Studio Instructors:
Additions coming soon:
Voice: Joe Reed,
wjreed@comcast.net
Bassoon: Carole Mason-Smith,
caroleloon@yahoo.com
| Sowah Mensah | African Voice, Percussion, Flute, Marimba |
| Carole Mason-Smith | Bassoon |
| Thomas Rosenberg | Cello |
| Shelly Hanson | Clarinet |
| Michael Hauser | Flamenco Guitar |
| Martha Jamsa | Flute |
| Caroline Lemen | French Horn |
| TBA | Gamba |
| Jeffrey Thygeson | Guitar |
| Ann Benjamin | Harp |
| Winston Kaehler | Harpsichord/Organ |
| Steve Sutherland | Highland Drumming |
| Mike Breidenbach | Highland Piping |
| Joan Griffith | Jazz Guitar/Jazz Bass/Jazz Improvisation |
| Steve Kimball | Jazz Percussion |
| Benny Weinbeck | Jazz Piano |
| Dave Jensen | Jazz Trumpet |
| Rachel Green Brudnoy | Oboe/English Horn |
| Christine Dahl | Piano |
| Barbara Brooks | Piano |
| Claudia Chen | Piano |
| Laurie Sager-Wright | Piano |
| Clea Galhano | Recorder |
| David Whetstone | Raga, Sitar |
| Kathy Jensen | Saxophones |
| Rick Gaynor | Trombone |
| Lynn Erickson | Trumpet |
| Paul Maybery | Tuba |
| Stella Anderson | Viola/Violin |
| Mary Budd Horozaniecki | Violin |
| Benjamin Allen | Voice |
| Laura Nichols | Voice |
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.
Oboe/English Horn, Rachel Green Brudnoy
Rachel Green Brudnoy is a free lance professional concert and recording studio solo oboist and English horn performer. She has studied at both the University of Minnesota and the Berkshire Music School. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Twin Cities Musicians' Union.
You may reach Rachel Brudnoy by e-mail at rachelbrudnoy@earthlink.com.
Piano, Claudia Chen
Claudia Chen enjoys an active career as performer, coach and teacher. Her playing has been praised for its sensitivity, vitality and tonal palette. Making her solo debut with the Denver Symphony Orchestra at age 14, Ms. Chen has gone on to perform as soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Canada, Poland, Ukraine and Chile. Equally at home in contemporary work 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 in the Chamber Music Series of The Grand Teton Music Festival and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and has performed at Bowdoin Festival in the USA; Contrasts International Contemporary Music Festival in Lviv, Ukraine; Agassiz Chamber Music Festival and Centara International New Music Festival in Canada. Her performances have been aired nationally in Canada on CBC and in the USA on National Public Radio. Ms. Chen performs frequently in duo performances with her husband, cellist Arek Tesarczyk.
As a clinician, Ms. Chen has presented performance and pedagogy classes in Canada and the United States. She has served on the faculty of the University of Manitoba in Canada, as Assistant Professor of Piano and Chamber Music. Currently, she maintains a private studio, and teaches at Macalester College in St. Paul.
Born in Santiago, Chile and raised in Denver, Colorado, Ms. Chen began her musical studies with her mother, Patricia Parraguez Chen. She graduated with the top prize for pianists, the Milholland Prize, from the Peabody Conservatory. Other awards have included prizes at the Kosciuszko Chopin Competition, the (MTNA) National Competition, the American Music Scholarship Association National Competition, and the Arnold Bullock National Competition. After receiving her Bachelor of Music in Performance under Julian Martin, at Peabody, she continued with Margo Garrett at the University of Minnesota, receiving her Masters of Music in Coaching/Collaborative Piano. Additionally, she has worked with Leon Fleisher, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Richard Goode, Karl Ulrich Schnabel, 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
Violin, Mary Budd Horozaniecki
Mary Budd Horozaniecki is in high demand as a performing artist and pedagogue. Currently serving on the faculties of Carleton, Macalester, and Augsburg colleges, she has been honored by the Minnesota Chapter of the American String Teachers Association with the 1993 Master Teacher Award, and has presented master classes, recitals, and lectures in New York, Florida, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Her career as a performing violinist is rich with collaborations. In recent seasons, she has collaborated with celebrated pianists such as John McKay, Kenneth Huber, Paul Shaw, Mark Mazullo, Yumiko Oshima Ryan and Donald Betts to perform works by Takemitsu, Zaimont, Franck, Brahms, Beethoven, and Mozart. A 1996 collaboration with Kenneth Huber and James Jacobson, cello, led to a series of exciting performances in New York City and in Minnesota.
A founding member of the Sartory String Quartet, which she departed in 1999, she has performed a vast array of chamber works, including numerous premieres and many of the great works for string quartet. As a favored soloist with local orchestras, her recent repertoire includes the Concerto in D Major by Tchaikovsky, the Concerto in D Major and the Triple Concerto by Beethoven, MozartŐs Concert in A Major, Ernest ChaussonŐs Poeme, and Vaughan Williams' Lark Ascending. Her most recent recording, The Radiance of Shadows, ©2002 is a recording of works by pianist/composer Donald Betts, including music written especially for her.
Ms. Horozaniecki is a two-time fellowship winner at the Blossom Festival School, has studied at the Meadowmount School, and is an Honors graduate of the school of music at Indiana University, where she was privileged to be mentored by the late Josef Gingold. She has also had the privilege to study with Margaret Pardee, Emily Austin, and Menahem Pressler. While relaxing from her busy performing and teaching schedule, she is thankful for her time with her husband Joe, daughter Sherry, and their West Highland Terrier, Max.
You may reach Mary Horozaniecki by e-mail at mrsmbqh@aol.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.
Cello, Thomas Rosenberg
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.
Piano, Laurie Sager-Wright
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 OrchestraŐs 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.