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    Mayo Clinic Announces Four Performances in September for the Rosemary and Meredith Willson Harmony for Mayo Program

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The public is invited to enjoy four Rosemary and Meredith Willson Harmony for Mayo Program concerts in September. Performances will be on Mondays from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in Barbara Woodward Lips Atrium, subway level, Rochester Methodist Hospital, Charlton Building, 10 Third Ave. NW.

The schedule is:

Sept. 9: Sowah Mensah will perform on African drums. Sowah is an ethnomusicologist, an accomplished composer and a "Master Drummer" from Ghana, West Africa. Sowah has taught music in both Ghana and Nigeria and is currently a music professor at Macalester College, the University of St. Thomas and the University of Vermont. Sowah is the director of Sankofa, a Ghanaian Folklore and Dance Ensemble in the Twin Cities and a member of Speaking in Tongues, a four-piece group based out of the Twin Cities that uses two percussionists, a bassist and a Chinese pipa player. Sowah's third solo album, Sii Sii Sii, was released in March 2007.

Sept. 16: Vicky Emerson will perform an Americana concert. This singer/songwriter from Wisconsin tours the country, offering audiences her unique blend of folk and blues and accomplished musicianship on piano and guitar. She has earned critical acclaim and numerous awards for her songwriting and released her fourth album, "Dust and Echoes," in 2012.

Sept. 23: Clay Ross and Rob Curto's band, Matuto, will perform Pan-American-influenced, folkloric rhythms. These Fulbright grant recipients mix Appalachian fiddle tunes with a Northeastern Brazilian lilt to create a unique blues riff. In May 2013 Matuto released their second full-length album, "The Devil and the Diamond" on Motéma Music.

Sept. 30: Buddy Mondlock, singer and songwriter, performs an Americana concert. This critically acclaimed songwriter has written for Garth Brooks, Nancy Wilcox and Joan Baez, among others. He tours the globe singing American folk and recently released "The Edge of the World," his most personal album to date.

Sponsored by Mayo Clinic Center for Humanities in Medicine, the Rosemary and Meredith Willson Harmony for Mayo Program is coordinated by the Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester. The series is generously funded by the late Rosemary Willson in memory of her husband, Meredith Willson, who wrote the Broadway musical "The Music Man." The gift is made in gratitude for the couple's care at Mayo Clinic.

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