Surrounded by music from a formative age, Paul R. Hegland recalls that his parents were both singers and his three siblings engaged in various music programs as they progressed through school. As the youngest of his siblings, music became a transformative power in his life and, after much contemplation, he decided to pursue music as a career path. Specifically, Mr. Hegland developed an interest in how music affected the brain, as well as how music allowed individuals to excel in other disciplines of study. As such, he attended Iowa State University, receiving a Bachelor of Music in music education in 1982. The following year, he earned a Master of Music in music history from Northwestern University.
At the inception of his career in 1983, Mr. Hegland served as the assistant director of development for the Ravinia Festival until 1991. From there, he excelled as the special assistant to the president and secretary of the board of trustees at Carthage College between 1991 and 2019. During this illustrious tenure, he also flourished as Kantor for Lamb of God Lutheran Church from 1992 to 2015 and senior director of policy administration at Carthage College between 2015 and 2019. Since 2019, Mr. Hegland has served as the executive director of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, where he oversees the musical staff and coordinators with the musical director. Additionally, in his role as executive director, he coordinates scheduling and presents as the face of the organization.
Maintaining affiliation with a myriad of civic and vocational organizations over the course of his career, Mr. Hegland was a longtime member of the Kiwanis Breakfast Club of Kenosha and served on the boards of the Kenosha County Workforce Development Office, the City of Kenosha Plan Commission, the Kenosha Public Museums, and the Kenosha Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Additionally, he was active with the Association of Governing Boards and the Association of College and University Policy Administrators.
Mr. Hegland attributes his success to his diligence and ability to take his work and music quite seriously with everyone’s best interests in mind. Looking toward the future, he intends to bring the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra to greater local and regional prominence, through greater outreach and touring. He especially enjoys the social aspect of musical performance, ranging from the performers themselves to friends, colleagues and performance attendees.
