FREE Courtroom Concert: Cheryl Paschke, nyckelharpa; Marya Hart, piano
Thursday, October 30, 12:00PM
Landmark Center Courtroom 317
Hosted by composer Abbie Betinis, our popular Courtroom Concerts take place at noon most Thursdays in the Landmark Center in downtown Saint Paul. This series features accomplished musicians and composers from the Twin Cities and surrounding area, as well as occasional musical newcomers to the area. These one-hour concerts are free and open to the public.
• Cheryl Paschke, NYCKELHARPA
• Marya Hart, PIANO
About the Artists:
Cheryl Paschke started playing nyckelharpa as an adult, having first encountered the instrument in Sweden at a Midsommar celebration. She has studied locally and abroad, is an active performer in several Twin Cities-based groups, including Tjärnblom, Twin Cities Nyckelharpalag, The Swedish Trio, and Finn Hall. She performed in the VocalEssence 2019 premier of “Nordic Christmas” by Kim André Arnesen and as soloist with the East Metro Symphony Orchestra. Cheryl plays traditional music on a Swedish (3-row) nyckelharpa and classical music on a Continental (4-row) nyckelharpa.
Marya Hart is a composer, pianist and music director living in Minneapolis. Her compositions – primarily vocal and theatrical – have appeared on stage in US, Canada, and Guam. Recent works include commissions from the University of Calgary, Voices of Hope, and Springboard for the Arts. For many years she has accompanied Ross Sutter and Cheryl Paschke in The Swedish Trio.
About the Program:
Farmors brudpolska – Traditional, after Gyris Anders, Älvdalen
17 Variations on a Theme by Shostakovich (2025) by Marya Hart
This piece was inspired by the Jerusalem Quartet’s series this past spring at Music in the Park, which was a revelatory performance of all 15 of Dmitri Shostakovich’s string quartets.
The theme is from the final movement of the 4th String Quartet. These are very loosely called variations; the impetus is seconds, scale-wise motion, and liberal use of eighth-note rests to give a quasi-staccato articulation. In the case of the nyckelharpa, the rests allow the instrument’s sympathetic strings to ring out.
Selections from Suite for Nyckelharpa and Piano (2022) by Marya Hart
This eleven-movement piece echoes—in part—the dance character of many traditional nyckelharpa pieces. Other movements use more contemporary language; perhaps someone could dance to them.
• Sand Hills Morning
• Sand Hills Evening
• What We Loved
• Not a Polska
• Early Spring
