Twenty years of choral bliss, not to mention Hawaii

When Jordan Sramek invented the choral group known as The Rose Ensemble, he was still in Duluth. Nowadays they are based in St. Paul’s Landmark Center, although they travel the entire world, continuing to include Duluth several times each year. Such was the case last Sunday evening when they came to Weber Music Hall on the UMD campus and offered a revised version of  The Last Queen of Hawai’i, a program of Hawaiian music, traditional and composed.

Eight singers, two guitar/ukulele players, and a string bass player filled Weber Hall with lyrics about creation, flowers, love, misty islands, nostalgia, and, of course, Hawaiian pride. All of the performers were in brightly colored clothing, and the vowel-rich Hawaiian language was the dominant sound throughout the concert.

From my perspective, The Rose Ensemble is the most exciting vocal ensemble in Minnesota, having brought a thousand years of musical composition to Duluth, sharing that music in over 25 different languages. From the incredibly delicate high soprano voices of Kathy Lee and Kim Sueoka to the dark depths of the basso voice of Mark Dietrich, the entire vocal range is blended into a wide variety of cultural music patterns.

The Sunday night program was a series of readings, proverbs, and gorgeous music celebrating the Hawaiian spirit in the face of missionary abuse and an island proudness devoted to the last leaders of the Hawaiian people. This program will be performed nine more times in communities from Crookston to Marshall along the western corridor. For more information, go to www.roseensemble.org for dates and venues.

For sure, several gods were probably laughing in Cloquet

Last Friday I attended the hilarious theatrical performance, Making God Laugh, on stage at the Encore! Performing Arts Center just off Hwy 33 in Cloquet. Five actors, Sean Biskey, Elizabeth Klawitter, Jesse Davis, Harold Haapoja, and Ruthie Breuer, represent father/mother, two sons, and one daughter in 1980, 1990, 2000, and several years later. If you want to make God laugh, as the saying goes, just make plans. Breuer and Haapoja do their best to understand the changing lives of their growing ‘children,’ but it isn’t easy.

Biskey becomes a Catholic priest, but twenty years later falls in love and gets married instead. Klawitter wants to be an actress, but continues to teach school to make ends meet. Davis has the most fun of the evening. He is a completely different persona with each passing decade, although becoming very stable when his parents need him as they age. The show continues through October 4 at the Encore! Center.

Re-Creation of the personalities of Spoon River, USA

Just to make teasing comments, the UMD Playhouse opens its season with a completely new play based on Edgar Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. Writer Tom Isbell and musician Andy Kust have taken about 60 of Master’s residents of Spoon River and created a narrative bringing new life to the community. This production opens on October 1 and runs through the tenth.

Rich pipe organ sounds from 1898 (or older)

Here’s a quick reminder about the sharing at the Felgemaker pipe organ in Sacred Heart Music Center will happen at 3pm on Sunday, October 4th. Six local organists will share, scones and wine will be available, and the intent is to celebrate the pipe organ and raise additional funds for needed organ maintenance.

Enjoy Dorothy, the Munchkins, the Wizard, and the DSSO

And finally, if you want to watch Judy Garland and the The Wizard of Oz, but with the music played live by the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, conducted by music director Dirk Meyer, show up at Symphony Hall at the DECC for the 7pm performance on Saturday, October 3. The concert hall will certainly seem like home as Dorothy gets blown to Oz and back with live music filling the room. Have a wonderful arts-filled week.