Anya Menk, RecitalFebruary 23 at 7–8 p.m.

The Gustavus Department of Music is proud to present Anya Menk '22 in her recital.

Anya Marie Menk is a vocalist, pianist, flautist, lyricist and educator from Le Center, MN. She attended Gustavus Adolphus College where she received degrees in vocal and instrumental music education with honors in music composition. During her undergraduate years, she studied jazz voice and jazz piano under her private lesson instructors, Dr. Patricia Snapp and Dr. Masayoshi Ishikawa. She had the pleasure of fronting the premier jazz ensemble at Gustavus for all four years under the instruction of Dr. Dave Stamps. Anya also studied classical piano intensively under
Gustavus professor emerita Dr. Helen Baumgartner for over ten years.

She currently studies vocal improvisation with Davide Cerreta, an NYC-based jazz vocalist and pianist who teaches at the Berklee College of Music, and she studies vocal technique with Italian Baritone Andrea Carnevale. Anya was selected for free masterclasses from both grammy-winning jazz vocalist Kurt Elling and grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Gretchen Parlato. She has had the pleasure of playing with groups including the Davide Cerreta Quartet, active in the NYC area; the IRISQuintet, active in the Chicago area; the Masayoshi Ishikawa Trio; and Southern Minnesota’s Real Big Band.

Anya is currently serving as a lesson instructor at Downtown Sound Music Studio in New Prague, MN where she has a private studio of around 45 musicians. She released her debut album, Inner Voice—produced and recorded by her dad, Carl—in December of last year. She serves as one of the musicians for her local church, St. Paul Lutheran and is an active
musician in the local scene and the Twin Cities area. She enjoys singing and playing in solo, small group and big band settings. Anya plans to attend graduate school next fall for an M.A. in Jazz Studies.