Home of Karen Hansen
*This venue has been canceled.
Arrival 7:00 pm, Concert 7:30 pm
Reservations are required and can only be made by members. Please email info@thursdaymusical.org for the link to RSVP to this home. Address will be provided in the RSVP.
Performances by:
Melissa Holm-Johansen, soprano and Mike Meyers, piano
Nickolai Kolarov, cello
Karen Hansen, clarinet
Soprano Melissa Holm-Johansen is a native of Halden, Norway, and is a 1998 graduate of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, USA, where she graduated cum laude with a double major in vocal performance and music education. Dr. Holm-Johansen holds a D.M.A. in vocal pedagogy and performance from the University of Minnesota and was a two year recipient of a Torske Klubben scholarship. Her current project is a first-of-its-kind all-English recording of songs composed by her countryman Edvard Grieg, in collaboration with pianist Steve Swanson, Norwegian scholar/translator William Halvorson, and the Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota. See direct links on the homepage to “Songs From the Heart” recording platforms. Past performing groups include The Singers – Minnesota Choral Artists, The Minnesota Beethoven Festival Chorus, Bach Roots Festival, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Chorale, The Dale Warland Singers, The Oratorio Society, The Norwegian Youth Choir, and The St. Olaf Choir. Dr. Holm-Johansen is a longtime member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and was previously awarded the NATS Independent Teacher Award. She has a private voice studio at her home in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, is the Vocal Performance Program Instructor at Shattuck – St. Mary’s Boarding school in Faribault, MN and is on the faculty at North Central University in Minneapolis. She is a section leader at The House Of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul and studies with Tony-nominated singer/actor Melissa Hart and University of Minnesota professor Jean del Santo.
Cellist Nickolai Kolarov graduated from the Bulgarian State Academy of Music and received his Master’s degree from the University of Missouri, Kansas City where he studied with Nina Gordon. Kolarov earned his Doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota where he studied with Tanya Remenikova. He also studied with Igor Gavrish from the Moscow Conservatory of Music. Since his arrival in the United States he has performed with distinguished musicians in both classical and contemporary repertoire throughout the country. Kolarov is a prizewinner from the Bulgarian National Competition at Provadia. He has received numerous grants from the Minnesota Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and American Composers Forum, as well the Fine Arts and Humanities Grant from St. Thomas University where he taught cello until 2006. Kolarov performed on the conference of the National Association of Composers (NACUSA) in San Marcos, Texas in 2008. He also performed at the 2010 Composer Conference of the Aspen Institute. In 2011 he was invited for a performance-lecture at the Juilliard School. Kolarov is the founder of the Balkanicus Balkan new chamber music concert series in 2003 in the Twin Cities, MN and the Artistic Director of Balkanicus Ensemble. The series has featured music written especially for him and for the ensemble. Kolarov is the President of the Balkanicus Institute for Balkan Art, Culture and History, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the culture of the Balkans.
2022/23 Concert Cellist, Lecturer /Ethnomusicologist and the Artistic Director of Balkanicus – Balkan contemporary chamber music series and ensemble since 2003. President of Balkanicus Institute for Balkan Art, Culture and History www.bibach.org
Karen Hansen is principal clarinetist with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra and Mississippi Valley Orchestra and clarinetist with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra, Dolce Wind Quintet, and the Incidental Trio. Her freelance work also includes performing in the Moody Blues backing orchestra, OCEAN with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and world premieres of the operas The Ladysmith Story and Christina’s Memory Garden. She also performs for Classical MPR, The Schubert Club and other artist series. Karen teaches clarinet and saxophone at Cadenza Music in St. Paul. During vacations she is a music lecturer on board cruise ships. Karen earned her B.A. from St. Olaf College and her M.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and she studied music and theater in London.
Program
Ku-Lok (Cow-Call) EGS 152 sung in English and Norwegian
En Svane (A Swan) Op. 25 No. 2 sung in Norwegian
Med en primula veris (The First Primrose) Op. 26 No. 4 sung in Norwegian
Gangar (Norwegian March) Op. 54, No. 2
Dulgt kjærlighet (Hidden Love) Op. 39 No. 2 sung in English
Veslemøy Op. 67 No. 2 sung in English
Solo Piano: TBD
Lys Nat (Summer Night) Op. 70 No. 3 sung in Norwegian
Gade Op. 57, No. 2
Jeg elsker dig (I Love but Thee) Op. 5 No. 3 sung in Norwegian and English
Melissa Holm-Johansen, soprano
Mike Meyer, piano*
*guest artist
Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008 J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Prelude
Allemande
Sarabande
Gigue
Nickolai Kolarov, cello