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Featuring Thursday Musical Members Robin Helgen, mezzo soprano and Mary Hunt, piano; KaTrio Karen Hanson, clarinet with guest artists Kaia Sand, oboe and Kate Saumur, bassoon; guest artist Sachiya Isomura, cellist and Susan Hellerud, piano; and Deanne Mohr, 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.
Information
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. With Dolce Wind Quintet she enjoyed two very busy seasons as a Class Notes Artist for Classical MPR, playing dozens of concerts for thousands of schoolchildren. 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.
Cellist Sachiya Isomura played with the Minnesota Orchestra for thirty-eight seasons, and served on the faculty of the University of Northwestern in St. Paul for fifteen years. Before coming to Minnesota he played several seasons with the Baltimore Symphony. A native of Japan, Sachiya studied at the Toho School of Music in Tokyo and the Juilliard School in New York. He continues to perform frequently as a soloist and chamber musician. Sachiya plays a cello made by Paola Testore in Milan, Italy in 1728.
Pianist Susan Hellerud served for fifty-one years on the piano faculty of MacPhail Center for Music. Throughout her long teaching career she been a performing artist member of Thursday Musical, and has also served as organist in several Twin Cities area churches. Beginning in 1996 Susan has established, curated, and performed series of benefit concerts, resulting in two annual scholarships for gifted young piano students at MacPhail. She continues to perform frequently as a soloist and chamber musician.
Mary Hunt is a freelance piano soloist and collaborative pianist. With graduate degrees from Boston University (M.M.) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (D.M.A.), she has been featured on both Wisconsin and Minnesota Public Radio and on Wisconsin Public Television. Her teaching experience includes private studios in Madison and Houston, TX, and as a member of the faculty at Luther College and St. Joseph School of Music in St. Paul. She is a long-time performing member of Thursday Musical and a volunteer at The Raptor Center.
Robin Joy Helgen has sung with the Minnesota Opera and the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus with Helmuth Rilling. She has a Bachelor of Arts in music education from Bethel University and M. Music in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. Robin teaches a voice studio in her home and at area high schools. She is also the alto section leader/soloist at Central Lutheran in Minneapolis. This is her ninth season with VocalEssence.
View the full program here: https://bit.ly/3xvezF6
