Colloquium Concert: An Impossible Love, Clara and Robert SchumannMarch 13, 2020 at 7:30–9 p.m.
The Department of Music presents soprano Jennifer Olson, tenor David Kozisek, and pianist Benjamin Downs in concert.
Last year we celebrated the 200th birthday of the virtuosic pianist, accomplished composer, and one of the most revolutionary women in music, Clara Schumann. Olson, Kozisek, and Downs shine a light on the tempestuous and tragic love of Clara and Robert Schuman, using their words, letters, and incredible music.
About the Performers
Dr. Jennifer Olson holds a master’s degree in voice from the University of Michigan and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in voice from the University of Minnesota. In addition to her musical education in the United States, she studied in Milan, Italy and Orford, Québec. Jennifer has been teaching voice at the collegiate and high-school levels in addition to her performance career for the last 10 years. She recently joined the Bemidji State University music faculty as an assistant professor of voice where she teaches vocal arts and directs the university's opera and musical theater productions.
Dr. David Kozisek, tenor, is on faculty at Gustavus Adolphus University and MacPhail Center for Music and holds degrees from DePauw University, University of Michigan, and University of Minnesota. Before moving to Minneapolis, he appeared frequently at the Kennedy Center with the Washington National Opera, Washington Chorus, Washington Concert Opera, Cathedral Choral Society, and the National Symphony Orchestra among others. David has also performed with the Shakespeare Theatre Company and in various theatrical programs at Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. David is also the Director of Music at Hamline Church United Methodist in St. Paul where he conducts a variety of ensembles and curates and produces their Music and Arts Series. This summer, he will direct the Giving Voice Chorus at MacPhail, for those living with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers, and will return to the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan to direct the Jazz Chorus.
Benjamin Downs is a pianist, scholar, and teacher based in Minneapolis. He has been a prize winner in numerous national and international piano competitions including the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artist Competition, the Chautauqua International Piano Competition, the Northwestern Piano Competition, and the Cincinnati Chamber Music Competition. He has performed throughout the United States, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland as both a soloist, and with his wife, cellist Rebeccah Parker Downs. They have been featured performers at many venues including New York City’s WMP Concert Hall, the Bowdoin Music Festival, Brevard Music Festival, Chautauqua Music Festival, and the Linton Chamber Music Series. He has also performed with members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Windsor Symphony Orchestra. He completed his DMA in piano performance at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and his PhD in music theory and history at Stony Brook University where he specialized in avant-garde music and philosophies of listening. He has been the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship (Germany), Graduate Council Fellowship and Paul Sacher Stiftung Fellowship.
