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CELLO SECTION
All Photographs by Katrin Talbot
Musician
profiles are in alphabetical order.
ADAM CARTER
Noteworthy: B.M. in cello performance and M.M.
with distinction in Performance and Literature, both from the Eastman School of
Music; expected D.M.A. in cello performance from UW-Madison in May 2006. Second
place at Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 1998, as a member of a
cello quartet. Oddest practice quarters: A 14th-century mill on
the Seine River in Normandy, France. What your colleagues don't know
about you: I'm a member of Tarab Cello Ensemble, a professional cello octet
that specializes in new music. Recurrent musical fantasy: To tour
the world with a professional string quartet.
KAREN CORNELIUS
Noteworthy: B.M. in cello performance, Juilliard; Fulbright scholarship to study cello at the Hochschule für Musik, Vienna, Austria; winner of Concert Artists Guild competition, NY, as a member of Sonos Chamber Ensemble. Funniest concert experience: A long
time ago, I went to a Boston Symphony concert with my mother, and during a loud
part of Berg's Lulu Suite, some small pieces of the ceiling of Symphony Hall
fell on us. I think I still have them somewhere, and I think they have fixed the
ceiling since then.
MAGGIE DARBY TOWNSEND
Noteworthy: B.M. in cello performance,
University of Iowa; M.M. in cello performance, UW-Madison; played in the Cedar
Rapids and Quad City Symphonies; played the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1
with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. Oddest practice quarters:
When I was about 12, a music camp coach had our string quartet practice in a
pink tiled women's dorm bathroom to explore acoustics. It was pretty
embarrassing, especially for the only boy in the group! What your
colleagues don't know about you: I can play piano upside-down. If
I were John DeMain for a day: I'd let each section of the orchestra choose a
musical work, and program a concert of "MOS musicians'
favorites!"
MARGARET FENSKE
Noteworthy: This is my 25th year with the MSO.
Performed a graduate solo recital on all four string
instruments. Oddest practice quarters: My church's boiler
room. Funniest concert experience: While playing a concert a mouse
poked its head out of a hold in the stage near my chair. It proceeded to scamper
under my stand partner's shoe. It was a little tricky telling her that there was
a mouse under her foot while we were in the middle of a
performance! What your colleagues don't know about you: I grow
over 40 varieties of day lilies.
JANET GREIVE
Noteworthy: BM and MM from Peabody School of
Music in Baltimore. Enjoys teaching cello privately and playing chamber
music. Oddest practice quarters: A tiny motel bathroom while
studying at the Aspen Music Festival. Funniest concert experience:
All stage and hall lights going out during the opening cello and violin cadenza
in a performance of the Brahms Double Concerto in which Tyrone and I played the
solo parts. Continuing to play in the dark, the lights came on just in time for
the orchestra to make its entrance. What your colleagues don't know
about you: I was a double major in cello and voice. Winning a voice
competition as a student, the prize helped make possible further cello study at
Aspen. Recurrent musical fantasy: A world in which everyone plays
in tune and in rhythm the first time.
KARL LAVINE, Principal
Noteworthy: Recorded for Radio Stuttgart &
CBC (Toronto); European tour of West Side Story; masters with Tim Eddy, doctoral
candidate with Parry Karp; father of two. Funniest concert moment:
When the violinist lost his music through a crack in the stage floor during a
Mendelssohn trio. Oddest practice quarters: Back of an Italian
bus, on tour. What your colleagues don't know about you: Bicycled
competitively; is a marathon runner.
MELISSA POLL
Noteworthy: B.M. in Cello Performance and
Instrumental Music Teaching Certification, UW-Madison; currently I'm an
elementary orchestra teacher in Shorewood, WI. Oddest practice
quarters: The lobby of the Renaissance Hotel in Prague. Funniest
concert experience: A summer performance in Texas of Ravel's Bolero. We had
to begin the piece slouched in our chairs, legs crossed, and holding our
instruments (including cellos) like guitars. By the end, we were to be playing
in traditional form, swaying back and forth. It was so strange! What
your colleagues don't know about you: I was originally accepted into school
on a piano scholarship. If I were John DeMain for a day: I'd
invite the orchestra over for a soiree!
LAURIE RISS
Noteworthy: B.M. in cello performance from
University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana, M.M. in cello performance from Rice
University in Houston, and continuing studies toward certifications in music
education at UW-Madison. Oddest practice quarters: Practicing
flute in the cabin of a cruise ship while 30-foot seas were making most
passengers green from seasickness. Funniest concert experience: A
clothespin holding my music flew off the music stand and into the f-hold of my
bass and rattled for the rest of the gig. What your colleagues don't
know about you: I play bass in an all-women swing band, "Ladies Must Swing,"
and a six-piece jazz group, "6 of 1". Recurrent musical fantasy:
To play chamber music with my two young sons who play classical guitar and
cello.
SARA SITZER
Noteworthy: B.M. from Boston University,
M.M. from UW-Madison on Collins Fellowship. Fellow at Tanglewood and
Aspen Music Festival. Performed Brahms second symphony with the Boston Symphony
Orchestra. Oddest practice quarters: Old ice fishing huts at my
first music camp. Funniest concert experience: While playing
quartets on the street in Aspen one day, both violinists suddenly started
flipping out and we had to stop playing; they told us that Gil Shaham had just
stopped to listen and dropped us a 20-dollar bill. Recurrent musical
fantasy: To play in the Turtle Island String Quartet.
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