LAMF's 'Spanish Nights' to be presented in Pequot Lakes

PEQUOT LAKES-The Lakes Area Music Festival will present a concert titled "Spanish Nights" at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Pequot Lakes High School Auditorium.

This is the third of a four concert winter series of the organization and will feature past LAMF musicians: Violinist Jonathan Magness, Soprano Bergen Baker, Flutist Claire Gunsbury and

Pianist Scott Lykins. The ensemble will also welcome guitarist Maja Radovanlija from the University of Minnesota faculty.

The program will include a variety of short, contrasting works by Spanish composers. Virtuosic violin showpieces by Pablo de Sarasate, Manuel de Falla's Seven Popular Spanish Songs, guitar serenades, and a flashy flute fantasy will be featured alongside selections from a sultry summer's eve in Seville, home to one of opera's most famous heroines.

This concert also be performed at 7 p.m. Friday at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis where the Lakes Area Music Festival is currently Artists in Residence.

As with all concerts presented by the organization, no tickets are required and free-will donations will be accepted.

Alabama native Jonathan Magness was appointed the Minnesota Orchestra's associate principal second violin in 2008 after performing as a regular substitute with the orchestra's first violin section for one season. In February of 2014 he was named acting principal second violin. He took center stage as soloist in spring 2011, performing Dvořák's Violin Concerto under the baton of Marin Alsop. He has participated in each of the eight LAMF seasons.

Baker has been a featured performer with companies such as Minnesota Opera, The Minnesota Orchestra, Skylark Opera and Florentine Opera. In addition to performance on the operatic and concert stage, Baker served as teaching artist for Minnesota Opera from 2012-14, organizing

community residencies and performances that served nearly 15,000 opera lovers across the state. She recently instructed students at Aitkin and Brainerd high schools through LAMF's Music Mentors Project.

Gunsbury, a flutist from the Brainerd lakes area, will be going into her senior year of high school. She is the principal flutist of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies premier orchestra, Symphony and appeared with the group on a recent tour to Argentina. Gunsbury has been honored as a Showcase Artist for Minnesota Varsity, a young artist competition hosted by Minnesota Public Radio and was also a finalist in the Schubert Club Competition.

Lykins' career blends artistic performance as a cellist and pianist with administrative creativity as founding artistic and executive director of the music festival. As a cellist, he enjoys a busy schedule performing throughout the Midwest and as a member of the South Dakota Symphony. As a pianist he recently made his Paris debut with collaborative partner, baritone John Taylor Ward at the Cite Internationale Universitaire de Paris. He has bachelors and masters degrees

in cello performance from the Eastman School of Music.

Radovanlija was born in Belgrade, Serbia. She completed her bachelor degree at the University of Belgrade and masters and doctorate at Indiana University. She won first prize at the International Competition in Kjustendil, Bulgaria and has performed frequently as solo and chamber musician, touring Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Macedonia, Greece, Tunisia, Switzerland and other European countries. Her interest in experimental and improvisational music grew at the same time as her interest in different approaches within the classical guitar repertoire. She joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota School of Music in 2011.

The LAMF takes place July 30 through August 20 and brings more than 130 musicians from around the country to the Brainerd lakes area for three weeks of classical music performance, including chamber music, symphonic orchestra, opera and ballet. The collaborative roster includes talent from ensembles and conservatories such as the Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul

Chamber Orchestra, New World Symphony, Metropolitan Opera, Minnesota Opera, Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, Curtis Institute, and more.

Go to lakesareamusic.org for more information.