Recitals in Minneapolis–Saint Paul

Mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski , who sings “from inside the music with unaffected purity and sincerity” (UK Telegraph), is an active soloist and chamber musician hailed for her “rich and radiant voice” (UrbanDial Milwaukee). She was a Metropolitan Opera National Council Upper-Midwest Regional Finalist, the winner of several competitions including Bel Canto Chorus Regional Artists Competition of Milwaukee, the Houston Saengerbund Competition, several time runner-up in The Schubert Club Bruce P. Carlson Scholarship Competition, and third place in the Madison Handel Aria Competition. Recognized for her excellence in Minnesota, Clara was a recipient of the prestigious 2018-2019 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Musicians administered by MacPhail Center for Music. In international competition with pianist Tyler Wottrich, in March of 2017, Clara became the first ever American prize winner when she placed second at Thomas Quasthoff’s International Das Lied Competition in Heidelberg, Germany. Later that year, the duo was also one of four to reach the finals in the very prestigious Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation Song Competition in London, and Clara was awarded the Richard Tauber Prize for the best interpretation of Schubert Lieder. She recently won the Radio-Canada People’s Choice Award and third place in the song division at the 2018 Concours Musical International de Montréal. Recent performance highlights include her debut with Minnesota Opera as Mrs. Herring in Britten’s Albert Herring, and active as a recitalist, she stepped in for Susanna Philips in The Schubert Club International Artist Series Recital with Eric Owens. She has also been a feature recitalist at the Enlightenment Festival of Seraphic Fire, The Pablo Center of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, The Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, and several universities. She has collaborated with many chamber musicians, including pianist Wu Han, The Lydian String Quartet, VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, Accordo, and Dark Horse Consort. Clara’s passion for contemporary music is exhibited in the song-cycles and chamber music she has premiered or commissioned by numerous composers including James Kallembach, Libby Larsen, David Evan Thomas, Linda Kachelmeier, Reinaldo Moya, Carol Barnett, and Juliana Hall. Orchestral performance highlights include her soloist debuts of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee, B Minor Mass with the Back Bay Chorale of Boston, Christmas Orator

Christine Amon is a versatile mezzo-soprano excelling in opera, musical theater, and art song. Her stage roles include Dorabella in Così fan tutte, the title role in Cendrillon, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Erika in Vanessa, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, and Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel, among many others. She has appeared with Nashville Opera, Opera Carolina, Toledo Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Union Avenue Opera, Opera Louisiane, and Opera Memphis. Ms. Amon also created the role of Mich in Mich and the Moon in the premiere of The Ghosts of Crosstown at Opera Memphis. In 2018 she was a finalist in the international Lotte Lenya Competition hosted by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music. Concert performances include Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Bach’s Magnificat, Will Todd’s Mass in Blue, Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, and Handel’s Messiah. Hailing from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Amon earned her BM at Grand Valley State University where she was named a Distinguished Alumna in 2015, and her MM from Bowling Green State University. She earned a doctorate at the University of Michigan and currently teaches classical and musical theatre voice at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. This season, Amon will perform Gustav Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra. Kenneth J. Pereira , baritone, enjoys an active career on the operatic, concert, and recital stages. His operatic roles include Puccini’s Marcello in La Bohème, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, the title role in Gianni Schicchi, and Mozart’s Il Conte Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte among others. Internationally, he has appeared as the baritone soloist in numerous opera gala performances in both Italy and Mexico in works by Verdi, Puccini, and Donizetti. Recently, he has performed with the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra in works by Beethoven and Mahler. Dr. Pereira also has been a soloist with the Eau Claire Chamber in works by Bach, Handel, and Mozart. Prior to his arrival in the Chippewa Valley, Dr. Pereira appeared regularly as a soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Raymond Leppard in works by Beethoven and Haydn. He is also a featured soloist on the orchestra’s 2008 recording of classical and traditional Christmas music. Born and raised in northern California, Dr. Pereira graduated Magna cum Laude from California State University, Stanislaus. He holds a Doctor of Music in Voice Performance

ABOUT JAMES EHNES James Ehnes has established himself as one of the most sought-after musicians on the international stage. Gifted with a rare combination of stunning virtuosity, serene lyricism and an unfaltering musicality, Ehnes is a favorite guest at the world’s most celebrated concert halls. Recent and upcoming orchestral highlights include the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony, LA Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Cleveland Orchestra. A devoted chamber musician, Ehnes is the Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society and the leader of the Ehnes Quartet. As a recitalist, he performs regularly at Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Symphony Center Chicago, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Verbier Festival, Dresden Music Festival and Festival de Pâques in Aix. Ehnes has an extensive discography and has won many awards for his recordings, including two Grammys, three Gramophone Awards and twelve Juno Awards, the most of any classical musician in history. In 2021, Ehnes was announced as the recipient of the coveted Artist of the Year award at the 2021 Gramophone Awards which celebrated his recent contributions to the recording industry, including the launch of a new online recital series entitled ‘Recitals from Home’ which was released in June 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent closure of concert halls. Ehnes recorded the six Bach Sonatas and Partitas and six Sonatas of Ysaÿe from his home with state-of-the-art recording equipment and released six episodes over the period of two months. These recordings have been met with great critical acclaim by audiences worldwide and Ehnes was described by Le Devoir as being “at the absolute forefront of the streaming evolution”. Ehnes began violin studies at the age of five, became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin aged nine, and made his orchestra debut with L’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal aged 13. He continued his studies with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and The Juilliard School, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation in 1997. He is a Member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Manitoba, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and an honorary fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, where he is a Visiting Professor. Since 2024, he has been Professor of Violin