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Featuring Thursday Musical Members Gail Olszewski, piano with Melyssa Rice, soprano; Paul Schulz, bass clarinet accompanied by Mary Goetz, piano; Scotty Horey, marimba accompanied by guest artist Brian DeYoung, piano; and Monica Murray, soprano with guest artist Shari Speer, soprano accompanied by Kristine West Denton, 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.
Gail Olszewski has performed chamber and solo recitals on early & modern piano, harpsichord, organ and synthesizer in the US, Canada, Europe, Central America and Australia. Locally she has a varied free-lance career as a collaborative keyboardist, vocal and instrumental coach, and competition judge. She plays with members of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra, The WolfGang, Music St. Croix and Duo Tastiera (with harpsichordist/composer Asako Hirabayashi). She has a BA in Spanish and Music History/Harpsichord from the U/ New Hampshire, MMus in Piano Performance from Boston U and DMA in Accompanying /Coaching from the U/Minnesota. Gail has a private studio and teaches at MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis. www.gailopiano.com
Melyssa Rice has performed opera roles, in opera choruses, opera/oratorio solos in concert, and art song concerts in Minnesota, Washington and Alaska. Companies include Seattle Opera (AGMA chorus); Puget Sound Opera, Kitsap Opera, Seattle Comic Opera, Hildman String Orchestra, Thursday Musical, Hastings Arts Center, and many others. She has given five solo concerts, fifteen half-concerts, and sung solos in dozens of shared concerts. A St. Olaf College graduate, Melyssa has taught singing since 1992, including at Seattle Central, South Seattle, and Shoreline Community Colleges; at the Music Center of the Northwest (Seattle) and Blessings Academy of Music (Hastings); and in her private studio. An experienced adjudicator and master class presenter, she can also be heard weekly on KDWA radio with First Presbyterian of Hastings. www.melyssarice.com
Paul Schulz was graduated summa cum laude with a music performance degree in clarinet and horn from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and received his Master of Music degree in horn performance from Arizona State University. He joined the Minnesota Sinfonia as principal clarinet in 2011 and has been a member of the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra since 1991, currently serving as principal clarinet. An adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas, he teaches private bass and contrabass clarinet students. He works full-time as an IT professional and enjoys music composition and games of chance.
Mary Goetz is an active soloist and collaborative pianist in the Twin Cities area. A native of Wisconsin, she received her performance degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the New England Conservatory of Music. In addition to performing she teaches piano in her studio in St. Paul and is on faculty at the K&S Conservatory in Woodbury and the Minnesota Valley Conservatory of Music in Burnsville.
Scotty Horey (B.A., M.M.A., D.M.A.) is solo percussionist, drummer, teacher, and winner of many academic and professional awards. He was formerly based in Minneapolis and currently resides in Wilmington, DE, with his girlfriend, Jenny Lang. There he serves as an instructor of percussion at The Music School of Delaware while maintaining his work as a solo artist, clinician, and freelance drummer/percussionist. From 2020 to 2022, he lived in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico, where he held the position of full professor of percussion at the famous Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas, the top percussion school of Mexico. His strongest passions in music and teaching include classical music, contemporary-classical music, progressive rock and jazz fusion, mindfulness and health and wellness for musicians, and cultural exchange. Former appointments include Adjunct Professor of Percussion at the University of Minnesota-Morris and Principal Percussionist of the Mankato Symphony Orchestra, both positions he held for 8 years. He has been a featured solo artist and educator all over the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Greece, Mexico, and Colombia at major international festivals and universities, and was a finalist in the prestigious McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians in 2017. Mr. Horey was called “the Twin Cities’ hungriest young percussionist” by New Music Box and “a performer of intelligence, raw artistry, and the utmost concentration and energy” by international icon composer James Dillon. He has worked with many prestigious performers and organizations including the Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Ordway Center for Performing Arts, and Ohio Light Opera. Mr. Horey is an endorsing artist for MAPEX drums, VIC FIRTH sticks, SABIAN cymbals, and MAJESTIC percussion. Visit www.scottyhorey.com.
Brian De Young is a pianist and organist who has performed musical theatre, opera, and chamber music throughout the Midwest. He has collaborated with members of the Chicago, Grand Rapids, Saginaw, Marquette, and Sioux City Symphonies at events such as the Saugatuck Chamber Music Festival, White Lake Chamber Music Festival, and Grand Rapids Symphony Bach Fest, and has performed theatre and cabaret shows with Broadway veteran Tom Zemon and soprano Rachael Gates, among others.
As a teacher, Brian has served on the faculties of Grand Valley State University and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in addition to teaching award-winning piano and voice students. He has also directed many community choirs and church music programs, and is currently the Director of Traditional Music at All Saints Lutheran Church in Minnetonka.
Brian holds a bachelor’s degree from Dordt College, where he studied organ and piano pedagogy. Graduate work in organ, voice, and choral conducting was done at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and he studied piano with Helen Marlais and chamber music with Arthur Campbell at Grand Valley State University, where he received a Piano Pedagogy Certificate.
Dr. Monica Murray received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Minnesota. She also holds degrees from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music - Bloomington and St. Olaf College. Dr. Murray is an active performer in the Twin Cities, having served as a section leader with the Minnesota Chorale, a frequent recitalist for Thursday Musical, and as member of the Minnesota Opera Company Chorus. She is a member of the music faculty at Concordia University, St. Paul, and also serves as the Chair of the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance. Dr. Murray holds a Juris Doctor degree from William Mitchell College of Law and is a member of the Minnesota Bar.
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.