FREE Courtroom Concert: Hannah Peterson, flute; Rômulo Sprung, violin; Benjamin Burgdorf, viola; Rachel Bottner, cello

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.

• Hannah Peterson, FLUTE
• Rômolo Sprung, VIOLIN
• Benjamin Burgdorf, VIOLA
• Rachel Bottner, CELLO

About the Artists:

Hannah Peterson is Principal Flute of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra and Adjunct Professor of Flute at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. She has previously held positions with the Des Moines Symphony, Orchestra Iowa, and the Duluth Superior Symphony. She maintains a busy chamber music calendar, which in the 2025-26 season will include recitals at The Schubert Club, Marine Candlelight Concert Series, and Schmitt Music. She also appears regularly with the Minnesota Orchestra, including the 2022 recording of Mahler’s 8th Symphony and 2024 This is Minnesota Orchestra broadcast. In 2018 she was awarded first prize in the Upper Midwest Flute Association Young Artist Competition, and has won prizes in all three age divisions of the Bruce P. Carlson Student Scholarship Competition. Hannah has been selected twice as an MPR Class Notes Teaching Artist, and maintains a private teaching and audition coaching studio in Saint Paul, where she’s helped students prepare for auditions of all levels; from regional honor bands to professional orchestras.

Brazilian born violinist Rômulo Sprung is an established performer and teacher in the Twin Cities area, where he moved in 2017 to pursue his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Minnesota, studying with famed violin pedagogue Sally O’Reilly.

Rômulo Sprung is an avid orchestral and chamber music player, in addition to being a member of the Linwood Quartet, he is also a member of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra, and the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra. Rômulo has also performed with the Minnesota Opera, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, and has made guest concertmaster appearances with the Mankato Symphony Orchestra, Mississippi Valley Orchestra, and the Buffalo Community Orchestra. He has worked with renowned musicians and conductors, including Kurt Mazur, Manfred Honeck, Carl St. Clair, Keith Lockhart, Shlomo Mintz, Sarah Chang, Garrick Ohlsson, and has performed with popular artists and groups such as Andrea Bocelli, Bernadette Peters, Michael Bolton, the Celtic Woman, and Beck. He was the concertmaster of the Journey North Opera Company for the production of Benjamin Britten’s “Lucretia,” which was named one of the “Best 10 Classical Concerts of The Year” in Minnesota by the Star Tribune. Rômulo started violin lessons through the Suzuki Method at the age of nine. At thirteen, he won his first national competition in Brazil for young artists, which sparked his desire to pursue a career as a professional violinist. After completing his undergraduate studies with violin pedagogue Dr. Fredi Gerling, Rômulo moved to the United States to pursue his Master’s Degree at Duquesne University as a student of Charles Stegeman, and later a Performance Diploma from Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he studied with Yuan-Qing Yu. He has had the opportunity to perform in masterclasses for prestigious violinists, including Shlomo Mintz, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Andres Cardenés, Miriam Fried, and Shmuel Ashkenazi.

When Rômulo is not busy teaching or performing, he enjoys hiking, cooking, brewing espressos,exploring local breweries, and spending time with his wife, Morgan, and their two cats, Louie and Hubert.

Benjamin Burgdorf believes there are few better ways to exist together than when we are creating and sharing music with friends, family, and community. It is a space where we can come to feel the things in life we’ve never quite had the words to express. His role as violist in Linwood is rooted in this belief and your presence in the audience today is a gift to the quartet and those in the seats next to you.

As a performer, Burgdorf performs extensively in classical, improvisational, and popular contexts. He is a tenured member of the Des Moines Symphony and has performed extensively with Orchestra Iowa, Quad City Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, Juniper Trio, Lux String Quartet, Belin Quartet, St. Croix Valley String Collective, Laurel’s Quartet, and Sonorous Strings. As an improviser and creator, his duo Wormwood explores improvised storytelling, poetry, and interdisciplinary collaborations with dancers and podcasters. In the pop world, he has shared the stage with Jeremy Messersmith, Dan Wilson of Semisonic, Dessa, the Trans Siberian Orchestra, and more. In addition to his performing life, he is also a committed educator, serving on the board of the Suzuki Association of Minnesota and teaching a full studio of the next generation of violinists and violists through his home studio, Maple Strings.

Burgdorf plays on an award winning Brescian model viola after Da Salo made by New York-based luthier Jason Vaseltear, as well as a bow commissioned from master archetier Matthew Wehling. When not playing the viola or fiddle, you might find Ben sweating it out in a sauna by a lake, digging in his garden, or playing an intense game of chess with friends.

Cellist, Rachel Bottner, is a Midwest native originally hailing from La Crosse, Wisconsin. After leaving Wisconsin, Rachel pursued her musical studies at Interlochen Arts Academy, Eastman School of Music and University of Wisconsin, Madison where she studied with Crispin Campbell, Steven Doane and Uri Vardi, respectively. During that time Rachel also participated in masterclasses for highly respected cellists such as Peter Wiley, Mark Kosower, Timothy Eddy, Eleanore Schoenfeld, Hans Jensen and Amir Eldan. Rachel has spent her summers at festivals such as Bowdoin International Music Festival, Lakes Area Music Festival, Meadowmount School of Music and Northern Lights Chamber Music Institute.

Currently, Rachel performs in orchestras throughout the Midwest including the Rochester Symphony as principal cellist, Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, and the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra as associate principal. In addition to her orchestral work, Rachel is an avid chamber musician as part of the Stone Arch String Quartet and the Linwood Quartet, both based in the Twin Cities. Outside of performing, Rachel maintains a small private studio where she hopes to help young students develop a lifelong love for music.