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Featuring Thursday Musical Members KaTrio Karen Hansen, clarinet with guest artists Kaia Sand, oboe and Kate Saumur, bassoon; Kristina Rodel Sorum, mezzo soprano accompanied by guest artist KT Thompson, accordion; Salam Murtada, piano; and Will Samorey, violin accompanied by guest artist Mina Park, piano.
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.
Karen Hansen Gurstelle is principal clarinetist of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra and Mississippi Valley Orchestra and clarinetist with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra and 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 three operas. As a chamber ensemble musician, she has worked for Classical MPR, The Schubert Club, Thursday Musical, and other artist series. schoolchildren busy seasons as a Class Notes Artist for Classical MPR when Dolce Wind Quintet played dozens of concerts for thousands of school children. Karen teaches clarinet at Cadenza Music in St. Paul and enjoys hearing her students succeed in youth symphonies, honors programs, and school and university ensembles. Having worked in France and Germany. Karen now scratches her travel itch twice a year by working as an arts enrichment lecturer on board cruise ships. She earned her B.A. from St. Olaf College and her M.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and studied music and theater in London.
Kaia Sand is an active freelance oboist and teacher in the Twin Cities metro area. In addition to holding principal oboe positions with the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra and the Mississippi Valley Orchestra, she has subbed with numerous area orchestras, including the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, and the Wayzata Symphony Orchestra. Kaia knew she wanted to play the oboe from an early age. Encouraged and supported by wonderful teachers, she followed her passion and earned a B.A. in music from Luther College and an M.M. in oboe performance from the University of Oklahoma. Along the way, she performed with the Norman Philharmonic, the Cimarron Opera, and the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, and in such venues as Harpa Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland, Girona Cathedral in Girona, Spain, and the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria. She now teaches oboe lessons at Cadenza Music in St. Paul and at several area schools, and she hopes to instill the same love for the oboe in her students.
Kate Saumur is a busy Twin Cities freelance bassoonist. She has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and many other local and regional groups. She plays principal bassoon in the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, is a member of the Rochester Symphony, and is a frequent sub with the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra. After earning a degree in computer science, she had enough of being practical and sensible and later earned a master's degree in theology and the arts. She worked in arts administration for ten years, as a writer and producer for American Public Media’s Performance Today and as a marketing specialist for Minnesota Opera. Kate's relationship history with woodwinds includes a failed attempt at the flute, which lasted a week, followed by a sullen and loveless pairing with the clarinet, which went hand in hand with acne and teenage angst. It wasn't pretty. She finally broke free and found the love of her life when she met the bassoon. The rest, as they say, is history.
Noted for his stylistic versatility and ability to command an audience with his musical storytelling, Will Samorey began his long studies in music in Des Moines, and was a two-year Iowa All-State musician including one year as a section principal. Will went to high school at City High School in Iowa City, whose music program has been awarded three times by the Grammy association as one of the top high school music programs in the country. Will began his undergraduate degree at the University of Iowa under the tutelage of Annette-Barbara Vogel, following her to the University of Western Ontario where he graduated with a B.A. in Music with honors in Violin Performance where he held various positions with the school's symphony orchestra, opera, and musical productions including all principal violin positions and concertmaster. Professionally, Will has performed in all concentrations from chamber music, to pit orchestras, community, and symphony orchestras. Currently, Will has tenure with the Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra and Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, and he is the concertmaster of the Golden Valley Orchestra. Will has given solo and chamber music recitals throughout Minnesota and Iowa and he is thrilled to call Minneapolis his new home.
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 including 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 third program as a Thursday Musical Artist, and her first program ever to feature her favorite instrument: the accordion.
Salam Murtada is a native of Amman, Jordan. He was a semi-finalist in the Fourth Van Cliburn International Competition for Outstanding Amateurs in 2004, a semi-finalist in the Washington International Piano Artist Competition in 2006, a winner in the Masters Concerto and Aria Competition (MCAC) in 2019 and a prize winner in the Greensboro Music Academy National Piano Competition in 2000. He has been featured on the WDAV 89.9 FM (Charlotte, NC), several newspapers in North Carolina, the Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Tribune, the London Times, HDTV and BBC Radio. His original compositions have been premiered in the US, Australia, Ukraine, Estonia, Egypt and Jordan. His instructors include John Ruggero in Raleigh NC, Christine Kefferstan of West Virginia University at Morgantown, Lita Guerra of University of Texas at Austin, and Samia Abu-Khader Ghannoum in Amman, Jordan. He has also coached with Walter Hautzig and Vanessa Cornett-Murtada.
Salam is a civil and environmental engineer currently working for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.