Mayo Clinic Announces Four January Harmony for Mayo Concerts

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

For Immediate Release

Mayo Clinic Announces Four January Harmony for Mayo Concerts

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Held on four Mondays in January, the Harmony for Mayo music series demonstrates Mayo Clinic's commitment to creating a healing environment for patients and their families. Three concerts will be held from 12:10 to 1 p.m., and a fourth concert will be held on Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. Offered as part of the programming of Mayo Clinic Center for Humanities in Medicine, the free concerts are open to the public.

Jan. 1: No Concert (New Year's Day)

Jan. 8: Cam Waters will give an acoustic guitar and vocals concert in Barbara Woodward Lips Atrium, subway level, Rochester Methodist Hospital, Charlton Building, 10 Third Ave. N.W.

A fingerstyle and slide guitarist, Waters has crisscrossed the United States playing with some of the country's most well-respected acoustic performers. His songwriting talents complement his arrangements of rural blues, jug band songs and American folk music. His latest recording, "Central Standard," includes one-third original material, one-third vintage blues, and one-third traditional music. Originally from Iowa, Waters resides in Rochester with his wife, Tracy.

Jan. 15: Twin Cities Community (TCC) Gospel Choir will perform a special evening concert to honor Martin Luther King Jr. The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church, 400 Fifth Ave. S.W., Rochester.

The TCC Gospel Choir's performance will mark Harmony for Mayo's seventh annual Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative concert. Directed by founder Robert Robinson, the group aims to be a community resource, bringing its music and message to prisons, homeless shelters, and inner city and rural communities. The TCC Gospel Choir brings together singers from a variety of ages, experiences and ethnic backgrounds to celebrate the rich tradition of African-American religious music.

Jan. 22: Rochester Chamber Music Society (RCMS) Young Artists will give a classical music concert in Barbara Woodward Lips Atrium, subway level, Rochester Methodist Hospital, Charlton Building, 10 Third Ave. N.W.

Since 2003, RCMS has promoted chamber music in an accessible and artistically excellent manner. As part of that mission, founder and director Horacio Nuguid works with some of the area's most talented young musicians to present RCMS Young Artists concerts. This concert will feature Marko Bajzer, bassoon; Carly Blazing, violin; Rafael Nuguid, violin; David Shin, violin; Brian Wille, cellist; Horacio Nuguid, piano; and the Center Street Singers, a vocal jazz ensemble.

Jan. 29: Nirmala Rajasekar will perform classical Indian music in Hage Atrium, subway level, Siebens Medical Education Building, 100 Second Ave. S.W. Rajaseker will be accompanied by several other artists. Originally from Bangalore, India, Rajasekar began performing with the veena, a stringed instrument, at age 13. Over the past 25 years, she has performed vocal and veena music across the world, at well-known venues in Europe, India and the United States. Her latest album is "Veena Dhwani: Sounds of the Veena." Rajasekar lives in Plymouth, Minn.

Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester selects and schedules the outstanding musicians that perform at each Harmony for Mayo concert. Mr. and Mrs. Tomas Furth of Caracas, Venezuela and New York City, initiated the program through a generous financial gift to Mayo Clinic, and continue to help fund the series. For more information about Harmony for Mayo, please visit: www.mayoclinic.org.

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