Voice, Benjamin
Allen
For many years Benjamin Allen has juggled a career as a
singer, actor, teacher, and church musician. He has performed as a soloist
with numerous regional and national organizations including the St. Paul
Chamber Orchestra, The Minnesota Orchestra, The Detroit Symphony, The
Minnesota Chorale, The Minnesota Opera and The Plymouth Music Series (now
called Vocal Essence). He has been featured in several recent premiers
including the American premier of Petr Eben's oratorio "Anno
Domino" with the forces of St. John's
University and the College of St. Benedict in 2002. In the year
2000 he was featured in the role of "Torkel" in the English
language premier of Egil Hovland's opera "Captive and Free." He
continues to perform widely in Oratorio and recital but his first love is
teaching. His teaching approach draws on the work of F. Mathias Alexander, Alfred
Tomatis, and Richard Miller. He has studied with C. Robert Larson, Donna
Pegors, Lawrence Weller, and in New
York City, with Bernard Taylor. In his teaching,
Ben utilizes state of the art computer technology to record and analyze
resonance using spectrographic and audio editing software. He uses
specially filtered listening exercises to assist students to develop more
complete overtone perception which results in more efficient phonation and
more precise pitch accuracy. Ben subscribes to the "Italian"
school of singing and works with students to achieve balance in breath
management (appoggio) and balance in light/dark vocal timbre (chiaroscuro).
He has studied the Alexander technique and other psycho-physical
disciplines and uses their principles of structural balance and structural
integrity to address postural issues and tension release. Ben is a Lecturer
in Voice and voice lesson administrator at Carleton
College in Northfield,
Minnesota and also teaches at Bethel University
in St. Paul.
He maintains a private studio and teaches at the International Music Camp.
Ben is the director of the Adult and Bell Choirs at Peace
Lutheran Church
in Robbinsdale, Minnesota.
You may reach Benjamin Allen by e-mail at bgallen@carleton.edu.
Viola, Stella
Anderson
Stella Anderson, violist and founding member of the Sartory
String Quartet, maintains a large class of violists and violinists at MacPhail Center
for the Arts and Macalester
College, and is also a
chamber coach for the Augsburg College Suzuki Institute. In the summer she
is an instructor at the Sartory String Quartet Institute and performs with
the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra and the Superior String Alliance Festival
Orchestra (principal viola) in Marquette, MI. Ms. Anderson is a past
president of MN ASTA and recipient of the 1995 MN ASTA Master Teacher
Award. She is also an Artist Member of Thursday Musical, a board member of
the Minnesota Youth Symphonies and the newly merged MN ASTA with NSOA (MNSOTA),
and an active ensemble, solo, and free-lance musician.
Anderson
holds a B.M.E. from Indiana University at Bloomington, IN,
where she studied with William Primrose and David Dawson. Other coaches
include Josef Gingold, Abraham Skernick, Raphael Hillyer, Harold Klatz and
John di Janni. Ms. Anderson was a recepient of two Congress of Strings
scholarships.
A native of Hawaii, Ms.
Anderson enjoys visiting the lovely isles as a break from Minnesota's six months of winter! You
can reach Stella by phone at (612) 822-7111 or by email at stellaviolist@yahoo.com.
Highland Piping, Mike Breidenbach
Michael Breidenbach began playing the bagpipes in 1992. He
began learning at Macalester
College, under the
tuition of Andrew Hoag. Later he studied with Donald Lindsay, Jim
McGillivary and the late Lindsay Kirkwood. In 1997 and 1998 he was awarded
Champion Supreme by the Midwest Pipe Band Association in Grade II as a
soloist. He is now recognized as an accomplished Grade I piper. Michael
also currently plays with the Kansas City St. Andrews Society Pipe Band
which competes in Grade 2.
Since December of 1999, Michael has been the Director of
Piping at Macalester
College where he
teaches lessons and directs the pipe band. Under his leadership the 2003
Macalester Pipe Band won top honors in the Midwest
in the Grade IV division. As of the 2004 season the band will be competing
as a Grade III band and supporting a grade V ensemble.
You may reach Mike Breidenbach by e-mail at breidenbach@macalester.edu.
Piano, Barb Brooks
Barbara Brooks is an active vocal coach, pianist and music
director in the Twin Cities area. She has served as coach/pianist for
several opera companies including Canadian Opera, Minnesota Opera, New
Orleans Opera, Opera Banff, Kentucky Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera,
Berkshire Opera and the Wesley Balk Opera/Music Theatre Institute, as well
as for university opera programs at the University of North Texas and the
University of Minnesota. She is presently the music director at the First
Unitarian Society and the principal pianist of the Minnesota Chorale. She
also served as a vocal coach in the Resident Artists program at the
Minnesota Opera. Ms. Brooks holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance
from Augsburg College and a Master of Music in Piano
Performance from the University
of Michigan. She
attended the Britten-Pears school in England where she studied
accompanying with Martin Isepp.
You may reach Barb Brooks by e-mail at chorus@firstunitariansociety.org.
Piano, Claudia Chen
Claudia Chen enjoys an active career as performer, coach and teacher. Making her solo debut with the Denver Symphony Orchestra at age 14, Ms. Chen has gone to perform as soloist and chamber musician throughout United States, Canada, Eastern Europe and Chile. Equally at home in contemporary works as in standard repertoire, Ms. Chen has given numerous premieres of solo and chamber works by several American and Canadian composers. She has been a guest on the Chamber Music Series of The Grand Teton Music Festival, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra’s series at MacPhail. She has also performed at Bowdoin Festival in the USA; Contrasts International Contemporary Music Festival in Ukraine; as well as Agassiz Chamber Music Festival and Centara International New Music Festival in Canada. Her performances have been aired nationally in Canada on CBC Radio; Polish Radio and Television; and in the USA on National Public Radio.
Ms. Chen often collaborates with her husband, cellist Arek Tesarczyk. Together the duo has given numerous recitals in the U.S., Canada, Chile and Poland. In April, their performance was awarded a 2008 McKnight Fellowship for Performing Artists
Ms. Chen has served on the faculty of the University of Manitoba in Canada, as Assistant Professor of Piano and Chamber Music. Currently, she teaches at Macalester College in St. Paul, as well as privately in her home.
Ms. Chen received degrees from the Peabody Conservatory, under Julian Martin and University of Minnesota, under Margo Garrett’s direction. Additionally she has worked with Leon Fleisher, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Lydia Artymiw and John Perry.
You may reach Claudia Chen by e-mail at chen@macalester.edu.
Piano, Christine Dahl
Pianist Christine Dahl is an active Twin
Cities accompanist, chamber musician and teacher. A founding member
of Symphony Chamber Players, she has also appeared as soloist with the
Macalester Festival Chorale, the Bowling Green Chamber Symphony and the
Macalester Symphony. Dahl has recorded piano music of Carleton Macy on the
American Composers Forum INNOVA label and on a private label. She has
appeared in recital in St. Paul and Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Former pianist and
harpsichordist for the Sylmar Chamber Ensemble, Dahl has performed as an
extra musician with the Minnesota Orchestra and The Saint Paul Chamber
Orchestra. Her performances have been broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio's
"Saint Paul
Sunday" and "Live from Lanmark" programs. A Minneaplis
native, Dahl holds degrees from Bowling Green
State University,
Oberlin Conservatory and Oberlin
College. She has
taught at Macalester College since 1976 and has served on the
faculties of Gustavus Adolphus College,
the California Music Center
and Temple University
in Philadelphia.
She has served as editor of Prelude, program magazine of The Saint
Paul Chamber Orchestra, since 1984 and has taught at the St. Paul Jewish
Community center since 1987.
You may reach Christine Dahl by e-mail at dahl@macalester.edu.
Trumpet, Lynn
Erickson
Lynn Erickson, trumpet, received her DMA from the University of Minnesota. She is a member of the
Summit Hill Brass Quintet, has been 2nd Trumpet with the St. Paul Chamber
Orchestra since 1990, and makes guest appearances with the Minnesota
Orchestra and various pit orchestras.
You may reach Lynn Erickson by e-mail at lowg2@msn.com.
Recorder, Clea Galhano
Clea Galhano, Brazilian recorder player, is known for her
performance of early, contemporary, and Brazilian music. She has performed
as a solo and chamber musician across the USA,
South America, and Europe. As a chamber
collaborator she has toured with Marion Verbruggen, and as a soloist she
has performed with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra conducted by
Christopher Hogwood and Nicholas MaGegan. Recently, she releasecd a ned CD Songs
in the Ground with harpsichordist Vivian Montgomery on Ten Thousand Lakes
label (SC 114). Her other recordings include Magic Circle, with
Guitarist Tony Hauser, Distribution of Flowers label (SC 110), and Folias
Festivas with Belladonna on Dorian label. In the fal of 2002 she is
releaching a new CD with Belladonna.
Ms. Galhano studied in Brazil,
the Royal Conservatory (The Hague), and the
New England Conservatory of Music (Boston),
earning a Fulbright scholarship and support from the Dutch government. She
is a founding member of the Belladonna Baroque Quartet and the Galhano/Montgomery
Duo. In demand at early music workshops across the USA, Ms. Galhano regularly teaches at the
Festival de Musica Antiga in Rio
de Janeiro. She also serves on the national board
of the American Recorder Society. Ms. Galhano is a member of the faculty at
the St. Paul Conservatory, Macalester
College, and the MacPhail Center
for the Arts.
You may reach Clea Galhano by e-mail at galhano@aol.com.
Trombone, Rick Gaynor
Rick Gaynor received his degree in Music Performance from UW-River Falls where he studied with James
Gauthier and David Herring. He received his Master's degree in Trombone
Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music where his teachers
included Cleveland Orchestra trombonists Ed Anderson and Tom Klaber. He
also spent a summer participating in the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, Colorado where
he studied with Per Brevig of the Metropolitan Opera and the Juliard School
(New York City.)
Mr. Gaynor is an active performer in the Twin Cities area. He
has performed hundreds of concerts with the Minnesota Orchestra and the
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (two of this country's leading ensembles.) He
has performed in top Broadway musicals, including nearly 150 performances
of "Phantom of the Opera".
Mr. Gaynor has performed under some of the world's leading
conductors including: Edo de Waart, Roger Norington, Mark Wigglesworth,
Henry Charles Smith, Eiji Oue, David Zinman, Robert Shaw, Roberto Abbado,
Helmut Rilling, Richard Bonynge, Emmanuel Plassin, Marco Quidarini, Daniel
Harding, Hans Vonk, Christopher Hogwood, Andreas Delfs, Hugh Wolff, and
Bobby McFerrin.
Mr. Gaynor has performed with some of the world's leading
musicians and entertainers including; Luciano Pavarotti, the Three Tenors,
Charlotte Church, The Temptations, Moody Blues, the Dallas Brass and The
Canadian Brass. He has been a Featured Soloist with the UW-River Falls Wind
Ensemble, The Phipps Center Orchestra, many area high school bands, the
International Trombone Association Conference and a Clinician with the
International Tuba/Euphonium Conference.
Mr. Gaynor can be heard on numerous recordings including the
Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble's (I.C.E.) "I Dig", Innova
548. He has performed at some of the world's leading venues including: London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, as a part of the London
Jazz Festival; and New York's
Carnegie Hall with the Minnesota Orchestra.
You can contact Rick Gaynor by e-mail at rickgaynor@aol.com.
Jazz Guitar/Jazz
Bass/Improvisation, Joan Griffith
Joan Griffith is known in the Midwest
as a teacher, performer and composer. She has toured and recorded
extensively as a classical and jazz guitarist, a bassist and a mandolinist.
Her jazz CD, "Enter You, Enter Love," featuring many of her own
compositions, was chosen as one of the top ten best recordings for 1996 by
KBEM. Her choral composition "Sweet Noel" won the 1998 Christmas
Carol Contest sponsored by the American Composer's Forum and the Plymouth
Music Series.
Joan directs the Macalester Mac Jazz workshop and is also a
studio instructor there teaching electric bass, electric guitar and jazz
improvisation. She is also the head of the jazz studies department at the University of St. Thomas,
an instructor of guitar and bass at the College of St.
Catherine and roster artist in jazz for
COMPAS, the Minnesota State Arts Board and Young Audiences. Her
performances on mandolin include the Minnesota Orchestra's 1999 performance
and recording of Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" under the
direction of Eiji Oue, as soloist with the South Dakota Symphony on their
premiere recording "Journey to the Badlands" and as a featured
artist in the chamber music series of Minnesota Orchestra's SommerFest.
You may reach Joan Griffith by e-mail at aruth@mn.rr.com.
Clarinet, Shelly Hanson
Shelley Hanson, a Twin Cities composer, arranger, teacher,
and professional musician, has an affinity for writing and performing folk
music. Her band, Klezmer and All That Jazz, recorded traditional and
original music for the audio book version of the Yiddish play The Dybbuk.
Ms. Hanson received a Ph.D. in Performance, Music Theory, and Music
Literature from Michigan
State University.
She is a member of the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra and serves on the faculty
of Macalester
College.
You may reach Shelly Hanson by e-mail at klezmer@mac.com.
Flamenco Guitar, Michael Hauser
Michael Hauser is one of a handful of flamenco guitar masters
residing in the United
States today. Having left a successful
career as a forester in West Africa, Mr. Hauser traveled to Spain where
he began a lifelong affair with the intrinsically Spanish folk
art...flamenco. Mr. Hauser has studied with a number of Spain's
great flamenco guitarists including Luis Maravilla, Nino Ricardo, Just de
Badajoz, and Juan Maya "Marrote". He has also studied classical
guitar with Andres Segovia's protege, Jesus Silva. Mr. Hauser teaches
flamenco guitar (MUSP 188). Description: Study of techniques involved in
picado, arpeggio, tremolo, and rasqueado. Intensive study of various
rhythms and styles including Sevillanas, Soleares, Alegrias, Siguiryas,
Tango, Bulerias, Tiento, etc. Introduction to basic flamenco dance and song
accompaniment. Includes discussion of the Gypsy and Moor influence on the
history of the art form. He also teaches at University of St Thomas.
Jazz Drumming,
Steve Kimball
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Violin, Mary Budd
Horozaniecki
Throughout her lifetime career, Mary Budd Horozaniecki has been in equal demand as an outstanding violinist, distinguished scholar, classical performing artist and honored pedagogue. She has appeared nationally as a soloist and in collaboration with chamber ensembles and orchestras. A frequent master class presenter and guest artist at colleges and universities, Mary currently holds the title Lecturer in Music at Carleton College and teaches at Augsburg and Macalester Colleges in Minnesota.
Ms Horozaniecki is well known as a dynamic and dedicated teacher. While developing an immensely successful teaching career, Mary's students have gone on to lead active careers as orchestra directors, concert artists, and teachers. She was honored as the recipient of the prestigious Master Teacher Award by the Minnesota American String Teachers Association (MnASTA), in 1993. Mary has taught at the MacPhail Center for the Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota and has served as faculty for numerous summer workshops including the Upper Midwest String and Chamber Music Conference.
Mary has been invited to present master classes, recitals, and lectures in Canada, New York, Florida, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. For the last several years, she has been a presenter at the National Conference for ASTA with NSOA and served as adjudicator for the national finals for MTNA and Schubert Club Competitions. Ms Horozaniecki is also a recent participant at the Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. Known for her scholarly research, Mary's work on violin duos, with colleague Dr. Sarah Hersh of the Crane School of Music, SUNY, Potsdam, was lauded in the article, "Vertical Climb" by James Reel; Strings Magazine, February 2006.
Also a champion of contemporary music, she has performed and recorded numerous world premiers including works by Philip Rhodes and pianist/composer Donald Betts on Inscape and Centaur labels.
Recognized as one of the areas favorite performing violinists, Mary Horozaniecki, celebrates 15 years as Artist in Residence for the Minnesota Valley Sommarfest Concert Series where she is also on the artist board of directors. On local stages, Mary has appeared as a soloist most recently with the St. Paul Civic Symphony and The Mississippi Valley Chamber Orchestra. As guest artist, Mary is a frequent performer at numerous universities and colleges throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Ms Horozaniecki is a two-time fellowship winner at the Blossom Festival School, and has studied at the Meadowmount School of Music. She is an Honors graduate in the school of music at Indiana University where she was privileged to be mentored by the late Josef Gingold. Mary also studied with Margaret Pardee of the Juilliard School, Emily Austin and Menahem Pressler.
You may reach Mary Horozaniecki by e-mail at horozaniecki@macalester.edu.
Website: www.marybuddhorozaniecki.com
Flute,
Martha Jamsa
Martha
Jamsa received her B.F.A. from the University of Minnesota
and her M.M. in Flute Performance from the Indiana University School of
Music. During the past two decades she has been an active member of several
major ensembles, including the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and the
Dakota Wind Quintet. She has also served as a Substitute Flute/Piccolo
player for the Minnesota Orchestra. She has taught flute at South Dakota State
University, the University of Sioux
Falls, Carleton College and Macalester College.
She has also served on the Board of Directors for several organizations,
including the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and the Upper Midwest Flute
Association.
You may reach Martha Jamsa by e-mail at mjamsa@yahoo.com.
Jazz Trumpet, Dave Jensen
Dave Jensen is a member of Hornheads, a Billboard magazine
award-winning jazz group. As a group they have released two solo albums, as
a horn section, they have recorded over fifty albums for artists in the U.S., Argentina,
Portugal, and the U.K. From
1991 through 2001, the Hornheads recorded nine albums with Prince and the
New Power Generation. During this time, they toured and performed with
Prince throughout the U.S.,
Europe, Japan and Australia.
Dave spent three years touring with the Artie Shaw Orchestra.
His trumpet and flugelhorn can be heard on the albums of Chaka Khan,
Babyface, Phil Upchurch, Larry Graham, Tevin Campbell, Mavis Staples, Ben
Sidran, Pete Whitman, Dave Graf, Ricky Peterson and the JazzMN Big Band. He
is a pit musician for theatrical and musical productions at the Ordway Center, Guthrie Theater, Orchestra
Hall and other venues. Dave also is a busy session player, working with
Asche & Spencer, Absolute Music and Wow & Flutter. In the Twin
Cities, Dave has played with Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, Frank
Sinatra Jr. and the late Rosemary Clooney. He graduated Summa Cum Laude
from Berklee College of Music.
Saxophones, Kathy Jensen
Kathy Jensen is a well-known area musician and educator. On
alto, tenor, and bari sax (which is about as tall as she is!), Kathy can be
heard with the all-brass ensemble, The Hornheads, and the JazzMN Big Band,
as well as in the orchestra pit of touring shows and area theater
productions. She leads her own group, The Kathy J Band, backs Moore by Four, Ginger
Commodore, and many other artists. She has performed with the Minnesota
Orchestra and with touring artists such as Aretha Franklin, James Brown,
Frank Sinatra Jr. and Natalie Cole.
Harpsichord/Organ,
Winston Kaehler
B.A. University of Minnesota, M.A. and Ph.D. University of
Michigan studied Organ with Barrett Spach, Heinrich Fleischer, Marilyn Mason and studied Harpsichord under M. Mason,
Lisa Crawford and others. Kaehler also studied in England, France
and Switzerland.
Special performing interests include J. S. Bach, C. Franck and French
Baroque. He is currently the Organist at Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Church.
French
Horn, Caroline Lemen
Caroline Lemen, studio instructor in Horn, is active as a
teacher and performer in the Twin Cities. She plays regularly with both the
Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. She received her
Bachelor of Music degree at SUNY Potsdam and her Master of Music degree at Northwestern University,
Chicago.
Caroline Lemen can be reached by email at linelemen@msn.com.
Tuba, Paul Maybery
You may reach Paul Maybery by e-mail at pgmaybery@aol.com.
Voice, Laura
Nichols
Mezzo-soprano Laura Nichols began her musical career in the
Twin Cities singing with the Minnesota Opera, where she was a member of the
world premiere casts of Conrad Susa's Black River and Dominic Argento's
Casanova's Homecoming. An accomplished oratorio and chamber musician, Ms.
Nichols has been a featured soloist under the batons of Robert DeCormier,
Ed Forner, John Harbison, Layton James, David Randolph, Joel Revson, Helmut
Rilling, Kathy Romey, Robert Shaw, Henry Charles Smith, Osmo Vanska, and
Pinchas Zuckerman. Representative orchestras with whom she has been a soloist
include the American Symphony Orchestra, the Duluth Symphony Orchestra, the
Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the
Minnesota Orchestra. Her mentors include baritone Dwayne Jorgenson, and the
famed mezzo-soprani Jan DeGaetani and Elizabeth Mannion. She has been on
the music faculties of Gustavus Adolphus College
and the University of Wisconsin - River
Falls and presently, she is an
instructor of voice at Macalester College in St.
Paul. This summer she will complete her PhD in
music with an emphasis in education and vocal pedagogy from the University of Minnesota. She enjoys golf, travel
and playing with her two dogs, Dolce and Redford.
You may reach Laura Nichols by e-mail at macduffso1@gmail.com.
Voice, Joseph Reed
Joseph Reed, baritone, a graduate of the University of St. Thomas, holds M.M. and D.M.A. degrees from the University of Minnesota. He also holds the Certificate of Vocal Pedagogy from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Reed has performed with many area arts organizations, including Opera 101 Theater Company, North Star Opera, Anoka Opera, Minnesota Opera, and Northland Opera Theater.
An active private studio voice teacher since 1987, Dr. Reed joined the Macalester College music faculty in 2006. He also teaches at The University of St Thomas, and serves as choir director at the Church of ST Francis of Assisi. Previously, he taught at Bethel University and Minneapolis Community College.
Thomas Rosenberg is nationally known as a dynamic teacher,
chamber music coach, and performer. A resident of Saint
Paul, Minnesota, he is on the
faculties of the University of Minnesota as Coordinator of the String Chamber
Music Program and coaching numerous ensembles, Macalester
College teaching cello and at Carleton College teaching cello, coaching
chamber music and performing in the Veblen Trio. Recipient of the 2003-4
"Master Studio Teacher Award" from the Minnesota chapter of the
American String Teachers Asssociation and the 2004-5 McKnight Performing
Artist Fellowship Award, he also maintains a busy private studio of
cellists and chamber ensembles and teaches for the MacPhail Center for
Music. During the summers he teaches and coaches at music centers such as
the Tanglewood Institute, The Quartet Program where he has also been
Associate Director, Icicle Creek, Bravo, and the Green Mountain Chamber
Music Festival. Since 1981, Tom has been Artistic Director of the
prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and has been named
"Arts Educator of the Year" by the Michiana Arts and Sciences
Council.
He has received top chamber music prizes at the Munich (Germany),
Portsmouth (England) and Chicago Discovery
Competitions, and is a three-time Naumburg Award finalist. He has been solo
cello of the New York Chamber Ensemble performing in all of the major
concert halls in NYC and appeared at many music festivals including Aspen, Newport, Banff, South Mountain, Cape May, the Grand Tetons, and the
International Music Festival in San
Jose, Costa Rica.
As a soloist, he has been noted by the Boston Globe as displaying
"beautifully inflected, noble playing with a gorgeous dark tone."
Previously, he was Associate Professor of Cello at Indiana University South
Bend and a founding member of the highly acclaimed Chester String Quartet
with whom he made numerous recordings and for twenty years, appeared on
concert stages and live radio coast to coast in the United States, Canada,
Central America and Europe. Locally, he
has performed numerous solo and chamber music recitals and played with such
ensembles as the Minnesota Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, The
Lyra Baroque Ensemble and the Artaria String Quartet. He performs on a rare
cello by Lorenzo Storioni made in Cremona,
Italy in
1794.
Tom is a graduate of Oberlin and the Eastman School of Music
where he was teaching assistant to both Paul Katz and Laurence Lesser.
Other teachers include Richard Kapuscinski, Alan Harris, Alta Mayer, and
for chamber music, members of the Budapest,
Juilliard, Tokyo,
Guarneri, and Cleveland Quartets.
You may reach Thomas Rosenberg by e-mail at trcello@msn.com.
A native of the Northern Great Lakes,
Laurinda Sager Wright spent her childhood winters indoors playing piano to
distract herself from the harsh facts of weather. At the age of sixteen,
she made her professional debut as the result of winning a concerto competition
sponsored by the local symphony. After graduating with honors in piano
performance from Lawrence
University, Ms.
Wright continued her studies at the New England Conservatory of Music,
where she earned a master's degree studying under Patricia Zander. While in
Boston she
collaborated with a variety of musicians, including members of the Boston
Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops, and served as music director for
several area programs and theaters.
Ms. Wright maintains a busy performance schedule in Minneapolis and St.
Paul. She frequently collaborates with Minnesota
Orchestra members and presents a variety of programs at such venues as the Ordway Performing
Arts Center,
Walker Arts
Center, Schubert Club, University of Minnesota and Orchestra Hall. Her
extensive work with the Minnesota Orchestra has taken place both on and off
stage, serving as rehearsal pianist for a variety of projects, and playing
a variety of keyboards in concert. Ms. Wright is married to the Minnesota
Orchestra's principal trombonist, Douglas Wright, and is now more familiar
with that instrument's repertoire than she ever thought possible.
You may reach Laurie Sager-Wright by e-mail at dlsagerwright@visi.com.
Guitar,
Jeffrey Thygeson
A member of the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet since 2002,
Jeffrey has been an active soloist and chamber musician, with appearances
in New York, Cleveland,
Chicago, Los Angeles,
and throughout the Midwest, as well as concerto appearances with orchestras
in Minnesota and North Dakota. Jeffrey has performed in
master classes with Eliot Fisk, Christopher Parkening, Sharon Isbin, Paul
Galbraith, Ben Verdery, Roberto Aussel, and Denis Azabagic. Jeffrey
received his bachelor's degree from the University
of St. Thomas and his master of
music degree from the University
of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he
studied with William Kanengiser and received the Pi Kappa Lambda Guitar
Scholarship Award. Additional teachers have included Pepe Romero, James
Smith, Christopher Kachian, and Brian Head. A native Minnesotan, Jeffrey is
on the music faculty of the University
of St. Thomas.
Jazz Piano, Benny
Weinbeck
Benny Weinbeck is a successful performer, producer, composer,
arranger and bandleader. His playing styles include crossover jazz, latin,
and eclectic. Weinback has produced 4 albums of original compositions and
one of solo piano jazz standards. He has also appeared on Gordon Johnson's
album, "Trios". For more information, visit his website at www.weinbeck.com.
You may reach Benny Weinbeck by email at benny@weinbeck.com.
Raga, Sitar, David
Whetstone
David Whetstone is a sitarist-disciple of the renowned Ustad Vilayat
Khan, having begun his studies in 1971 with Brian Silver. In 1988 he
received an American Institute
of Indian Studies Senior Research Fellowship,
and has collaborated and toured for over 20 years with poet Robert Bly and
Rumi translator Coleman Barks, resulting in numerous recordings and films.
In 1992 he co-founded and was Artistic Director of Minneapolis' Ragamala
Music and Dance Theater, supplying the entire repertoire from 1992-1997. In
1999 he premiered excerpts of his new opera, White Nights, with the
Rochester (MN) Orchestra and Chorus, soloist Dan Dressen, and conductor
Jere Lantz. He also teaches at Carleton
College, Northfield, MN.
You may reach David Whetstone by email at whetstone@macalester.edu.
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