HISTOIRE: Featuring Violin and Piano in Recital
Our first of three concerts in our Park Center Chamber Series featuring violinist Hannah Kennedy and pianist Casey Rafn for an evening of glorious French music spanning from the 1700s to today. French composers throughout history have relied on color and texture to create distinct sound worlds, resulting in music that is incredibly emotionally expressive.
This program showcases those expressions, in particular the Impressionistic style, which includes music of Claude Debussy, Olivier Messiaen, Lili Boulanger, and more. This evening will be a musical journey filled with beauty, history, and maybe even a few surprises.
TICKETS: $25 advance, $30 door and $5 students (17 and under)
Donations to benefit The Park Center are appreciated. The Park Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation registered in Wisconsin. Our operations are supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Hannah Kennedy BIO:
Violinist Hannah Kennedy is a committed collaborator and recitalist known for creative and thoughtful performances. She is the Assistant Concertmaster of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra and a core member of Lyra Baroque Orchestra. She also performs with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, La Grande Bande, 10th Wave Chamber Music Collective, STRINGenius, and served as a member of the Altius Quartet for the 2020-2021 season. She teaches privately at Songs with Sarah and directs a beginning chamber music camp in the summers. Hannah participated as a virtual performer fellow in the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Music Academy, and has performed with COmpass Resonance Ensemble, ProMusica Colorado Chamber Orchestra, and the Fort Collins and Cheyenne Symphony Orchestras. She was awarded first prize in the 2020 Bruce Ekstrand Competition and presented J.S. Bach’s Chaccone as an Ekstrand semi-finalist in 2019. Festival appearances include Madeline Island Chamber Music (’11. Fellow ’19), Stringwood Chamber Music Festival, and Twin Cities Baroque Instrumental Program. While at Madeline Island, Hannah worked with members of the Arianna, American, Dover, and St. Lawrence String Quartets.
She has also performed in masterclasses with members of the Tákacs, Enso, Pacifica, Arianna, Juilliard, Brentano, Jupiter, and Pro Arte String Quartets, and the Smetana Trio. Hannah obtained her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where she attended as an Eileen Phillips Cohen String Quartet Fellow, and as a student of Nobuyoshi Yasuda. She received a Master’s degree at CU Boulder as a student of Harumi Rhodes and Edward Dusinberre of the Takács Quartet. She continued her studies with Ms. Rhodes and Mr. Dusinberre, completing an Artist Diploma in solo violin and serving as Teaching Assistant to Dr. Robert Hill. Hannah lives in Chaska, MN with her husband, Nick, and their dog, Lacy.
Casey Rafn Bio:
Pianist Casey Rafn enjoys a varied career as a collaborative pianist both in the United States and abroad, in Europe and Latin America. He is a member of Trés, whose saxophone-piano trio was nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Instrumental Album for their album Romance al Campesino Porteño. He is interested in new music and working with composers, and has been called a "great collaborator" by composer Libby Larsen, having premiered works by Larsen, Steve Heitzig, Angélica Negrón, Miguel Zenon, and many others. He plays for the Basilica of St. Mary as well as VocalEssence. He often collaborates in concert or recordings with members of the Minnesota Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and University of Minnesota School of Music faculty, including recordings with saxophone professor Preston Duncan. As a piano soloist he took top prizes at the International Liszt-Garrison Competition in Baltimore and has appeared in concert with the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra.
Ruth Marshall’s Bio:
Cellist Ruth Marshall (she/her/hers) enjoys a varied career split between teaching and performing. She is the cellist of Artu Duo, a collaborative ensemble with pianist Garret Ross, which has performed extensively across the United States, including a debut at Carnegie Hall in 2016. Ruth is also active as a soloist, and has played concertos with the Winona State University Chamber Orchestra, Wartburg Community Symphony, Winona Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble Society of New York City, and the Kokomo Symphony Orchestra. From 2012 to 2016, she performed extensively as an orchestra player, simultaneously playing as principal cello of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, as an associate member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, and as a permanent sub in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. From 2015-2022, she was the cellist of the Mill City String Quartet, during which time she performed for thousands of students through multiple residencies with Minnesota Public Radio. She is currently a member of Ninebark Ensemble, a flexible-sized chamber group with a string trio at its core, and is an active freelancer in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Ruth is equally committed to, and delighted by, her work as a cello instructor, working with students of all ages and levels at her home studio, and teaching cello students at Winona State University and Hamline University.
She is also the Director of Florestan Chamber Music, and the Twin Cities Cello Camp. She holds graduate degrees in cello performance from DePaul University in Chicago, and undergraduate degrees in Comparative History of Ideas and Music Theory & History from the University of Washington in Seattle. She lives in St. Paul, MN, on Dakota land, with her husband and two children.