Greg Froehle

My first venture into music was in fourth grade when I started playing the drums. Not only did this give me the rhythmic foundation which would make the transition to learning other instruments easier, but when you're playing drums in a band or orchestra you're often waiting a long, long time to play.

So this taught me about patience, counting and being precise in your few, but very important and isolated parts to play. It also taught me, as I was watching the page counting out many, many measures of rests, about phrasing, musical arrival points and common tendencies in music. I didn't realize it, but I was getting a bit of a lesson on musical theory. So much so that when it came time to actually take a music theory class, I simply had a name or technical term to attach to a concept I already fully understood.

In middle school I also started teaching myself piano, basically a trial and error method, learning how some things sound better than others and why that is. I started playing drums in a "blink-182" style band in middle school as well.

In high school, I taught myself how to play guitar, already having the skill in rhythm from playing drums, and having the theoretical understanding from playing the piano. I actually would play and write guitar tabs on the piano, so I had a very solid grasp on the principals of guitar before I ever even held one. I also began singing and writing when it became clear that the band I'd been in since middle school was going nowhere. I began playing percussion in a semi-professional orchestra and was selected to play in Minnesota's All-State Band in 2002.

For college, I went to the University of Minnesota in 2003 starting as a Percussion Major. I excelled (being one of only two freshman in the top band, the Wind Ensemble) but knew I wasn't in the right place. I auditioned and switched my major to Vocal Performance. However, while I appreciate and, again, excelled at classical singing, I knew my heart was always in contemporary music.

I transferred to McNally Smith College of Music and studied as a Vocal Performance major. I received a full scholarship for my studies there and graduated in 2008. I'm currently the Music Director at Oak Hills Church in Eagan, overseeing and directing the band (rock-style) and leading worship.

With all the training I've had, I feel I still have the ability to write music that is accessible to many people with music and lyrics that have integrity and challenge people in their perception of music and life in general.

I'm influenced in one way or another by every bit of music I hear, learning what my tastes are, what I feel "works" better than other things and shaping my voice as a musician.

Some of my favorite artists are:
Hillsong United
Explosions in the Sky
Radiohead
Brooke Fraser
Mute Math
U2
Sleeping at Last
Chris Thile