FREE Courtroom Concert: Donna Stoering, piano, and Jane Cords-O’Hara, cello

Donna Stoering (DonnaStoering.com) is an internationally renowned recording/concert artist, collaborative pianist, television host/producer, educator, performance coach, liturgical composer, keynote speaker and award-winning social entrepreneur. She has performed public concerts since age five and taught professionally since age ten. While a Marshall Scholar in the UK, Donna was appointed head of the piano department at the University of York and then Artist in Residence at Oxford University. She has also served as an Artistic/Cultural Ambassador for both the UK and USA to countries around the globe.

A longtime student of legendary Chicago Symphony pianist Mary Sauer and a protege of the late Sir Georg Solti, Donna has been a concerto soloist with major orchestras and music festivals worldwide and has given numerous premieres of works created for her. She continues to launch new festivals and tour/record with renowned instrumental soloists, string quartets and chamber ensembles, lieder/art song vocalists, and opera stars of the Met, Bolshoi, La Scala, and Royal Opera.

Donna has adjudicated national and international competitions, and continues to give private lessons, performance coaching and giving masterclasses, which she has done at music schools, universities and major music conservatories worldwide including those in Russia, Italy, HongKong, Republic of Georgia, Turkmenistan, India, the Philippines, South America, the UK, and across the USA.

Over 150 of her compositions have been performed in public and she loves creating new crossover works that combine classical artists and master musicians of all cultures/instrumental traditions. In Carnegie Hall she combined traditional-instrument masters from Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, India, Vietnam, USA and the Polynesian Islands. She has created new music festivals on four continents and hosted television programs about music on the national networks of many countries.

The BBC, NPR, MPR, PBS affiliates, Hong Kong Radio&Television and many other international broadcast networks have aired feature interviews or full-length specials about her life and work.

28 years ago, Donna founded the award-winning global nonprofit Listen4Life Foundation (ListenForLife.org) which inspires, empowers and supports musicians of all cultures to use their gifts in the service of others worldwide.

Donna moved to the Twin Cities in 2023 and has now established Minnesota as the US headquarters of L4L (musicians of all styles and volunteers with all skill sets welcome!). L4L’s first project in MN was “Minnesota Celebrates Flicka!” a tour of concerts with legendary opera star Frederica von Stade, in association with the Schubert Club. L4L’s newest project is “MusicMessages from Minnesota”, sharing new works created by MN-based musicians specifically intended to comfort, heal and encourage immigrants of all cultures (and in their own languages) at this time.

Donna is also in the midst of planning stages for the creation of a new cross-cultural chamber ensemble here in Minnesota!

For any of these L4L projects or other inquiries related to private coaching or collaborative piano work here in MN,, feel free to contact her via email:  [email protected]  or through her websites: DonnaStoering.com.  ListenForLife.org TravelsWithMusic.com

Donna’s TEDx presentation on the power of music to impact our lives can be found on YouTube:

Based in Minneapolis, MN, cellist Jane Cords-O’Hara is a freelance cellist. She is a member of The Knights and founding member of Fíora Ensemble. She has performed, toured and recorded with many other ensembles including St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, MN Opera, Minnesota Orchestra, Orchestra of St Luke’s, Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Da Capo Chamber Players, SONYC, Chamber Music Society of MN and A Far Cry. Equally comfortable in many styles, Jane has played a large amount of new and spectral music, as well playing baroque cello, and has played with Lyra Baroque, Bach Society of MInnesota and principal cello at Bach Roots Festival. She is the core cellist at the Candlelight Concerts Series and performs frequently at various venues in the Twin Cities and around the Minnesota area.

As a longtime member of the Grammy nominated chamber collective The Knights, Jane has played at festivals such as Tanglewood, Ravinia, Ojai, Stillwater and Caramoor, as well as internationally in Germany, Denmark, Austria, Poland, Ireland and at the Canary Islands Music Festival. Jane studied at the RNCM with Hannah Roberts and at Mannes College with Tim Eddy. She made her Carnegie Hall recital debut in 2006 as a winner of Artist’s International competition. She is a devoted teacher and has a private studio as well as being on faculty at Augsburg University.

Jane plays a cello made by Pierre Pacherel in 1850, France. She lives in South Minneapolis with her husband Dan, and daughter Aoife