BRAINERD — The Lakes Area Music Festival continues its Winter Series with a recital at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 10, at the Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts in Brainerd featuring guitar, flute, viola and harp.
“The Warm Up: Music to Welcome Spring” is curated by Garrett McQueen, artistic advisor for the Lakes Area Music Festival. There is no set admission fee to attend the recital. Tickets must be reserved in advance at https://bit.ly/3uX9joN .
The program on the change of seasons featuring a Piazzolla tango, Ferdinand Rebay’s Sonata for Viola and Guitar, and Stephen Paulus’ Petite Suite for flute, viola and harp, performed by international guitar soloist Bokyung Byun and friends from the Minnesota Orchestra .
Praised by Classical Guitar Magazine as “confident and quite extraordinary,” Korean guitarist Byun enjoys a reputation as one of the most sought-after guitarists of her generation, according to a news release.
Byun holds the distinction of being the first female winner of the prestigious JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition, where Falletta herself described Byun’s performance as “stunning, showcasing her gorgeous tone, immaculate technique, and sophisticated musicianship.”
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This win is among many wherein Byun excelled in the competitive circuit, including winning the grand prize at the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition, known as the most prestigious guitar competition in the world.
Roma Duncan joined the Minnesota Orchestra in 2003 and has been a featured soloist with the Lakes Area Music Festival, Minnesota Bach Ensemble, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivières, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and the Windsor Symphony.
Prior to her Minnesota appointment, Duncan was a member of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Orchestra London in Canada, and the Ann Arbor, Windsor and Warren Symphony orchestras.
Duncan’s first professional position, as second flute and piccolo in the Windsor Symphony, kindled her interest in the piccolo and led her to study with Jeffery Zook, piccolo player of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony and Detroit Symphony orchestras.
Korean violist Jenni Seo is the Minnesota Orchestra’s assistant principal viola, joining the ensemble after performing in the viola section of the Baltimore Symphony during its 2017-18 season.
Seo is a frequent substitute with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and New York City Ballet orchestras, and makes reoccurring appearances at the Music at Menlo, Montecito, Bad Leonfelden, Keuka Lake and Perlman Music Program festivals.
Seo has appeared on stage alongside Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell, Donald Weilerstein and David Finckel, as well as members of the Cleveland, Takacs and Juilliard String quartets.
The winner of the 2011 ASTA National Solo Competition, Seo received undergraduate and graduate degrees from The Juilliard School, where she was a student of Cynthia Phelps, Heidi Castleman and Steven Tenenbom, and served as principal viola of the Juilliard Orchestra.
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Kathy Kienzle was named principal harpist of the Minnesota Orchestra after winning an international audition in April 1994. Previously Kienzle appeared frequently as harpist and soloist and recorded with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
The top American prize winner at the Sixth International Harp Competition in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1976, she was also awarded a top prize in the 1975 American Harp Society National Competition, the Ruth Lorraine Close Fellowship from the University of Oregon and two Juilliard School scholarships.
Kienzle performed the world premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s Concerto for Flute and Harp with James Galway and the Minnesota Orchestra in November 1995. In October 2000, she premiered a new harp concerto by Einojuhani Rautavaara and the Minnesota Orchestra.
“The Warm Up: Music to Welcome Spring” is the seventh in a series of eight concerts to be presented at the Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts through May, featuring favorite Lakes Area Music Festival artists and internationally acclaimed guest soloists. “The Warm Up: Music to Welcome Spring” will also be presented Thursday, April 7, at the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis .
Tickets may be reserved online with name-your-price admission (suggested donation $20). For assistance in reserving tickets, call 218-831-0765. More information — including Brainerd program information, tickets and COVID-safety protocols — is at https://bit.ly/3DFbCky .
The Lakes Area Music Festival connects the nation’s best performers and audiences through excellent classical music and inspiring education. To find out more about the Brainerd-based nonprofit or to make a tax-deductible gift, visit www.lakesareamusic.org or call 218-ASK-LAMF.
