FREE Courtroom Concert featuring Clara Osowski, Zafer Tawil, and Tim O’Keefe
Thursday, March 1, 12:00PM
Landmark Center Courtroom 317
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Thursday, March 1, 2018, 12pm
Featuring Clara Osowski, mezzo soprano and Zafer Tawil, Oud and percussion, and Tim’ O’Keefe, percussion
Program:
TBD
About the Artists:
Clara Osowski is an active soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Europe. Hailed for her artistry and “rich and radiant” voice (Urban Dial Milwaukee), her recent awards include, the runner-up un the 2016 American Prize for Art Song, runner-up in the 2016 Schubert Club Bruce P. Carlson Scholarship Competition, a 2016 Oregon Bach Festival Vocal Fellow, winner of the 2017 Houston Saengerbund competition. and runner-up in Das Lied International Song Competition. Clara’s passion for song creation and collaboration is evident in her most recent premieres with Linda Tutas Haugen (Gjendine’s Lullaby), Jeremy Walker (Alma Gentil) and James Kallembach (Songs on Letters of John and Abigail Adams and St. John Passion). Highlights in the 2016-2017 season include a residency at the 50th Contemporary New Music Festival at Indiana State University, soloist in Paul Rudoi’s premiere oratorio with Magnum Chorum in the Twin Cities, and several recital engagements across the United States. Clara is featured on numerous recordings with Consortium Carissimi (Naxos), and James Kallembach’s St. John Passion, released with high acclaim on Roven Records. In collaboration with pianist Mark Bilyeu and composer Libby Larsen, Clara serves as the Associate Artistic Director of Source Song Festival, a week-long art song festival in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In addition to her solo work, she participates in a number of ensembles, including Consortium Carissimi, Lumina Women’s Ensemble, the Rose Ensemble and Seraphic Fire.
An accomplished Palestinian musician based in New York City, Zafer Tawil is a virtuoso on oud, violin, and qanoun, and is a master of Arabic percussion. He has performed with numerous musicians, ranging from the pop star Sting to avant-garde composer/performer Elliot Sharpe to masters of Arabic music such as Simon Shaheen, Chab Mami, Bassam Saba, and George Ziadeh, among many others. Zafer has composed music for a number of film soundtracks, most recently Jonathan Demme’s My Favorite American (not yet released), Rachel Getting Married, andthe documentary Until When. He has held workshops on Arabic music at numerous universities throughout the United States.
CDs include “Mumtastic,” by Shusmo; Gaida Hinawi’s debut CD, “Levantine Indulgence”; and two CDs by Amir AlSaffar’s Two Rivers: “Two Rivers Musicians,” and the yet-to-be-released, “Enaana.”
Percussionist/Multi-Instrumentalist Tim O’Keefe has been a mainstay of the World Music scene in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for over thirty years. He has performed with world renowned artists including Simon Shaheen, Siwan Perwar, Jovino Santos Neto, Georges Lammam and Sakhar Hattar, with whom he recorded a duet CD, among others. Along with touring and studying nationally and internationally Tim has performed in front of world dignitaries including Nobel Prize winners and heads of state. Locally he has co-founded many popular world ensembles including Robayat, Amwaaj, Batucada do Norte, Choro Borealis and more. As a composer he has created scores for numerous well received theater and dance productions as well as a film for a nationally touring museum exhibit. He has been a long time performer and musical director for many established dance companies including the Ethnic Dance Theater and Jawaahir Dance Company. Currently he performs regularly with respected McKnight Foundation recipients Siama Matuzungidi, Aida Shahghasemi and Mirrorlands, Nirmala Rajesakar and Maithree, and Pat O’Keefe in numerous projects. Tim also can be seen regularly with Xibaba, The Rose Ensemble, Amwaaj, violinist Laura Harada and many others.
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[icon color=”Accent-Color” size=”small” image=”icon-info-sign”] Concert Info
October through April
Thursdays from 12pm – 1pm
Courtroom 317, Landmark Center
FREE ADMISSION
Hosted by Abbie Betinis.
View the Frequently Asked Questions about the Courtroom Concerts.
Seating is limited and first come first served. Doors open at 11:30. Please call if you are attending as a group of 10 or more (651.292.3267).
Schedule & Programs Subject to Change
About the Host:
Composer Abbie Betinis writes music called “inventive, richly melodic” (The New York Times), “superb, whirling, soaring” (Tacoma News Tribune), and “the highlight” of the program (Boston Globe). With over 50 commissioned works for ensembles such as Cantus, the New England Philharmonic, and The Rose Ensemble, Abbie has been awarded a McKnight Composer Fellowship, grants from the American Composers Forum, ASCAP, and Jerome Foundation, and was recently listed in NPR Music’s Top 100 Composers Under 40. A resident of Saint Paul, she is adjunct professor of composition at Concordia University, and was composer-in-residence with the Schubert Club from 2005-2017.
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