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FREE Courtroom Concert featuring Krista Costin, mezzo soprano; Matthew Mindeman, viola; Steve Swanson, piano; Stephanie Arado, violin & Ora Itkin, piano

Thursday, November 8, 12:00PM

Landmark Center Courtroom 317

Mezzo-Soprano Krista Costin has been featured as a soloist and ensemble member with various ensembles such as Oratory, Consortium Carissimi, MN Bach Ensemble, The Singers, MN Chorale, House of Hope Motet Choir, Mount Olive Bach Tage, Oregon Bach Festival, and TRANSEPT – a new, Sioux Falls based ensemble.  Upcoming 2018-2019 season highlights include alto solo engagements with Exultate (Bach B Minor Mass), Oratory (Bach St John Passion) in April, and Minnesota Bach Ensemble (Bach Cantata 132 and 164) in May.

 

 

Matthew Mindeman performs often with the Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Opera, as well as serves as the principal violist for the Minnetonka Symphony. In addition to performing professionally, Matthew teaches viola and violin as an adjunct professor at Bemidji State and at the Yinghua Academy in Minneapolis.

 

 

 

Steve Swanson is a pianist based in St. Paul. He is an active freelancer, frequently collaborating with choirs, vocalists, and instrumentalists throughout the Twin Cities. In addition to his accompanying work, he maintains a private piano studio in Minneapolis.

 

 

 

 

Violinist Stephanie Arado’s career encompasses a wide range of performance and teaching experience. Ms. Arado began her violin studies at the age of five and played her first solo recital when she was eight. Since her debut with the Chicago Symphony as a 12 year old, Ms. Arado has performed as soloist with symphony orchestras throughout the United States, including the Detroit, St. Louis, and Minnesota Orchestras. Ms. Arado spent 22 years as Assistant Concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra and also served as Concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony. In 2012, Ms. Arado resigned from her position with the Minnesota Orchestra to devote more time to teaching and chamber music. Ms Arado has participated in chamber music festivals both nationally and internationally and has had the privilege to perform with such masters as Paul Tortelier, Joseph Silverstein, and Yuri Bashmet. A recipient of a McKnight Foundation Grant for Performing Artists, Ms. Arado maintains a private teaching studio in Minneapolis and is an Artistic Director of the Bakken Trio, a chamber music consortium she has performed with since 1991.

Russia born pianist Ora Itkin began her piano studies at age 4 under the guidance of her father, Igor Itkin, who became known as one of the pioneers of subversive Russian jazz. She is a graduate of the Russian Academy of Music, Moscow, Russia; Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; and Rubin Academy of Music at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. In her musicianship she follows the legacy of her teachers who belong to the lineage of the legendary Heinrich Neuhaus school of piano playing. An active concert pianist and chamber musician, she performs in some of the major venues across the Twin Cities as well as internationally in Eastern and Central Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Most recently she performed a series of solo recitals and led masterclasses in Montpelier, France and Jerusalem, Israel. Ms. Itkin is a faculty member at both the University of St. Thomas and MacPhail Center for Music. She also maintains a private teaching studio in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she teaches individually and as a chamber music coach. She is two-time recipient of the MacPhail Artist Grant and a recent recipient of the University of St. Thomas Faculty Development Grant. As an educator and a life-long advocate of a holistic approach to learning, Ms. Itkin seeks to promote an interconnectedness of music with the arts, humanities, and sciences in everything she does, especially in her multimedia productions, interdisciplinary workshops and presentations, and individual work with students.

View the Frequently Asked Questions about the Courtroom Concerts.

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.