2026 MUSICIANS
Anne Ainomäe, viola
Stephanie Arado, violin
Heidi Amundson, violin
Anne Ainomäe was born and raised in Estonia. She is an avid chamber musician. Before moving to USA, Anne was a member of Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and founding member of Prezioso String Quartet, which has won numerous prizes in Europe, and recorded works of Schulhoff, Vasks, Webern and Rääts.
Anne has worked with the Estonian National Symphony, the Nordic Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony, and is a regular performer with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, the Englewood Arts Chamber Music Series in Colorado and the Cabrillo New Music Festival in Santa Cruz, CA.
Since 2019, Anne has been a viola and chamber music professor at Augsburg University. Ms Ainomäe has studied at the Sibelius Academy, the Tallinn Academy of Music and Theatre and the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music.
Heidi Amundson, violin
Stephanie Arado, violin
Heidi Amundson, violin
Heidi Amundson enjoys an eclectic freelance career here in the Twin Cities. She began studies on piano at age 5 and violin at 10 and has enjoyed studying with teachers such as Doris Preucil, James Maurer, Yumi Hwang-Williams, Cho Liang Lin, and Sally O’Reilly. As a core member of Minnesota Opera Orchestra, she has enjoyed playing many wonderful productions. Throughout the years she has played a wide variety of genres with groups ranging from the Minnesota Orchestra and Houston Ballet to Mannheim Steamroller and Kanye West. Heidi is a founding member of the Fiora Ensemble and enjoys exploring a wide variety of chamber music with her esteemed colleagues.
When not performing, she can be found at her home with husband Brit and six children. She enjoys homeschooling, gardening, reading, baking bread, and Brazilian embroidery. She holds degrees from The University of Denver and Rice University. Soli Deo Gloria
Stephanie Arado, violin
Stephanie Arado, violin
Stephanie Arado, violin
Violinist Stephanie Arado’s career encompasses a wide range of performance and teaching experience. Ms. Arado is currently the Associate Professor of violin at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. She occupied the Loring M. Staples Chair as Assistant Concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra from 1991 to 2013. During the 1995/96 season, Ms. Arado served as Concertmaster of The Colorado Symphony under the baton of Marin Alsop. She maintains a private teaching studio and is a founding member of the Bakken Trio, a premier chamber music organization in the Twin Cities. Through her work with the Bakken Trio she has collaborated with many living composers and commissioned numerous chamber compositions. Ms. Arado continues to serve as a Co-Artistic Director of the Bakken Trio.
Ms. Arado played her first solo recital at the age of eight. She went on to debut with the Chicago Symphony as a 12 year old; following that she has performed as a soloist with symphony orchestras throughout the US, including the Detroit, St. Louis, and Minnesota Orchestras. As a 21-year-old Ms. Arado was the first American ever invited to play with the European Union Youth Orchestra led by Claudio Abbado and Leonard Bernstein. She was also invited to perform as a part of the prestigious chamber music festival Musiktreffen in St. Moritz, Switzerland with Paul Tortelier and Yuri Bashmet, two of the most renowned chamber musicians of the century.
She was born and raised in Chicago. She began playing the violin at the age of five using the Suzuki method with Sister Mary Ricardo of La Grange. She was fortunate to have worked with many fine violin pedagogues in her youth including Paul Rolland, Eugene Gratovich and David Cerrone at the famous Meadowmount School. She spent five summers as a Fellowship student at the Aspen Music School. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music at Western Illinois University (Macomb, IL) studying with Almita and Roland Vamos, and completed her Masters Degree at Juilliard in New York City under the tutelage of Dorothy Delay and Paul Kantor.
David Auerbach, viola
Jennifer Gerth, clarinet
Stephanie Arado, violin
Violist David Auerbach has cultivated a fulfilling and varied performing and teaching career since moving to Minnesota in 2007. He is currently in his seventh one-year position with the Minnesota Orchestra (for the 2023-24 season). David has also been a top substitute with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for many years, and has performed on several of their livestream chamber music broadcasts. He was previously the principal violist of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, and has played regularly with many other local ensembles. David frequently performs elsewhere in the country; he has played several weeks with the Pittsburgh Symphony, including a European tour, and is a regular guest of the Boston-based chamber orchestra A Far Cry. David is an avid chamber musician, and will perform several concerts this summer at chamber music festivals in the Black Hills, SD, Port Angeles, WA, and Alexandria, MN.
David joined the faculty of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul in 2012, and also maintains a private teaching studio. He has given numerous master classes and coachings at schools and universities in the U.S. and Canada, and is a regular sectionals coach for both of the Twin Cities’ youth symphony programs. David earned a DMA from Stony Brook University, where he was a scholarship student of Katherine Murdock. Additionally, he received a Masters Degree from the Juilliard School, studying with Samuel Rhodes, and a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with majors in Music Performance (studying with Sally Chisholm) and Molecular Biology.
Kate Bae, piano
Jennifer Gerth, clarinet
Jennifer Gerth, clarinet
Described by the New York Concert Review as “a genuinely engaging and musicianly performer,” South Korean pianist Kate Bae maintains a diverse international career as a performer and educator, having appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in Asia, Europe, and North America. She debuted in New York in 2006 with the New York Sinfonietta at the Mozart 25 Piano Concerti Series at the Yamaha Center Piano Salon of Yamaha Artist Service, Inc. She first appeared as a concerto performer at the age of fifteen with the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra.
As an educator, Bae currently serves on the piano faculty at Temple College and Texas A&M University - Central Texas. She has previously taught at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, University of Minnesota - Morris, and University of Mary Hardin - Baylor. She has been invited to teach and perform at many festivals, including the Pienza Music Festival, Alexandria Festival of the Lakes, the Bravo! Summer Music Academy, Grandin Music Festival, and Music 08 Festival. She is regularly invited to adjudicate competitions and present master classes.
Bae earned a Diplom at the Musikhochschule Lübeck in Germany where she studied piano with James Tocco and chamber music with Walter Levin. She went on to earn her MM with Mr. Tocco at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She then earned her DMA at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities where she studied with Lydia Artymiw.
She resides in Texas with her husband, Alexander Corbett, who serves as Director of Orchestral Studies at Temple College and Texas A&M University - Central Texas.
Jennifer Gerth, clarinet
Jennifer Gerth, clarinet
Jennifer Gerth, clarinet
Principal clarinet of the Duluth-Superior Symphony and an active member of the Twin Cities musical community, Jennifer Gerth performs with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera, and for visiting ballet companies. Jennifer is on the faculty at the University of St. Thomas, the University of Minnesota, and she maintains a large private studio.
Mary Jo Gothmann, piano
Helen Chang Haertzen, violin
Mary Jo Gothmann, piano
Pianist Mary Jo Gothmann enjoys a varied career as a chamber musician, soloist, opera coach and organist. Her recent chamber music engagements have included performances with the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota, Bakken Trio, Hill House Chamber Players, Music at Trinity, Colonial Chamber Music Series, Lakes Area Music Festival, Joya! and the Taos Chamber Music Group. Mary Jo performs frequently with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra; has appeared with EOS Orchestra in New York City and as piano soloist with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and the St. Paul Civic Orchestra.
Gothmann has worked for some of the most prestigious opera companies in the United States including the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Minnesota Opera and has performed recitals with singers from the Metropolitan Opera as well as with instrumentalists from many of the country's major symphony orchestras. Mary Jo is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Program, University of Minnesota, New England Conservatory and St. Olaf College.
Mary Jo has been the principal organist at Zion Lutheran Church since moving to Shoreview, Minnesota in 2005.
Eric Graf, cello
Helen Chang Haertzen, violin
Mary Jo Gothmann, piano
Eric is currently Assistant Principal Cellist of the Des Moines Symphony, a section cellist with the Duluth Superior Symphony and the South Dakota Symphony, and is a freelance musician and cello teacher based in the Twin Cities. Eric was a member of the Lux String Quartet for four seasons.
In Cleveland, as founding member of the Aceso Quartet, he traveled to Denmark for a chamber music residency at the Hvide Sande Masterclass. Eric has been a soloist with the Mansfield Symphony, Long Prairie Chamber Orchestra, and Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra, among others. Eric loves solo, chamber, and orchestral playing equally, but has a soft spot for chamber music.
Eric holds a Master’s degree in Cello Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Dr. Melissa Kraut. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cello Performance from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, having studied with Tanya Remenikova. He has had years of teaching experience and is an avid teacher of all levels. He taught throughout the Cleveland area prior to moving back to Minnesota, and now teaches students of all levels and ages in the Twin Cities.
Helen Chang Haertzen, violin
Helen Chang Haertzen, violin
Helen Chang Haertzen, violin
Helen Chang Haertzen joined the Minnesota Orchestra’s first violin section in 2003. In 2006 she appeared as soloist in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Orchestra under Andrew Litton’s direction.
She has performed often at the Orchestra's Chamber Music concerts.
Haertzen, who formerly was associate and principal second violin of the Bamberg Symphony in Germany, has toured with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and played with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. She also served on the faculty of Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra, teaching orchestral training and chamber music to international students. As soloist, Haertzen has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Esplanade and Junge Philharmonie Erlangen, and with the Staatsorchester Braunschweig.
Growing up in the Boston area, Haertzen studied under Bo Youp Hwang and Roman Totenberg. She attended Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute, the Salzburg Mozarteum and the San Francisco Conservatory. Her principal teachers also included Szymon Goldberg, Felix Galimir, Ruggiero Ricci and Camilla Wicks. Haertzen was a prizewinner of the Karol Lipinski-Wieniawski Competition in Poland. In 2017, the Minnesota State Arts Board awarded her the Artist Initiative Grant.
Haertzen was a longtime member of the Isles Ensemble and has performed as a guest artist with the Walden Chamber Players and the Bamberg String Quartet. She has taken part in innovative collaborations with dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and collaborated with the Boston Ballet in a performance of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. In Boston, she has appeared at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Goethe Institute. She played the Jascha Heifetz 'David' 1742 Guarneri del Gesù violin in recital at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor and has appeared as a recitalist throughout Europe. In 2005 Cavalli Records released Haertzen’s recording of the Bach Partitas for Solo Violin, which drew critical acclaim from the American Record Guide. She has also produced and played on American Avenues, a medley of American classics for Centaur Records. In 2024, Helen appeared at the Ravinia Festival as guest soloist with The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass, and she is a recipient of the 2026 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Musicians administered by the MacPhail Center for Music.
In addition to performing, she enjoys teaching. Her students have gone on to study at conservatories and music festivals, and to win orchestra positions.
Sarah Lewis, cello
J. Christopher Marshall, basson
Helen Chang Haertzen, violin
Cellist Sarah Lewis has been a member of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra since 1998. A Saint Paul native, she started piano lessons at the MacPhail Center for the Arts at the age of three, and holds degrees from Southern Methodist University and the Juilliard School. Prior to joining the SPCO, Lewis was a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (1994–1996), and performed as a substitute musician with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She has appeared numerous times as soloist with the SPCO focusing on Baroque concerti and developed a children’s program for the SPCO’s Xplorchestra series.
An avid chamber musician, Lewis has performed solo and chamber recitals in Los Angeles, San Francisco and the Twin Cities, and has been a featured chamber musician at the Alexandria Festival of the Lakes in Minnesota. Lewis is very active in teaching and coaching around the Twin Cities and adjudicates many youth competitions.
J. Christopher Marshall, basson
J. Christopher Marshall, basson
J. Christopher Marshall, basson
Texas native J. Christopher Marshall, a member of the Minnesota Orchestra since 1999, earned his master’s degree in bassoon performance at the New England Conservatory of Music. He holds two undergratuate degrees from Northwestern University: one in bassoon performance and the other in mechanical engineering. Before joining the Minnesota Orchestra, Marshall was a member of Florida’s New World Symphony, the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
An active chamber musician, he performs regularly on the Minnesota Orchestra’s Chamber Music series offerings. He has performed as soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Bloomington and Mankato symphonies, and has performed with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Symphony and Pops, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the National Symphony. He has participated in numerous music festivals, including Tanglewood, Pacific and Spoleto. As a clinician, he has led master classes and sectionals for many universities as well as community and youth orchestras. Since 2022, he has served on the faculty of the University of Minnesota’s School of Music.
Marshall was a receipiant of a McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians in 2009.
An avid Dallas Cowboys fan and triathlete, he lives in Plymouth with his wife Kari, the Minnesota Orchestra’s Director of Artistic Planning, and their sons Robert and Jonathan.
Colin McGuire, violin
J. Christopher Marshall, basson
J. Christopher Marshall, basson
Growing up in Mankato, MN, Colin McGuire began his study of the violin at the age of 4. He has studied with Patti Tryhus, Marilyn Bos, and his brother Peter McGuire, Second Concertmaster of the Tonhalle Zürich.
Colin has been fortunate enough to perform in a variety of ensembles and settings. Colin now performs mostly in Germany. He is currently a member of the Thüringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach and plays regularly with Theater Erfurt. He also enjoys frequent opportunities to perform with Symphoniker Hamburg.
Colin was a member of the Minnesota Opera, Thunder Bay Symphony, and the Associate Concertmaster of the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra. Other orchestral opportunities have arisen with the Minnesota Orchestra, Mill City Opera, Omaha Symphony, Music St. Croix, and various other orchestras and ensembles in the Midwest.
Colin has enjoyed a number of experiences as a soloist and chamber musician. Some particularly interesting performances with larger Chamber ensembles have ranged from German Salon music to a chamber reduction of Mahler Symphony No. 4.
Colin is also a tennis teaching pro and coach.
Eric Olson, violin
Clint Sevcik, contrabass
Gail Olszewski, piano
Eric Olson, (DMA, MBA) is Associate Professor of Music at Bemidji State
University (BSU), where he teaches Violin/Viola and serves as Coordinator of the
String Area, Director of the Bemidji Chamber Orchestra, and Coordinator of
Scholarship/Recruitment. In addition to his duties at BSU, Olson is the President of
the Bemidji Performing Arts Academy, and maintains an active performance schedule.
Before assuming his current position, Olson was Lecturer/Assistant Professor of
Music at the University of Minnesota Morris where he taught violin/viola lessons,
music courses, and served as Director of the Morris Chamber Orchestra.
Additionally, for three years Olson was Director of the Pre-Conservatory Program at
Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault, MN where he worked with middle/high
school musicians from all over the world to prepare them for the finest conservatories
and music schools in the country. Furthermore, for four years he served as the
Executive/Artistic Director of the Bravo! Summer Music Academy, for five years as
the Executive Director of the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, and for two years as the
Concertmaster of the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra.
Olson earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Violin Performance from
Michigan State University where he studied with Robert Dan and I-fu Wang. He
earned his Doctorate in Musical Arts in Violin Performance from the University of
Minnesota where he studied with Sally O’Reilly. In addition to his violin studies,
Olson studied viola with James Vanvalkenburg and Robert Dan, and piano with
Deborah Moriarty, Michael Alan Nathan, and Penny Draper. He also earned a
Master’s degree in Music Theory with an emphasis in pedagogy from Michigan State
University. In 2020, Olson earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration with
a specialization in Strategic Management from Temple University in Philadelphia.
Olson was a featured soloist with the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra, the
Bemidji Symphony Orchestra, the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra, the Morris
Chamber Orchestra, and the Bemidji Chamber Orchestra. He was also a guest artist at
Western Michigan University, North Dakota State University, the University of
Nebraska Kearney, and the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities, Morris, and
Crookston campuses). Additionally, Olson was a guest artist for the Schubert Club’s
Courtroom Concert Series celebrating composer Dominick Argento in St. Paul, MN,
and performed concert tours of Minnesota for the Minnesota Music Teacher’s
Association. He also has extensive orchestral experience and performed with the
American Ballet Theatre, the Minnesota Oratorio Society, the Minneapolis Pops
Orchestra, the Kalamazoo Symphony, the West Michigan Symphony, the Lansing
Symphony, the Battle Creek Symphony, the Adrian Symphony, the Jackson
Symphony, the Midland Symphony, and the Bemidji Symphony.
Olson won performance fellowships and Music Theory teaching assistantships from
Michigan State University and the University of Minnesota, and the Dean’s Award for
Business study at Temple University. Additionally, he won dozens of grants to fund
guest artist residencies, performances, master classes, and educational outreach.Furthermore, he won First Place in the “Artistic Ambassador Competition” sponsored
by the Minnesota Music Teacher’s Association in 2012, and again in 2014.
Olson’s students have been admitted to the finest conservatories and music schools in
the country, including the University of Texas (Austin), the Eastman School of Music,
the Juilliard School, Indiana University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Glenn
Gould School, McGill University, and the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) to
name a few.
Olson lives in Bemidji, MN with his lovely wife, Jennifer and their delightful puppy,
Pippi.
Gail Olszewski, piano
Clint Sevcik, contrabass
Gail Olszewski, piano
Gail Olszewski has performed solo and chamber recitals on piano, fortepiano, harpsichord, organ, harmonium, celesta and synthesizer in the United States, Canada, Europe, Central America and Australia. She lives in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area where she has a varied free-lance career as a solo and collaborative keyboardist.
Gail has played harpsichord and organ continuo for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Phipps Oratorio Society, Minnesota Sinfonia, Minnetonka Chorale, Sioux City Symphony and South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared as a synthesizer player with the Plymouth Music Series, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Buffalo Gal productions. She is often sought out as a vocal coach and has performed in concert with many singers in the US and Canada. She has served as music director, rehearsal and show pianist for Ordway Productions, Nautilus Music Theater, Illusion Theater, Minnesota Opera, Northstar Opera, Opera Twin Cities, Duluth Festival Opera and Garden of Song Opera. She has coached singers and performed newly-composed art songs as part of the Source Song Festival in Minneapolis, MN. Gail has participated in the Minnesota Fringe Festival as pianist in choreographer Christopher Yaeger’s “Dance Hall Days” and with the Garden of Song Opera in Gluck’s “Orpheus.”
Performance highlights include soloist in the piano concerto of Clara Schumann with the Minneapolis Philharmonic, harpsichord soloist in concertos of J.S. Bach and featured soloist on piano and celesta in Georgy Ligeti’s “Chamber Concerto” with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Gail and harpsichordist Layton “Skip” James performed two concerti for two harpsichords by Georg Wagenseil (orchestrated by James) – which had not been performed since the late 18th century – with the Dakota Valley Symphony in Burnsville, MN. Gail and keyboardist Don Livingston presented Fortepiano Festival, 3 concerts of solo and duo keyboard music in St. Paul, MN. She has presented recitals for the Frederick Collection’s concert series in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, and the Historical Keyboard Society of North America.
Gail is a member of the chamber group Music St. Croix, based in Stillwater, MN. She has recorded with Borealis Brass, The WolfGang and Duo Tastiera and can be seen in a number of videos on YouTube. Her compact disc of solo Finnish piano music (played on the Frederick Collection’s 1877 Blüthner piano), Northern Lights – Finnish Favorites (Centaur Records) is available for purchase on her website (www.gailpiano.com), or as a digital download.
Gail has presented master classes and lecture/recitals on chamber music, ornamentation, Classical performance practices, Baroque and Classic styles, women musicians and their music, the history of keyboard instruments, late-Romantic Finnish piano music, piano music of Edvard Grieg, music of the Classic period and teaching collaborative skills to advanced pianists in many schools, symposia and professional organizations and has had review articles published in the Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music.
Gail holds the degrees Doctor of Musical Arts in Accompanying and Coaching from the University of Minnesota, Master of Music in Piano Performance from Boston University and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Music History/Harpsichord Performance from the University of New Hampshire. She teaches piano and harpsichord, coaches singers and instrumentalists privately, and is a member of the keyboard faculty of the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Gail is honored and happy to be playing for the Festival of the Lakes once again.
Clint Sevcik, contrabass
Clint Sevcik, contrabass
Clint Sevcik, contrabass
Clint Sevcik is a bassist based in Medford, MN. He currently holds a position in the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra. He is a regular performer in the annual Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd, Minnesota.
Previously, Mr. Sevcik has regularly performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago accompanying Yo-Yo Ma and was Principal Bassist with the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra where he studied under Andrew Raciti. He has attended Master Classes with Bruce Ridge of the New York Symphony, Burke Shaw of the Houston Symphony, and Bozo Paradzik of Musikhochschule in Freiburg, Germany. Abroad, he has also performed with the Royal Northern College of Music Concert and Symphony Orchestra in Manchester, England and Orchestra Europa.
Mr. Sevcik graduated from the University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music in 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Music where he studied bass with James VanDemark. He received his Masters of Music in bass performance from Northwestern University, Bienen School of Music in 2014.
In addition to his musical interests, Mr. Sevcik spends his time farming, taking trips to tropical destinations, and flying his wife and three children around the region in his plane.
Sonja Thompson, piano
Kirsten Whitson, cello
Clint Sevcik, contrabass
Sonja Thompson is a Minnesota-based pianist and collaborator dedicated to imaginative programming and the development of new work. With a focus on Nordic music, chamber music, and the intersection of music and theater, she has worked with a host of local and regional organizations, and elsewhere with New Dramatists (NYC), Alliance for New Music Theatre (Washington, D.C.), The Shedd Institute (Eugene, OR) and the Victoria Bach Festival (Victoria, TX).
Recent performances include an original readers’ theater adaptation of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt for the Edvard Grieg Society of MN, Migrations—a multidisciplinary program with Dan Dressen, Stephanie Arado and Laura Sewell commemorating the bicentennial of Norwegian immigration for the international festival CROSSINGS 200, premieres by AJ Isaacson and David Evan Thomas with Maria Jette and Sarah Switzer, Carmina Burana with Twin Cities Ballet, chamber music with Music Saint Croix, and Nordic song recitals at NYC’s Sjømannskirken.
Works-in-progress include a staging of Peer Gynt for the Ibsen bicentennial in 2028, a cabaret adaptation of Song of Norway, a music-theater-dance collaboration with the University of Minnesota inspired by the historic Bohemian Flats, development of the musical Hearts is Broke (Aaron Gabriel) with Theater Latté Da’s NEXT Festival, and continuing refinement of two new music-theater works: A Song at Twilight (Robert Elhai & Jim Payne) and Bluestem (Kim Sherman & Eric Anderson.) Upcoming recitals include a program of vocal works by Ned Rorem with Maria Jette and a Schubert Club Mix appearance with Bradley Greenwald.
Kirsten Whitson, cello
Kirsten Whitson, cello
Kirsten Whitson, cello
Cellist Kirsten Whitson performs extensively as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. She has played throughout the US, Europe, Japan, and Cuba with Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Milwaukee Symphony, Florida Orchestra, and Norway's Bergen Philharmonic. She has also performed at the Festival of the Lakes in Alexandria, MN, the Bellingham Music Festival (WA), the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd, MN, and with Zeitgeist New Music.
Kirsten has presented solo cello concerts throughout the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota for over 20 years. She has been featured on programs broadcast by KFAI and Minnesota Public Radio. She is passionate about the extensive repertoire available for solo cello and has premiered several commissioned pieces. Composers Timothy C. Takach, David Evan Thomas, Carl Witt, and Jocelyn Hagen have written music for her. One of Jocelyn Hagen's pieces for her involved live digital looping. Kirsten can be heard on Centaur Records, playing chamber music by
Louise Farrenc.
Kirsten received a B.M. and an Artist Diploma from Indiana University, where she studied with Fritz Magg and Janos Starker. While at Indiana University, Kirsten was Fritz Magg’s assistant and won a coveted Performer’s Certificate.
Kirsten received Artist Initiative Grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board in 2002 and 2018, a grant from the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers in 2020, a Creative Support Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board in 2021, and was a 2020 McKnight Artist Fellow. She was selected as a 2022 Resident Artist at Ragdale, supported by the McKnight Foundation.