FREE Courtroom Concert: Clea Galhano, recorder; Tulio Ròndon, cello; Joan Griffith, guitar and cavaquinho

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:

Brazilian recorder player Cléa Galhano is an internationally renowned performer of early, contemporary and Brazilian music. Galhano has performed in the United States, Canada, South America and Europe as a chamber musician, collaborating with recorder player Marion Verbruggen, Jacques Ogg, Belladonna Baroque Quartet and Kingsbury Ensemble.

As a featured soloist, Galhano has worked with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, New World Symphony, Musical Offering and Lyra Baroque Orchestra. Galhano studied in Brazil at Faculdade Santa Marcelina, the Royal Conservatory,The Hague, and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, as a Fulbright Scholar. She is the Music Director of the Recorder Orchestra of the Midwest. Ms. Galhano recently received the prestigious McKnight fellowship award, MSAB Cultural collaborative and MSAB Arts Initiative.

Currently, she is a faculty member at Macalester College, Adjunct Lecturer in Music, Recorder, and Coordinator of the HPI Academy at Jacobs School of Music, IN.

Ms. Galhano has eight recordings available on Dorian, Ten Thousand Lakes and Eldorado label. Clea is  the recipient of the National Arts Associate of Sigma Alpha Iota and the American Recorder Society President’s Special Honor Award.

Cellist and Gambist Tulio Rondón performs throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East as a soloist and chamber musician. Known for his vivid and passionate performances, he started his professional life early as principal cellist of the Aragua Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela. Tulio Rondón’s performance career has taken him all over the world, sharing the stage with many internationally celebrated artists. Born in Venezuela, Tulio Rondón began his cello studies through El Sistema. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Simón Bolivar Conservatory, his Master of Music from Miami University (Oxford, OH), and Doctoral Degree in performance at the University of Arizona. Pursuing his strong interest in historic performance practice, he continued his studies in The Netherlands, completing post-graduate studies on baroque cello and viola da gamba with Jaap ter Linden and Rainer Zipperling at The Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Tulio Rondón is in demand as a chamber musician and early music specialist. Currently Tulio Rondón is the violoncello professor at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.

Joan Griffith never met a string instrument she didn’t like. Growing up in Bellevue, Nebraska, she fell in love with the guitar while listening to Stan Getz and João Gilberto on their breakout Brazilian album. She immediately got her mother to purchase the record and, at age 14, proceeded to figure out how to play all the songs! “This is what I thought the guitar should sound like” she remembers. Joan went to the Conservatory at the University of Kansas City because it was one of the few schools that offered a guitar major. While she was there, she met another string instrument, the acoustic bass, and a whole new world of music opened to her. From there, the electric bass was soon introduced and she and friends from the Conservatory formed a disco/rock cover band called Airhart. Also in Kansas City, she was a part of the influential Women’s Jazz Festival. Her love of jazz was a constant, and became an integral part of her early professional working years. After a musical stint in Arkansas, touring the state with a flute player, she moved to the Twin Cities in 1987, becoming an active player in the jazz/jobbing scene. As one of the all-woman trio, Naima, Joan and her band mates made their mark in the mostly male jazz scene, garnering honors and rave reviews. Joan also became a part of the musical theater world where her ability to play both bass and guitar fit in nicely. The Children’s Theater, the Guthrie, Theater Mu, Park Square and Bloomington Civic Theater (now known as Artistry) all were glad to have her in the pit. She has also played frequently with the Minnesota Orchestra. It was at the Children’s Theater that a mandolin part was included as a double with the guitar book. Never having played one before, she looked it over for a minute or two and promptly ripped off a few scales. The mandolin surrendered. She has since added the violin to her string resume. Joan has also followed her composer voice’s calling. This is where her first love, the music of Brazil, is her biggest influence. As one can hear on her recordings, the choros, the bossas, the baiãos and the sambas live deeply in her soul. A visiting friend, a Brazilian guitarist, said “Joan plays Brazilian music without an accent.” Passing on her love of music, Joan has taught at the University of St. Thomas and St. Catherine’s University among other schools. She is currently ensconsed at Macalester College. She is a roster artist with COMPAS and the Minnesota State Arts Board.