CANCELLED – FREE Courtroom Concert featuring Randall Scarlata, baritone and Nikki Melville, piano

For the safety of our patrons and in keeping with guidance from state officials, Schubert Club has made the decision to cancel performances through April 15 as a preventative action against the spread of COVID-19 in our community Ticket holders will be contacted by email and phone with details. More information >>

About the Artists:

Randall Scarlata has been praised by the New York Times as “an intelligent and communicative singer” with a “compelling desire to bring texts to life.” He has also been acclaimed for his “extraordinary vocal range and colour palette” and “ability to traverse so many different singing styles” (MusicWeb International). The Daily Telegraph (London) adds “Randall Scarlata sings with the assurance of one with nothing to prove.”

Known for his versatility and consummate musicianship, Randall Scarlata’s repertoire spans five centuries and sixteen languages. A sought-after interpreter of new music, he has given world premieres of works by George Crumb, Paul Moravec, Richard Danielpour, Ned Rorem, Benjamin CS Boyle, Lori Laitman, Thea Musgrave, Samuel Adler, Hilda Paredes, Daron Hagen, Wolfram Wagner and Christopher Theofanidis. He regularly performs the major German song cycles with pianists such as Cameron Stowe, Gilbert Kalish, Jeremy Denk, Jonathan Biss, Inon Barnatan, Peter Frankl, and Laura Ward. He is a regular guest with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum, Lyric Fest, Chamber Music Northwest, the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Kneisel Hall Festival, the Skaneateles Chamber Music Festival, among many others. In addition, Mr. Scarlata’s extensive recording catalog appears on the Chandos, Naxos, CRI, Gasparo, Arabesque, Bridge, Albany and Sono Luminus labels. His recording of Schubert’s Winterreise with pianist Gilbert Kalish was honored with a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Vocal Solo.

Randall Scarlata has appeared on concert stages throughout Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and Asia. He has been a soloist with the Philadelphia and Minnesota Orchestras, and with the Pittsburgh, San Francisco, American, Sydney, Ulster, Tonkünstler, National, New World, and BBC Symphonies, as well as the early music groups Wiener Akademie, Grand Tour, Tempesta di Mare, and Musica Angelica, among others. Many of the world’s great music festivals have sought him out as a soloist, including the Ravinia, Marlboro, Edinburgh, Norfolk, Vienna, Music at Menlo, Gilmore, Salzburg, Norfolk, Aspen, and Spoleto (Italy) festivals.

Mr. Scarlata is co-artistic director of the Alpenkammermusik Chamber Music Festival in Carinthia, Austria during the summer, and gives masterclasses throughout the United States and abroad. In 2019, he joined the faculty of the Tanglewood Music Center, and the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. He has also served on the faculties of West Chester University and SUNY Stony Brook.

New Zealand pianist Nicola Melville has been described as “having an original and intelligent musical mind” (Waikato Times), “a marvelous pianist who plays with splashy color but also exquisite tone and nuance” (American Record Guide), and “the sort of advocate any composer would love” (Dominion Post). Her live performances and recordings have been broadcast on Canadian, U.S., New Zealand, South African, and Chinese radio, and she has been involved in numerous interdisciplinary projects with dancers, filmmakers, and visual artists. Nicola won both the National Concerto Competition and the Auckland Star Concerto Competition while in New Zealand, and has been a prizewinner in several competitions in the U.S., including being the winner of the SAI Concerto Competition at the Chautauqua Music Festival. Recent performances include appearances in Chile, New Zealand, the UK, and around the U.S. She has collaborated with members of the Kronos, PUBLIQuartet, and JACK quartets, and with members of the Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Minnesota, and Saint Paul Chamber orchestras. She is also part of a recording project with the prolific New Zealand-UK composer, Christopher Norton, whose scores, with accompanying CDs, are in world-wide distribution.

Nicola has degrees from the Victoria University School of Music, Wellington, and the Eastman School of Music. While at Eastman, Nicola was awarded the Lizzie T. Mason prize for Outstanding Graduate Pianist, and the prestigious Performer’s Certificate. She has won grants from such organizations as Meet the Composer, Creative New Zealand, the Argosy Fund for Contemporary Music, and the Jerome Program for the commissioning, performing, and recording of new and existing works. Nicola has recorded for the Innova and Equilibrium labels, and is pianist for the Twin Cities contemporary music group, Zeitgeist. Nicola is Professor of Music at Carleton College, Minnesota, and is Co-Chair of the piano program at the Chautauqua Music Festival, New York.

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 is also a two-time McKnight Artist Fellow, and has won grants from the American Composers Forum, ASCAP, and Jerome Foundation, and at age 31, was listed in NPR Music’s Top 100 Composers Under 40.  Abbie has been a Composer-in-Residence with New York State School Music Association, The Rose Ensemble, The Singers-Minnesota Choral Artists, and Schubert Club. In 2019, she will be the American Composers Forum’s ChoralQuest composer, visiting schools around the U.S. to write new choral music with middle school singers. 

Originally from Wisconsin, Abbie is a graduate of St. Olaf College (B.A.), the University of Minnesota (M.A.), and holds a diplôme from the European American Musical Alliance Institute in Paris, France. She lives in Minnesota, where she is Adjunct Professor of Composition at Concordia University-St Paul and executive director of Justice Choir.

View the Frequently Asked Questions about the Courtroom Concerts.

Seating is limited and first come first served. Doors open at 11:30. Please call if you are attending as a group of 10 or more (651.292.3267).

Schedule & Programs Subject to Change