David Ranheim - ACF Board Member

David Ranheim is a retired Dorsey & Whitney trial lawyer and has been an ACF board member since 1996. He and his wife, Judy, are active in the new music community and are founding members of the Minnesota Commissioning Club. Mr. Ranheim also served for many years as a Macalester Trustee and chaired the board, and has chaired the ACF board twice. 

What sparked your interest in music?  Do you have an early musical memory? 

My initial memories of music come from my family. My mother was a piano teacher and my father greatly appreciated music. In elementary school, I started singing in choir and picked up the baritone. After attending Macalester, however, I took a long hiatus from playing, but in my retirement I’ve picked it back up and now play in the Richfield Symphonic Band.

What excites you about new music?  

The creative process. Seeing a composer create a work of art that gets performed for a broader public is incredibly exciting. This tradition isn’t stuck in the past but is ongoing.   I think the tagline for the Composers Datebook sums it up nicely, “All music was once new.”

Why are you involved with the American Composers Forum?  How did you first hear about ACF?

My wife, Judy, is a professional flutist, so through her I became very active in the arts community. We knew generally about the Composers Forum back in the seventies but had no real connection to it. Then, in 1992, Linda Hoeschler approached me about joining the board because of my involvement on other non-profit boards. Since then, I have chaired the board twice and had many other governance roles. It has been exciting to watch the growth and potential of living composers.

What are you currently listening to?  What composers or pieces are you excited about now?

As a member of the Minneapolis Commissioning Club, I have the privilege to work hands on with composers, performers, and venues. Jim Stephenson wrote an oboe concerto for concert band which was recently premiered by the U.S. Marine Band. And this April, Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra premiered another Stephenson work for violinist Jennifer Frautschi. It is very exciting going to premieres and supporting emerging composers.

Photo above: L to R: Judy Ranheim, composer Sven-David Sandström, his wife Ann-Marie Lysell, and David Ranheim. 

Contributed by Jonathan Salem Een Newton