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Featuring Thursday Musical Member Kristin Griffeath, soprano accompanied by guest artist Bryon Wilson, piano; Thursday Musical Member Brendon Bushman, oboe accompanied by guest artist Casey Rafn, piano; Thursday Musical Member Stephanie Thorpe, soprano accompanied by guest artist Benjamin Marti, piano; and Thursday Musical Members Kristina Rodel Sorum, mezzo soprano accompanied by Kristine West Denton, piano.
*denotes not pictured.
Click the photo on the left for artist and program information.
For everyone’s safety, Thursday Musical strongly recommends all audience members to wear a non-cloth mask such as a N95, KN95, KF94, or surgical mask inside of the recital hall.
Kristin Griffeath, soprano, grew up in Plymouth, Minnesota and studied voice locally with a teacher who would become a lifelong mentor: Mary Kay Schmidt. A graduate of Armstrong High School, she then attended the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin, where she double majored in Music Education (Choral/Vocal, studying with Joanne Bozeman) and Piano Performance (studying with Michael Kim). Griffeath was inspired to pursue a career teaching voice, combining her passions for education and voice with an opportunity to play the piano every day. She spent three years living in sunny Tucson, Arizona, working in the public schools while earning a master’s degree in Voice Performance from the University of Arizona (in the vocal studio of Dr. Kristin Dauphinais). She then attended the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, studying voice with Dr. Rebecca Sherburn and coaching regularly with Richard Williams. She completed a DMA in Voice Performance and a second master’s degree in Musicology. She now teaches as a professor at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) in Weatherford, Oklahoma. She enjoys directing the SWOSU Opera Workshop productions, teaching the music history sequence, and working with talented young singers in her voice studio.
Bryon Wilson is a freelance pianist, teacher, and vocal coach based in Minneapolis, MN. He has appeared with numerous artistic organizations including Schubert Club, Source Song Festival, Thursday Musical, NATS, Mill City Opera, Out of the Box Opera, Orpheus Music Project, and River Sounds in Ft. Lauderdale. In 2015 Bryon performed in the world premiere of Minnesota Concert Opera’s La Divina, a one-woman play about Maria Callas. Bryon also studies and performs music composed by holocaust prisoners in Theresienstadt and recently presented a lecture recital on the topic as part of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas series on Holocaust survivors in Minnesota.
Bryon maintains an active piano studio, and his students have entered music programs at Indiana University, New York University, Boston University, and Interlochen Arts Camp. During his Master’s and Doctoral studies in Collaborative Piano at the University of Minnesota Bryon studied with Timothy Lovelace, Noriko Kawai, Debra Bakland, and Margo Garrett. Bryon is pianist for The Singers - Minnesota Choral Artists, on the faculty of Macphail Center for Music, organist at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Edina, MN, and Artistic Director of Concerts by the Creek. Bryon also spends two months every summer commercial salmon fishing in Bristol Bay, AK.
Brendon Bushman is an active freelance musician and teacher in the Twin Cities area. He is currently principal oboist of the Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra, and adjunct oboe faculty at the University of Minnesota, Morris and the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. He maintains private studios in St. Cloud and St. Louis Park.
In addition to the SCSO, Brendon can be heard with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, Journey North Opera, Minnesota Dance Theatre, VocalEssence and the South Metro Chorale. Over the last 20 years Brendon has performed with regional orchestras throughout the southeastern US and Texas. From 2005-2008, he was a core member of the Atlanta Chamber Winds, including performing on the 2009 Albany Records CD & digital release “Music from Paris.” During the pandemic he gave 60 solo “mini-recitals” across the Twin Cities & greater Minnesota as part of the Bach Society of Minnesota’s “Vagabond Season.”
Mr. Bushman studied oboe performance and graphic design at Indiana University, Bloomington, holds a Bachelor of Music in Oboe Performance from The University of Texas at Austin, and continued graduate studies at The University of Minnesota.
Stephanie R. Thorpe, soprano, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Music at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where she teaches classical, musical theatre, and contemporary vocal styles. Her performance career includes opera, contemporary, and musical theatre genres. Stephanie was a winner of the Nevada District National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards, a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and she performed in Las Vegas, Nevada for several years. She received a D.M.A. from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a Vocology Certificate from the National Center for Voice and Speech, an M.A. from the University of Iowa, and a B.A. from Briar Cliff University.
Benjamin Marti received his Bachelor of Arts in Piano Performance from Gustavus Adolphus College under Helen Baumgartner. He is chaired as pianist with the Mankato Symphony Orchestra. Since 2004, Ben has performed as the Artist in Residence at Morgan Creek Vineyards Wine Down for the Weekend Music Series. Benjamin was awarded the PLRAC/McKnight Emerging Artist Grant to fund a recording of new repertoire in 2012. He also accompanies for churches and educational institutions throughout southern Minnesota.
Kristina Rodel Sorum is a Minneapolis-based Mezzo Soprano with a breadth of experience as a soloist and chorister. From Renaissance polyphony to art song so new that the ink hasn’t dried, she sings it all. She has appeared with ensembles such as the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers (2016-present), The Singers: Minnesota Choral Artists, The Minnesota Chorale, imPulse, Bach Roots Festival, Opera Reading Project, the Bach Society of Minnesota, Minnesota Renaissance Choir, Twin Cities Fringe Opera (now Journey North Opera), Twin Cities Early Music Festival, the Lakes Area Music Festival, and the Lyra Baroque Orchestra. Her favorite opera roles have included Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro and Mercedes in Carmen. Kristina was the first place winner at SongSlam Minneapolis 2020, premiering “How Close I’d Love to Be” by Isaac Lovdahl. This is her second program as a Thursday Musical Artist.
Kristine West Denton has performed across the country, in Canada, and Germany as a soloist and collaborative pianist. She recently retired from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Previously, she taught at Grinnell College, Coe College and Fort Hays State University.
She was a frequent soloist with the Erie Philharmonic and played keyboards for the Erie Philharmonic, Erie Chamber Orchestra and the Bemus Bay Pops. She performed on live broadcasts from WKSU (Kent, OH), WCLV (Cleveland) and WQLN (Erie) in collaborative performances. She administered and performed in a free concert series at the Erie County Public Library and served on the Arts Council of Erie.
A concert review from the Badische Zeitung (Freiburg, Germany) called her “an excellent soloist and an intelligent and sensitive accompanist” while a recipient of a Collaborative Fulbright Grant.
She attended the vocal accompanying program at the Music Academy of the West and the vocal and instrumental programs of the Blossom Festival School, studying with Martin Katz, Warren Jones and Cleveland Orchestra members.
A native of Minnesota, Kristine received degrees from the University of Iowa (DMA), Kent State University, and Augsburg College (Mpls). Her principal teachers were Kenneth Amada, Margaret Baxtresser and Jim Johnson.
