Under Lange's direction, the Chugiak High choirs have become a powerhouse in the Alaska choral community. They have won numerous competitions both nationally and internationally.

In 1999, his choirs won the New England Festival of Music in Boston, and in 2000, they won the Florence Festival of Music in Florence, Italy. They were also the featured honor choir at a music educator's conference in Spokane, Wash., in 2001, and most recently they won the Royal Music Academy's Music Festival in London, in 2005.

In addition to directing four choirs and two orchestras at Chugiak, Lange has also started directing UAA's University Singers and teaching a choral conducting class.

He said he wanted to start teaching at UAA because he "wanted a change."

Lange has brought his same energetic teaching style and passion for music to his UAA students. The opportunity has been fun, exciting and challenging for him, he said.

"I am just loving it here at UAA. I love how everyone works really hard and has a lot of musical knowledge," he said.

Lange and his family moved to Alaska 14 years ago when his wife, Sharolyn, a nurse in the Air Force, was transferred to Elmendorf Air Force Base. Two years later, Lange took a job at Gruening Middle School as a music teacher and he and his family have lived in Eagle River ever since. He taught at Gruening for eight months and left to accept the choral director position at Chugiak High School.

Lange graduated from University of Texas at El Paso, after which he taught choir at several different high schools in the El Paso area. He took a break from teaching when he was offered a job with the Dallas Cowboys, and he worked security for them for about six years.

The "Meet the Artist" series featuring Lange will give members of the community an opportunity to learn more about Lange and hear from Chugiak High School Swing Choir, which is under his direction.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, March 9, 2006.