NEW VENUE: Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church
511 Groveland Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Tickets are $15 for non-members & $10 per ticket for groups of 8+. Students are now free.
Going to miss a concert? Purchase a Youtube replay for $8 or get access to the full Thursday Musical library of concerts by becoming a member. Get a preview of our replays by watching last year’s opening concert: https://youtu.be/vaJXJ5vqfgg
Or become a member.
Featuring 2025 Young Artist Scholarship Winner Gaia Daniel, piano & Thursday Musical Members Gail Olszewski, piano & Jeana Ogren, piano; Salam Murtada, piano; and Sandra Sheih, flute & Brian De Young, piano.
Click the photo on the left for artist and program information.
Audience Health and Safety Requirements:
Masks will not be required but are welcomed and encouraged at Thursday Musical concerts.
Gaia Daniel is a 15-year-old pianist from Minneapolis, Minnesota. A third generation of musicians from Florence in Italy, she started playing piano at age 7. Gaia was recently named a 2025-26 Fellow of NPR’s From The Top program. Since her orchestral debut at age 11, she has made solo appearances with several orchestras, including the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra, the Dakota Valley Symphony, the Golden Valley Orchestra, and the Minnetonka Symphony Orchestra.
Gaia was a top prize winner of many competitions, including the 1st prize in the Schubert Club Competition, 1st prize in the Thursday Musical Competition, 2nd prize in the Chicago International Music Competition, 2nd Prize in the Canada International Piano Competition, 2nd prize in the Paderewski International Piano Competition, 1st prize in MMTF Mozart Concerto Competition, and 1st prize in the DVS Young Artists Concerto Competition. She was the highest ranked pianist and twice a prize winner of the Minnesota Orchestra Concerto Competition.
Gaia participated in the Vivace and Chicago international music festivals. She performed in masterclasses for luminaries such as Mikhail Voskresensky, Jerome Lowenthal, Hung-Kuan Chen, Yoshikazu Nagai, Michelle Cann, Angela Cheng, Steven Spooner, Ursula Oppens and Jason Kwak. Gaia is currently studying with Dr. Ksenia Nosikova.
Sandra Sheih is an accomplished flutist and educator who debuted at age 14 at the John F Kennedy Center. She has since performed as a soloist, principal flutist, and chamber musician with ensembles such as the Exultate Chamber Orchestra, Des Moines Symphony, Des Moines Opera, Ohio Light Opera, Broadway Shows, Duluth Symphony, and Rochester Symphony. Ms Sheih was a finalist in an International Concerto Competition in Switzerland and has toured internationally, including performing at BachFest in Leipzig and in concerts across Germany and Prague. Ms. Sheih teaches flute at Bethel University and Anoka-Ramsey Community College, maintains a private studio with a flute choir, and is the founder of Enhancing Emotional Intelligence through Music™.
Organist and pianist Brian De Young is a musician of broad skills and interests ranging from Renaissance and Baroque to musical theatre and new classical music. He is a Professor of Music at Augsburg University in Minneapolis where he teaches organ and collaborative piano and serves as Campus Ministry musician. An active freelance chamber musician, he has performed in numerous festivals around the country with members of the Chicago Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Grand Rapids (Michigan) Symphony, and others.
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, Colombia, 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. For more information, visit salammurtada.com.
Salam is a civil and environmental engineer currently working for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
During her 53 year career as a professional musician, Jeana Ogren has shown great versatility as a pianist, singer, and teacher. She has collaborated with many well-known professional musicians throughout California and the Midwest. Currently, she is in her 23rd year as staff pianist at Concordia University in St. Paul and is an active freelance and chamber musician in the Twin Cities.
Gail Olszewski has performed solo and chamber recitals on piano, fortepiano, harpsichord, organ, harmonium, celesta and synthesizer in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and Central America. A resident of St. Paul, Minnesota, she has free-lanced with many local groups including the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Bach Society of Minnesota, Ordway Productions, Nautilus Music Theater, Illusion Theater, Garden of Song Opera and the Stillwater, Minnesota-based chamber ensemble Music St. Croix. She has presented master classes and lecture/recitals on women musicians and their music, the history of keyboard instruments, chamber music and teaching collaborative skills to many schools, symposia and professional organizations and has had review articles published in the journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music. She has recorded solo piano music of Finnish composers and with various ensembles, including The WolfGang, Borealis Brass and Duo Tastiera. Dr. Olszewski received a BA in Spanish and Music History/Harpsichord from the University of New Hampshire, MMus in Piano Performance from Boston University and DMA in Accompanying and Coaching from the University of Minnesota. She has a private piano studio, coaches singers and instrumentalists and coaches chamber music at MacPhail Center for Music. www.gailopiano.com