Gustavus Artist Series: Sarah Leuwerke Voice RecitalNovember 17, 2018 at 7:30–9 p.m.
Mezzo-soprano Sarah Leuwerke has performed with symphony orchestras and operas around the country and brings her critically acclaimed "fresh-voiced and broadly comic" performance style to Gustavus Artist Series this fall. She will be joined by pianist Yana Avedyan and violinist Laura Burns, presenting works by Gerald Finzi, Benjamin Britten, and the Gustavus premiere of a new song cycle by Veronika Krausas, "Hopscotch Tarot".
The mission of the Gustavus Artist Series is to broaden Gustavus student exposure to significant artistic scholarship and world-class performers and artists.
Tickets can be ordered at gustavustickets.com and cost $12 for the general public, $9 for seniors/students, and $9 for Gustavus faculty/staff. Gustavus students receive one free ticket.
About the Performers:
Mezzo-soprano, Sarah Leuwerke, has been seen on the operatic stage, as a concert soloist, recitalist, and as a chamber musician throughout the United States. Performance highlights include appearances with the Billings Symphony, the Greeley Philharmonic, Santa Fe Opera, Minnesota Opera, North Star Opera, Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Madison Opera, Florentine Opera, the Madison Choral Project and the San Antonio Chamber Choir, Madison Choral Project, and Madison Bach Musicians.
Ms. Leuwerke received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Gustavus Adolphus College and her Master of Music degree in voice performance from the University of Northern Colorado. After graduation, she was chosen to become an apprentice artist with the prestigious Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist Program.
Praised on the stage as being "fresh-voiced and broadly comic..." (Colorado Springs Gazette), Ms. Leuwerke's operatic credits include Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte), Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel) Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Siebel (Faust), Second Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Alisa (Lucia di Lammermoor), and Cephise (Pygmalion). She has been heard as soloist in Verdi's Requiem, Bach's B minor Mass, Mozart's Requiem, Durufle'sRequiem, Handel's Messiah, Colomba Mea (Kenneth Leighton), Stabat Mater (Szymanowski), King David (Honneger) and in Alto Rhapsody (Brahms).
Laura Burns, violin, is a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, where she also performs with the Rhapsodie String Quartet, part of the Madison Symphony's Heartstrings initiative that brings live interactive music programs to adults and children with disabilities. Laura Burns is an active performer in the Madison area, performing with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Token Creek Music Festival, LunArt Festival, Mosaic Chamber Players, Duo Penumbra, and Quartessence. In addition to performing, Laura is an advocate of music education. She has taught studio violin, chamber music and conducted orchestras in both public and private education settings, including her current position as string specialist at Edgewood College. In addition to performing and teaching, Laura has served as president of the Independent String Teachers of Madison and president of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American String Teachers Association. Ms. Burns holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in violin performance from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her teachers include David Perry and Tyrone Greive.
Yana Avedyan, pianist, is originally from Kharkiv, Ukraine, where she attended Music School # 9 and studied with Glazirina Tatiana majoring in piano performance. She began her studies with Dr. Karen Becker at SUNY Plattsburgh in 2007 and has participated in master classes with Evgenia Tzarov and Helen Huang. In the spring of 2011, Avedyan made her debut as soloist with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, playing Mozart's Piano Concerto K. 488. She completed her bachelor's degree with a double major in music and accounting in May 2012, when she graduated summa cum laude. In the spring of 2013 Yana Avedyan and Danielle Breisach (flute) were the winners of the Annual Shain Woodwind-Piano Duo Competition. In the Spring 2014 Avedyan was one of the winners of the Annual Beethoven Competition. During her studies at UW-Madison Yana participated in masterclasses with Peter Minamoto and Joel Hastings. In the fall of 2016, she was one of the finalists of the UW-Madison Concerto Competition. She performed Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto with a UW student orchestra in the fall of 2017. Avedyan taught private students through Piano Pioneers Program at UW- Madison, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee and Steinway Store in Madison. She attended festivals such as Brevard Music Festival as a solo pianist and Bay View Music Festival as a collaborative piano fellow. In June 2018, Yana participated in an inaugural concert series of LunART festival in Madison. In May 2018, Avedyan completed her DMA degree in piano performance at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where she was a student of Van Cliburn medal winning pianist Christopher Taylor. Her dissertation project entailed promoting the solo piano works of the Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk. <
