Mayo Clinic Announces Four Rosemary and Meredith Willson Harmony for Mayo Program Concerts during April

Monday, March 24, 2008

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Now celebrating its 10th year of performances, the Rosemary and Meredith Willson Harmony for Mayo Program features weekly musical concerts for the enjoyment of Mayo Clinic patients, staff and the Rochester community. April's concerts will be held on Mondays from 12:10 to 1 p.m. around the Mayo Clinic campus. The schedule is:

April 7: David Carter and Esther Wang will perform in Barbara Woodward Lips Atrium, subway level, Charlton Building, Rochester Methodist Hospital, 10 Third Ave. N.W.

Cellist David Carter and pianist Esther Wang will collaborate for this classical music concert. Carter is a professor of music at St. Olaf College. Though legally blind as a result of a retinal disease, Carter maintains an active performing and teaching schedule. Wang performs throughout the United States as a soloist and collaborator with other musicians. She holds Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Cincinnati. She is on the faculties of Gustavus Adolphus College and the Interlochen Arts Summer Camp.

April 14: Claudia Schmidt will perform folk music in Barbara Woodward Lips Atrium, subway level, Charlton Building, Rochester Methodist Hospital, 10 Third Ave. N.W.

Schmidt, who is from Michigan, performs music that has taken her across the country and around the world during the past 30 years. Schmidt, who dislikes musical categorization, classifies herself as a creative noisemaker. With her 12-string guitar and mountain dulcimer, she explores the folk, blues and jazz genres. Recently, her work has included creative contributions and performance for several theatrical productions. Throughout her career, Schmidt has recorded 14 albums. Her most recent, recorded with Dean Magraw, is "Live at the Dakota."

April 21: The Chorale and Treble choirs from the Honors Choirs of Southeastern Minnesota will perform in Hage Atrium, subway level, Siebens Medical Education Building, 100 Second Ave. S.W.

The Treble Choir includes fifth and sixth grade singers from 10 communities. The Chorale includes seventh through ninth graders from 13 communities. The groups' performance will include folk music from Hungary, Ireland and Newfoundland, a well-known spiritual, a sacred piece from the 17th century, and a contemporary tribute to high school bands. Bill Nelson will conduct the Treble Choir, and Jon Strommen Campbell will conduct the Chorale. Pianists Glenna Muir and Laurie Priniski accompany the choirs. Honors Choirs is a nonprofit organization of four auditioned youth choirs for singers in grades three through 12.

April 28: Horacio Nuguid will perform classical piano music in Barbara Woodward Lips Atrium, subway level, Charlton Building, Rochester Methodist Hospital, 10 Third Ave. N.W.

Originally from the Philippines, Nuguid serves as the artistic director of the Rochester Chamber Music Society. He is an active performer and teaches as a musical clinician at The Young Artist Piano Camp at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In 2005, he released his latest CD, featuring works by Chopin, Ravel and Rachmaninoff.

Sponsored by Mayo Clinic Center for Humanities in Medicine, the Rosemary and Meredith Willson Harmony for Mayo Program is coordinated by Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester. The series is generously funded by Rosemary Willson in memory of her late husband, Meredith Willson, who wrote the Broadway musical "The Music Man." The gift is made in gratitude for the couple's care at Mayo Clinic. More information about the Rosemary and Meredith Willson Harmony for Mayo Program can be found online www.mayoclinic.org/humanities-in-medicine.

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