons to students of all ages and has taught at various jazz summer camps.

Espinoza-Villaseñor, an undergraduate jazz bass student, is studying at the Bienen School under Carlos Henriquez. A Chicago native, Espinoza-Villaseñor plays both electric and upright bass with a wide array of experience in different genres of music including jazz, classical music, Latin music, and more. In addition to playing the bass, Espinoza-Villaseñor also is a composer and arranger, and he has done work with many musical groups in Chicago.

Harper, also a Chicago native, is an undergraduate jazz piano student of Jeremy Kahn. Since 2013, Harper has honed his skills performing in various shows as well as joining the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, climbing to its top Symphony Orchestra by 2020. He has also been a Ravinia Jazz Scholar and earned a place in the 2022 National Association for Music Education: All National Honors Ensemble Jazz Band. Harper has garnered numerous awards for his performances, including the 2021 Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Kiewit-Wang Mentorship Award and the jazz piano accolade in the 2024 YoungArts National Competition.

The Northwestern “Alma Mater” was composed by Peter Christian Lutkin, the first dean of the Bienen School of Music. The Bienen trio’s performance was arranged by Harper.