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    Minnesota

    Mayo Clinic Announces Four Performances in October 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 October. Performances will be on Mondays from 12:10 p.m. to 1 p.m.

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The schedule is:

Oct. 1: No concert, Mayo Clinic Heritage Days

Oct. 8: Lehto & Wright will perform a Celtic and American folk rock concert in Barbara Woodward Lips Atrium, subway level, Rochester Methodist Hospital, Charlton Building, 10 Third Ave. NW. Their music is a mix of traditional and modern styles as they interpret Irish, English and American folk traditions with contemporary guitar-based arrangements. The group has performed at the New London Music Festival in New London, Minn., the Minnesota Folk Festival and the Black Hawk Folk Festival in Wisconsin. Players include singer John Wright on acoustic guitar, bass guitar and bass pedals; vocalist Steve Lehto on acoustic and electric guitars and the mandolin; and Matt Jacobs on drums and percussion. The band issued its seventh full-length studio release, "November," this year, featuring songs by Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Bob Marley.

Oct. 15: Michael Monroe will play an acoustic folk and reggae concert in Lips Atrium. Monroe produced his first album, "Summer Rain," in 1980. In 2003, he collaborated with photographer Jim Brandenburg to create the instrumental soundtrack for the award-winning documentary, "Chased by the Light." His latest work, "Live at the Cedar," was recorded in 2008 at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. Monroe lives and records music at his solar-powered log cabin on the north shore of Lake Superior. The Star Tribune has called him a "rich-voiced eco-folkie."

Oct. 22: Mary Jane Alm will perform a jazz, blues and pop concert in Lips Atrium. Alm was inducted into the Mid-America Music Hall of Fame in 2007 for work that spans more than two decades. Her latest recording, the 2011 release "Me and the Wild Blue," features original works and songs by Joni Mitchell, Kevin Bowe and Pamela McNeill. Her song, "Love Waits," registered No. 2 on ReverbNation's Hot Country music ratings list. Alm, a Twin Cities musician, has performed in China, Russia, Poland, Mexico and Bermuda. She won an Emmy Award for her work with The Music Workshop for Kids musical group. Her band includes Boyd Lee on acoustic guitar and vocals, Gordy Johnson on bass, Scooter Nelson on percussion and vocals, and Brian Peters on guitar and pedal steel.

Oct. 29: The City of Tomorrow wind quintet will perform a classical concert in Lips Atrium. The quintet highlights new and forgotten masterworks, such as Franco Donatoni's "Blow." Members of the quintet have performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Youth Orchestra of the Americas and Ensemble Dal Niente. The quintet took its name from a poem by Billy Collins, former U.S. poet laureate, that describes an optimistic vision of the future. Members include Elise Blatchford on flute, Andrew Nogal on oboe, Camila Barrientos Ossio on clarinet, Laura Miller on bassoon and Leander Star on French horn.

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 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.


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