What instruments pair well with the harp? How can composers best approach navigating the different timbral possibilities presented by the harp in chamber contexts? ​ Informed by both her experiences performing on the harp in small ensembles as well as her own compositional successes and learning moments, Amy Nam explores these questions with examples from […]

Set in a bawdy Victorian music hall, Elizabeth Cree by Kevin Puts (a BandQuest composer and the Director of the MNOrch Composer Institute) is a psychological thriller in which an abused and impoverished woman finally finds a family in a troupe of misfit performers. The action moves with kaleidoscopic energy and wit as the pulitzer- prize […]

Malang Jobarteh is a master of the kora, a 21-stringed West African harp and instrument of choice for griots, storytellers who chronicle the history and traditions of West Africa. The program features original compositions, arrangements of Western classical pieces and traditional West African music in a boundary-defying recital that unifies these seemingly disparate musical traditions. […]

American Roots is the Lakes Area Music Festivals grand opening event of the season that celebrates the American Spirit. Mason Bates' kaleidoscopic orchestral fanfare is followed by Jessie Montgomery's rhapsody of patriotic anthems, including the 'Star Spangled Banner' and 'Lift Every Voice and Sing.' Peruvian-American composer Jimmy Lopes completes this trilogy of contemporary voices with […]

The grand opening event for the Lakes Area Music 2021 season, that celebrates the American Spirit. American Roots features Mason Bates' kaleidoscopic orchestral fanfare followed by Jessie Montgomery's rhapsody of patriotic anthems, including the 'Star Spangled Banner' and 'Lift Every Voice and Sing.' Peruvian-American composer Jimmy Lopez completes this trilogy of contemporary voices with a […]