SAMS invites you to attend its second concert on Sunday, February 18, 3:00 p.m. in the Chapel of the Christ at Martin Luther College (1995 Luther Ct), New Ulm, Minnesota. This concert features the Bekesh Trio along with violinist Peter McGuire. The Bekesh Trio is comprised of pianist Dr. Bethel Balge, violinist Kenneth Freed and cellist Sharon Mautner-Rodgers.
Winner of the Louis B. Sudler Prize in the Arts, Bethel Balge has performed in Germany, Russia, Portugal, and the United States. It was at the Alte Oper that Balge’s “highly concentrated, technically secure and captivating interpretation” of Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit entranced a reviewer from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Recently, Balge performed Schumann’s A Minor Concerto with the Mankato Symphony. She is artistic director of the Summit Avenue Music Series and teaches at Bethany Lutheran College and Martin Luther College. In 2014, Balge received her Doctoral of Musical Arts as a scholarship student of Lydia Artymiw at the University of Minnesota.
Orchestral music has been the primary focus of Kenneth Freed’s career. He has been a member of the Minnesota Orchestra viola section since 1998. Before he joined the orchestra, Freed played second violin in the internationally acclaimed Manhattan String Quartet. Freed is enjoying his eleventh season as Music Director of the Mankato Symphony Orchestra in southern Minnesota.
Sharon Mautner-Rodgers is an active freelance musician, frequently playing chamber music and orchestral performances. She is Principal Cellist with the Mankato Symphony, Associate Principal with the South Dakota Symphony, and a substitute cellist with the Minnesota Orchestra. She teaches adjunct cello at Gustavus Adolphus College, at Grace Christian School, and privately.
The Bekesh Trio, along with violinist Peter McGuire, will perform Schumann’s Piano Quintet. Composed in 1842, the Quintet is one of the most significant and prestigious of romantic chamber pieces, displaying a wide array of emotions, from the intense desolation of the Funeral March movement to the exuberant joy in the final movement.
Admission: $13 adults, $35 three-concert pass, $5 students and children
Tickets: at Eventbrite.com or at the door on the day of the concert. For more information, visit www.summitavenuemusic.com
