Out of Our Minds Chamber Music

OUT OF OUR MINDS CHAMBER MUSIC TO FEATURE “FRENCH PASTRY”
LA CROSSE, Wis. – The final concert of the Out of Our Minds Chamber Series will feature the talents of soprano Ann Schoenecker, oboist Carolyn Haupert Drazich, bassoonist Jeff Copp, and pianist Mary Ellen Haupert. The program opens with Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns’ Sonata for Oboe and Piano, followed by song cycles by Debussy and Poulenc, and ending with Poulenc’s Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano. The concert will be performed in Viterbo University’s Nola Starling Recital Hall on Saturday, April 13th @ 7:3 PM; it is free and open to the public.
It is with great pleasure that Mary Ellen Haupert will perform with her eldest daughter, Carolyn Haupert Drazich. Carolyn studied oboe with Mary Beth Hensel while growing up in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She continued her studies at the College of St. Benedict with oboist and Alexander Master Teacher Andrea Fedele, and graduated with a BA in oboe performance and minor in German. After graduating, Carolyn continued language studies in Bamberg, Germany where she was employed as an au pair. She is currently a registered nurse who lives and works at Essentia-St. Mary’s in Duluth with her husband, Dr. Brandon Drazich.

Ann Schoenecker is no stranger to La Crosse audiences. She is a full professor of voice at Viterbo University who specializes in training both classical and contemporary voices and was moved to the Theater and Music Theater Department this year because of the demand for her skillful teaching. Schoenecker and Haupert have performed together for several years will perform two song cycles for this evening’s concert: Debussy’s Quatre chansons de jeunesse (Four Songs of Youth) and Poulenc’s La Courte Paille (The Short Straw).

Poulenc’s Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano is an early work (composed when Poulenc was in his early 20s) that is often considered his first major chamber work. It was dedicated to Manuel de Falla, but received “coaching” from Poulenc’s colleague, Igor Stravinsky. Haupert first performed the piece with Jeff Copp and oboist Mary Beth Hensel in the 1990s to great acclaim. It is with pleasure that we bring both Jeff and this chamber masterpiece to the Out of Our Minds Series so many years later!

The concert is free and open to the public. There will be a free will offering to cover artist fees and marketing expenses.