Sunday, April 25, 2010, 3:00pm |
Sponsored by Drs. John & Dianna Shomaker |
The Prairie Winds Quintet |
Since their debut in 1996, The Prairie
Winds have captivated audiences throughout the United States with
performances that present the finest wind quintet literature in concert
programs that entertain as well as enlighten. These musicians blend
powerful musical technique with humor and intriguing background
information to create what one critic called "a unique approach to the
shaping of the concert experience (that) is sure to keep them in demand."
(Tryon Daily Bulletin) The Prairie Winds have performed at a number of celebrated music festivals, including the Ravinia Festival, the Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival, Chamber Music America's Education and Residency Institute, and the Britt Festival in Oregon, where the group served as quintet-in-residence for four years. In 2003, they began an annual residency at the Madeline Island Music Festival in Wisconsin, which offers a chamber music program for collegiate wind players. In addition to their busy touring schedule, the quintet also has an active radio presence: recent broadcasts include full-length concerts for Chicago's WFMT-FM "Live from Studio One" program and for listeners of Minnesota Public Radio. In 2000, The Prairie Winds teamed with Albany Records to release "Gale Force," a critically acclaimed recording of 20th century wind quintet music by North American composers. The group also has collaborated several times with pianist Ralph Votapek, a Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gold medalist and winner of the Naumburg Award, with whom they performed works for winds and piano by Mozart, Beethoven, and Poulenc. The members of the quintet-Jonathan Keeble, flute; Jelena Dirks, oboe; Susan Warner, clarinet; David Griffin, horn; and Timothy McGovern, bassoon-pursue active musical careers outside the group, as teachers, touring artists, or members of world-renowned performing ensembles such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra. Each musician is dedicated to musical education, and the Prairie Winds encourage a love of music in tomorrow's audiences with workshops that enhance the traditional concert experience through theater improvisation, movement, and composition. |
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Click here to visit their web site.
Reviews:
-American Record Guide
"These personable and attractive young musicians played with amazing technical facility and ensemble while achieving exemplary tones on their individual instruments." -Stockton Record
"The Prairie Winds played brilliantly. Their audience responded with an enthusiastic standing ovation." -Joseph Fabbioli, Ravinia Festival |
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A regular on concert series throughout North America,
Jonathan Keeble has been described in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
as having an "engaging, vibrant sound." Keeble is a past winner of the Coleman
Chamber Music Competition, and recipient of the prized Eastman School of Music
Performer's Certificate. His concerto appearances have taken him to venues in
North America, South America and Europe, performing works by Mozart, Nielsen,
Bach, Vivaldi, Gordeli, Chaminade, Martin, and Rodrigo.
Keeble's passion for new music has led him to commission many new works for the flute from rising young composers. He is a popular performer at flute festivals around the world, and has presented these new works at National Flute Association Convention Concerts, as well as at festivals in Ecuador and Sweden. In addition to his active solo and chamber career, he has enjoyed regular appearances with the Tulsa Philharmonic, the Spokane Symphony and Eugene Symphony. His passion for teaching led to his present position as Visiting Assistant Professor of Flute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has also worked as the Associate Professor of Flute at Oklahoma State University, as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia, and as a teacher at the Eastman School of Music. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University, he includes among his former teachers Bonita Boyd, Walfrid Kujala, and Frances Risdon. He lives in Champaign, Illinois with his wife Sue, where they spend the bulk of their time performing superhero impressions while chasing their sons Alexander and Bryson. |
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Described as "star quality" by the Boston Globe,
clarinetist Susan Warner is a member of the Chicago Lyric
Opera Orchestra. She has also performed with other world-class ensembles,
including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra,
and the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her position at the
opera house, Warner is the principal clarinetist of Concertante di
Chicago. She was formerly principal of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and
e-flat clarinetist of the Rochester Philharmonic. You have probably
already heard the sometimes-jazzy tones of her clarinet on many nationally
broadcast television commercials for beverages cooling in your fridge or
cleaning products under your sink. Warner has performed at the acclaimed music festivals of Schleswig-Holstein, Heidelberg Castle, Grand Teton, and Aspen. Invited to participate in the Tanglewood Music Center for two years, she was twice awarded with special honors--the Gino B. Cioffi prize, given to the most outstanding woodwind player, and the C.D. Jackson Award for outstanding instrumentalist. Through the community relations department of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Warner designed a series of arts-integrated workshops that were credited with making a meaningful and lasting impact on hundreds of inner-city school children. While pursuing her master's degree at the Eastman School of Music, she was a founding faculty member of the New Horizons Band--an award-winning program for senior citizen beginning instrumentalists. She has been a faculty member at Wheaton College, the Eastman School, Ithaca College, and the University of Rochester. |
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David Griffin
is a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and has served as acting
principal of its renowned horn section at the request of Music Director
Daniel Barenboim. Immediately upon graduating from Northwestern University
in 1987, Griffin launched his career with the Rochester Philharmonic and
followed with positions in the orchestras of Montreal and Houston before
joining the Chicago Symphony in 1995. He has enjoyed performing in many of
the world's major music halls--Vienna Musikverein, Berlin Philharmonie,
London Royal Albert Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, and
Orchestra Hall in Chicago--to name a few. As a soloist, he has performed concerti by Mozart and Richard Strauss, the Saint-Saens Concertpiece, and the Britten Serenade. Griffin has appeared with Chicago Pro Musica, the Allegra Chamber Players, and Les Chambristes de Montreal. In the past he has been a faculty member at McGill University and Northwestern University and has appeared at the Domaine Forget, Grand Teton, Tanglewood, and Scotia music festivals. He and his wife, Susan Warner live in Oak Park, Illinois with their son Henry. |
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The New York Times describes bassoonist Timothy
McGovern as "an extraordinary talent with expressive warmth and
amazing agility." Currently Professor of Bassoon at the University of
Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and Principal Bassoonist with the Illinois
Symphony Orchestra, McGovern has performed with a vast number of world
class ensembles such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony
Orchestra, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Formerly the Associate Principal Bassoon of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra where he met fellow quintet member David Griffin, McGovern toured with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra across North and South America, Europe, and the Far East. His most noted solo appearance with that orchestra was for a sold-out Carnegie Hall performance of Britten's War Requiem. His solo repertoire also includes concerti by Mozart and Weber, and works by Richard Strauss and Vanhal. McGovern was the Winner of the Performers of Connecticut Solo Competition which led him to be heard on New York's WQXR "Rising Stars" series. As winner of the East/West Artists Solo Competition, he concertized at Weill Recital Hall, at Carnegie Hall, New York. He has recorded approximately 30 CD's (including several Grammy and Juno winners) of diverse orchestral and chamber music for London/Decca, Zephyr, Arabesque, Albany, Boston, and the CBC. McGovern studied at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan, and was honored with a Tanglewood Fellowship for two summers. Timothy McGovern lives in Champaign, Illinois, with his wife, two children, and their golden retriever Sophie. His daughter Caitlin plays the oboe and sings in the Central Illinois Children's Choir. His son James plays baseball and the tuba. His wife Sarah is a high school band director and oboist. ~^~ |
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Time, date, and program subject to change. |
California
native Jelena Dirks is the third generation of professional women
musicians in her family. She has been appointed by Daniel Barenboim to play in
the oboe section of the Chicago Symphony for the 2004-2005 season, where she
will be sharing the stage with her mother, Chicago Symphony violist Karen Dirks.