COLLAGE - An evening of Chamber Music for String Trio and Piano
Our second installment of our Chamber Series Concerts.
Join Brittany Quinn (violin), Alexandra Sophocleus (viola), Ruth Marshall (cello), and Casey Rafn (piano) for an evening of musical variety, joy, and collaboration. This program is a celebration of the possibilities of collaboration, featuring many combinations of instruments exploring through-lines in music through time. We look forward to sharing a joyful collection of some of our favorite pieces, including works by Mozart and more.
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.
Brittany Henry Quinn BIO:
Brittany Henry Quinn is an active performer and teacher in the Twin Cities area. She currently is on the violin and viola faculty at the University of Northwestern, serves as the Music & Theatre department assistant chair, UNW Learning Academy and Academy of Music director, and performs as a first violinist with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra. Before moving to Minnesota, she was violin and viola faculty and chamber coordinator at the Northwestern University Music Academy in Evanston, IL. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from Rice University Shepherd School of Music, studying with Kenneth Goldsmith, former concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony and earned a Master of Music degree in Violin Performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying with Mark Kaplan and Federico Agostini. While at Indiana University, Quinn studied pedagogy with Mimi Zweig, taught students of the world-renowned Indiana University String Academy, served as assistant conductor and violin sectional coach for the Musical Arts Youth Orchestra and taught private and group lessons to under-served students of the Fairview Elementary School in Bloomington, IN.
Her love for solo and chamber playing has been developed through coachings with The Pacifica Quartet at Madeline Island Music Camp, Cliff Colnot at Indiana University, Donald Weilerstein and Pamela Frank while attending as a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, and Norman and Jeanne Fischer at Rice University, among others. Quinn was formerly the concertmaster of the Woodlands Symphony, and violinist for the Carmel Symphony and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Quinn has been a featured performer on KUHF Houston’s “Front Row”, Twin Cities’ KARE and KSTP and has performed widely throughout the U.S. and abroad, including solo and orchestral performances in China and South Africa and performances for former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura and former Czech President, Vaclav Havel.
Alexandra Sophocleus Bio:
Alexandra Sophocleus is a violist who enjoys creating performances that convey authentic musical expression. She is currently a member of the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the South Dakota, Mankato, and Bloomington Symphony Orchestras. In addition to her orchestral work, Alexandra has collaborated in chamber music performances with the Artaria String Quartet and local musicians in the Twin Cities. Alexandra has also taught privately as well as through programs such as the NorthWoods Strings and Stringwood Chamber Music Festival.
Alexandra completed her musical studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, studying under artist-teacher Peter Slowik. At Oberlin, she studied chamber music with members of the Cavani Quartet and participated in masterclasses with musicians from the Verona String Quartet and members of the Cleveland Orchestra. Alexandra has attended several notable summer festivals, including Madeline Island Chamber Music, Stringwood, and the National Orchestral Institute, where she served as principal violist. She has been involved in multiple major recording projects, including the album Songtree: Music of Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, where she was a featured member of the Oberlin Sinfonietta.
Alexandra holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology and currently works as a mental health therapist in Minnesota, specializing in eating disorders, body image, and complex trauma. Her experiences in both music and psychology have deeply informed and enriched each other, shaping her approach to both therapy and musicianship, and exploring how both fields can enhance our connections to ourselves and to others.
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.