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

Health & Wellness

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

By
mayonewsreleases

January 26, 2012

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The public is invited to enjoy four Rosemary and Meredith Willson Harmony for Mayo Program concerts in February. Performances will be on Mondays from 12:10 p.m. to 1 p.m.

playing piano

The schedule is:

Feb. 6: The Choral Arts Ensemble will perform selections from its annual benefit, "A Singing Valentine," in Hage Atrium, subway level, Siebens Medical Education Building, 100 Second Ave. SW. The concert includes big band classics and songs from the Broadway stage. The Choral Arts Ensemble, led by Artistic Director Michael Culloton, is in its 27th season and is recognized for its commitment to choral excellence. The ensemble's mission is to inspire, educate, and enrich the community at large through outstanding choral performance.

Feb. 13: Minneapolis native, composer and musician Peter Ostroushko, who plays the mandolin and fiddle, will perform with Italian acoustic guitarist Beppe Gambetta in Barbara Woodward Lips Atrium, subway level, Charlton Building, 10 Third Ave. NW. Ostroushko's first recording was as a studio musician on Bob Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks" album. He has worked with many musicians and singers, including Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson. His most recent CD is "When the Last Morning Glory Blooms." Gambetta, a native of Genoa, is grounded in Italian music, but also has a love of American roots music. He has performed with some of the heroes of the folk music scene, including Gene Parsons and Doc Watson. He creates a fusion of American roots music, Ligurian tradition (dialects derived from late Latin on pre-Roman Liguria, a region in Italy), emigration songs and folk ballads, steel guitars and vintage harp guitars.

Feb. 20: Bill and Kate Isles will perform an acoustic folk concert in Lips Atrium. The singer/songwriter duo explores relationships, metaphorical worlds and multiple meanings in songs such as "The Sutra (comma) Minnesota Polka." Their work combines the comedic with profound themes. Bill Isles won the 2001 Minnesota Folk Festival New Folk Songwriting Contest and has performed at numerous folk festivals. Kate became part of the duo in 2004 when she married Bill. They released two albums in 2011, "The Holly & The Ivy," and "Still Beneath the Stars and Moon."

Feb. 27: New England native Bill Staines will perform an acoustic folk concert in Lips Atrium. Now in his fifth decade of performing, Staines has gained an international reputation as a gifted songwriter and performer. His music is a slice of Americana. Staines has performed on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" and been heard on HBO's award-winning series "Deadwood" and other film projects. Staines has recorded 26 albums. His songs have been covered by artists such as Peter, Paul and Mary, The Highwaymen, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Nanci Griffith.

Sponsored by Mayo Clinic Center for Humanities in Medicine, the Rosemary and Meredith Willson Harmony for Mayo Program is coordinated by Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester. The series is generously funded by Rosemary Willson in memory of her late 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.

Media Contact:Rebecca Eisenman, 507-284-5005 (days), newsbureau@mayo.edu