FREE Courtroom Concert: Christine Amon, mezzo-soprano and Alex Woods, piano

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.

About the Artists:
 

Christine Amon, mezzo-soprano
Alex Woods, piano
with Kenneth Pereira, baritone

Praised for her “sweet, powerful voice”, Grand Rapids, MI native Christine Amon is a versatile mezzo-soprano excelling in opera, musical theater, and art song. Last season, she made company debuts as Erika in Samuel Barber’s Vanessa with Toledo Opera, and as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel with Union Avenue Opera of St. Louis. Recent engagements also include the role of Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with Opera Louisiane and Opera Memphis, Gretchen in The Student Prince with Opera Grand Rapids, and Edith in The Pirates of Penzance with Nashville Opera.

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An Opera Memphis favorite, Ms. Amon has appeared in recent seasons as the wife in The Music Shop, and Pitti-Sing in Ned Canty’s production of The Mikado. She also created the role of Mich in Mich and the Moon (music by Jack Perla; libretto by Jerre Dye) in the premiere of The Ghosts of Crosstown. In 2012, Christine was a finalist in the prestigious Lotte Lenya Competition hosted by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music. In addition, she’s been awarded first place in the The Beethoven Club of Memphis Young Artist Competition, Opera Grand Rapids Collegiate Vocal Competition, and the Dr. Marjorie Conrad Art Song Competition.

Alexander Woods is a pianist and music teacher living in the Twin Cities, MN. A versatile and collaborative musician, his passions include art song, instrumental & chamber works, choral music, contemporary piano repertoire, and a variety of jazz and popular styles. He strives to maintain an innovative perspective in his performances, seeking out new and old works from diverse genres and composers.

Woods is a lecturer of music at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he teaches applied piano lessons, class piano, and an honors colloquium exploring music and gender. He also holds positions at Central Presbyterian Church (St. Paul) and Voices of Hope Prison Music Initiative, and has worked as a freelance pianist & vocal coach at UW-Eau Claire, University of Minnesota, Gustavus Adolphus College, and the NATS, Schubert Club, and Thursday Musical competitions. Woods has also played with the Mississippi Valley Orchestra, Dakota Valley Symphony & Chorus, South Metro Chorale, and St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral Orchestra, and has spent summers as a staff pianist at the International Cello Institute, St. Croix Valley Opera Summer Vocal Institute, and Borromeo Music Festival.

​​Recent and upcoming performances include concerts with mezzo-soprano Christine Amon (Fall 2024), the Upper Midwest Flute Association Flute Fest with Rachel Haug and Tim Lane, Source Song Festival’s MNSong Showcase with soprano Siena Forest, and a series of genre-crossing recitals with soprano Janani Sridhar. Woods also performs frequently at UW-Eau Claire, including faculty concerts, guest artist recitals, collaborations with choirs, and the First Fridays series. In January 2024, Woods teamed up with mezzo-soprano Christine Amon and composer Abbie Betinis to earn second place at Source Song Festival’s annual Minneapolis Song Slam competition.

Woods has recently begun playing Argentine tango music with the Charles Gorczynski Tango Quartet and Orquesta Típica Kingfield, working in both contemporary and classic styles. His tango performances include a Midwest tour with Los Tangueros del Oeste (Minneapolis, Madison, Chicago), the Tango for Musicians workshop at Reed College, the Minnesota Tango Music Festival, and concerts at UW-Eau Claire, Gustavus Adolphus College, the Landmark Center, Berlin jazz club (Minneapolis), and Metronome Brewery (St. Paul), along with frequent milongas (dances) throughout the Twin Cities.

As a recording artist, Woods’s projects include two CDs with flutist Tim Lane (Paper Route Press, Skyline Publications), an album of piano works by Ivar Lunde Jr, John Russo, and Martin Stepper (CRS, Inc.), and the Charles Gorczynski Tango Quartet’s debut EP The Conservatory, which was featured in Minnesota Public Radio’s New Minnesota Music Round-up. The quartet’s second album is underway for 2025.

Woods holds a master’s degree in collaborative piano from the University of Minnesota, where he earned the Rydell Fellowship in Accompanying & Coaching. He also holds bachelor’s degrees in music and religious studies from Pomona College, where he earned the McCord Memorial Grant to fund piano study at several summer music festivals. His primary teachers include Timothy Lovelace, Lydia Artymiw, Genevieve Lee, and Ming Tsu. www.alexanderwoodspiano.com

Kenneth J. Pereira, baritone, enjoys an active career on the operatic, concert, and recital stages. His operatic roles include Puccini’s Marcello in La Bohème, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, the title role in Gianni Schicchi, and Mozart’s Il Conte Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte among others. Internationally, he has appeared as the baritone soloist in numerous opera gala performances in both Italy and Mexico in works by Verdi, Puccini, and Donizetti. He has performed with the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (baritone soloist), as well as performing excerpts from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Dr. Pereira also has been a soloist with the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra in their performances of Handel’s Messiah and J.S. Bach’s beloved cantata, Ich habe genug, BWV 82. Prior to his arrival in the Chippewa Valley, Dr. Pereira appeared regularly as a soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Raymond Leppard in works by Beethoven and Haydn. He is also a featured soloist on the orchestra’s 2008 recording of classical and traditional Christmas music.

Born and raised in northern California, Dr. Pereira graduated Magna cum Laude from California State University, Stanislaus. He holds a Doctor of Music in Voice Performance and Literature from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he also completed a Master of Music Degree in Voice. Dr. Pereira serves as a Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, where he teaches applied voice, Opera and Musical Theatre Workshop, and directs main stage opera productions. He is also the artistic director of Eauxpera, a collective of operatic artists who perform opera in non-traditional venues throughout the Chippewa Valley Region, and InCanto Italia, a young artist program for Italian language and music in Lucca, Italy.