Thursday Morning Artist Series
Parking Information: Click here
Complimentary Coffee and Donuts at 10:00 am
Tickets $15, $10 (groups of 8+), $6 students, sold at the door, general seating
Program
Nigel Wood (b. 1960)
Cries of the Stentor
Kendra Wheeler, soprano saxophone
Young Artist Scholarship Competition Winner 2017
Casey Rafn, piano
William Rhys-Herbert (1868 - 1921)
Molly Malone – Old Irish Melody
Arr. W. Rhys-Herbert
Hermann Löhr (1872 – 1944)
The Little Irish Girl
Words by E. Teschmacher
Craig Carnahan (b. 1951)
From Irish Airs
Arr. Craig Carnahan
#1 I Wish I Were on Yonder Hill
#2 Father O’Flynn
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852 - 1954)
From An Irish Idyll in Six Miniatures, Op.77
Words by M. O’Neill
#2 The Fairy Lough
#4 Johneen
Ernest R. Ball (1878 - 1927)
When Irish Eyes are Smiling
Words by C. Olcott
James Shannon (1881 – 1946)
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral (That’s an Irish Lullaby)
Colleen O’Shaughnessy, soprano
Kathy Borgen, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770- 1827)
"Grosse Fugue" Op. 133
The Northern Lights String Quartet
Kathryn Christie, violin
Carolyn Liptak, violin
Stella Anderson, viola
David Holmes, cello
Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907)
Lyric Pieces, Op. 54
Gail Olszewski, piano
Performer Information
Kendra Wheeler, saxophone
Young Artist Scholarship Competition Winner 2017
Kendra Marie Wheeler is a soloist, chamber musician, improviser, and music educator that frequently works and collaborates with artists in a wide range of settings and styles from classical to jazz to funk and beyond. She has performed at major venues all over the Midwest, including The Ordway and Roy Wilkins Auditorium. Wheeler has performed recitals and presented masterclasses at events such as Dean Sorenson’s Jazz Festival, hosted at the University of Minnesota and various schools such as Brimhall Elementary in Roseville, MN and Southwest High School in South Minneapolis. She has been the recipient of numerous scholarships, grants, and awards including prizes from Schubert Club, Thursday Musical, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Kappa Kappa Psi, Minnesota Music Teachers Association (MMTA), and Downbeat magazine. Along with Ms. Wheeler's active performance schedule, she also is an active educator around the greater Twin-Cities area. Wheeler is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at the University of Minnesota where she is Instructor of Saxophone and recipient of the prestigious Dove and Ken Davis Fellowship. She received the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Minnesota in Music Education. Her primary teachers are Preston Duncan and Eugene Rousseau.
Located in the Twin Cities area, Casey Rafn currently holds positions at the Lundstrum Center for Performing Arts, Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, and is the pianist for the Bloomington Chorale. An award winning performer and active freelancer, his upcoming season includes performances in Switzerland, Uruguay, and Shell Lake, WI. Originally from Two Harbors, MN, he received his bachelor's and master’s degrees in piano performance from The University of Iowa studying under Dr. Ksenia Nosikova.
Gail Olszewski, piano
Gail Olszewski, DMA, has played solo and chamber recitals on piano, harpsichord, fortepiano, organ, harmonium and synthesizer in the US, Canada, Europe, Central America and Australia. Locally she has performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Chanhassan Dinner Theaters, Ordway Productions and Garden of Song Opera. She is a founding member of The WolfGang, performing music of the Classic period on authentic instruments, Duo Tastiera with harpsichordist/composer Asako Hirabayashi and with the Stillwater-based chamber group Music St. Croix. Gail has a private studio and teaches at MacPhail Center for Music.
www.gailopiano.com
Colleen O’Shaughnessy, soprano
Colleen O’Shaughnessy, soprano, is an engaging performer who draws audiences in with her unique lirico-spinto timbre, exceptional musicality, and intelligent wit. Having just relocated to the Twin Cities from Connecticut, Ms. O’Shaughnessy’s latest career highlights include a solo recital performance with Jonathan Yates, conductor of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra; successfully performing the pants role of Guillot in Offenbach’s rare chamber opera, Le Mariage aux Lanternes, with New York’s Apollo Opera Company; and beautifully singing highlights from Handel’s Messiah with Connecticut’s St. Philip Orchestra. Notable accomplishments of late also include finishing in the semi-finals of Opera Theatre of Connecticut's Amici Competition and starring in Hartford Opera Theater’s premiere of An Accidental Affair. Ms. O’Shaughnessy upcoming engagements are an evening of Italian arias and a new works showcase, both with Twin Cities Opera on Tap.
Ms. O'Shaughnessy is the winner of an Allis Scholarship for Music and finished in the semi-finals for both the Portland Opera's Eleanor Lieber Awards and the Jenny Lind Competition. She has performed numerous roles with companies such as Empire Opera, Lyric Opera Studio Weimar, Opera Company of Brooklyn, Hillhouse Opera Company, and the Schubert Club of Connecticut. Ms. O'Shaughnessy concertizes extensively throughout the Northeast and Midwest and also specializes in singing Irish music for cultural events and private gatherings. She is a graduate of Boston University with a Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance and received her undergraduate vocal training with a degree in Music Education from St. Olaf College. Ms. O’Shaughnessy completed apprentice programs at OperaWorks in Los Angeles, Intermezzo in Connecticut and at the Wesley Balk Opera Institute in St. Paul, Minnesota. She studies voice with Beth Roberts and coaches with Arlene Shrut and Mikhail Hallak.
Kathy Borgen, piano, is the Director of Music at St. Hubert’s Catholic Church in Chanhassen. Prior to this, she held the position of Director of Music/Principal Organist at St. Olaf Catholic Church in downtown Minneapolis. She earned a BA in Music Performance and Music Education from the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul and an MA in Vocal Music Education from the University of Minnesota. She has done further postgraduate work in the areas of organ performance, vocal music and liturgical music. Previously, she taught vocal music in various school settings with students ranging in ages from K-12 grades.
The Northern Lights String Quartet: Kathryn Christie, violin; Carolyn Liptak, violin; Stella Anderson, viola; David Holmes, cello
The Northern Lights String Quartet: Kathryn Christie, violin; Carolyn Liptak, violin; Stella Anderson, viola; David Holmes, cello
The Northern Lights String Quartet began in 1997. Since that time the quartet has been performing at colleges, churches and schools around the Midwest. In 2006 they performed in the Lanesboro concert series. For several years, they were a part of the Crown College recital series. The founder of “Healing Harps”, Ron Price, invited the NLSQ to give three separate community concerts in Bishop Hill, IL.
The Cavanni String Quartet and the Pacifica String Quartet have coached the NLSQ at the Madeline Island Chamber Music Camp for adults. In 2006, the NLSQ participated in Midori’s workshop at USC on forming community outreach programs.
Music education is an important part of the quartet’s mission. From grants through Thursday Musical, the quartet has given many presentations of music to schoolchildren ages kindergarten through 12th grade. In the Fall of 2007 the quartet did a 4-day residency program in LaSalle County, Ill. introducing stringed instruments to children in the public schools, holding an all day workshop for the Youth Symphony and giving a community concert.