A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor

Christina Baldwin

Mezzo-soprano Christina Baldwin grew up in a family of eight children in the small town of Jordan, Minnesota. Singing at home with her siblings launched her into a career in the arts. Today her credits include creating role of Myrtle in the Guthrie Theater's The Great Gatsby, an eight-year collaboration with Theatre de la Jeune Lune, performing in the world premiere of Steven Paulus' oratorio To Be Certain of the Dawn with the Minnesota Orchestra, voicing animated short films by the Dutch filmmaker Rosto, and starring — with her sister Jennifer — in the Great American History Theatre's production of Sisters of Swing.

Ray Benson

Guitarist/bandleader/singer/producer Ray Benson may be best known as founder of the longstanding Western Swing band Asleep at the Wheel. Since forming in 1970, the Austin-based group has won nine Grammy Awards, released more than two dozen albums, and introduced fans worldwide to their ever-popular brand of music. Benson was designated the "2004 Texas State Musician" by the Texas House of Representatives. His recent recordings include Reinventing the Wheel (Megaforce) and a solo CD, Beyond Time (Koch Records). Eddie Rivers, Asleep at the Wheel's steel guitar player, joins Benson for tonight's performance.

Dan Dressen

Tenor Dan Dressen's career has taken him from roles with the Minnesota Opera — including 2007's world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's The Grapes of Wrath — to performances with the Washington Opera, Cleveland Lyric Opera, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Chorale, North Star Opera and Dale Warland Singers. For more than 25 years, he has sung with internationally recognized choral group VocalEssence and is featured on its recordings of Benjamin Britten's Paul Bunyan and Aaron Copland's The Tender Land. Dressen is professor of music at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Bradley Greenwald

Back in the 1980s, Bradley Greenwald was a German major at the University of Minnesota when — on a whim — he signed up for an opera workshop. Now the multitalented baritone is a mainstay of numerous Minneapolis/St. Paul arts organizations, including the Guthrie Theater, Children's Theatre Company, VocalEssence, Theatre de la Jeune Lune and the Minnesota Orchestra. The Fairmont, Minnesota, native is the recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship in music, the McKnight Fellowship for Theater Artists, and an Ivey Award for excellence in Twin Cities theater.

Maria Jette

In addition to her 45-plus operatic roles, soprano Maria Jette has performed pop songs, chamber music, oratorio and more. She has appeared with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra, and with numerous symphony orchestras coast to coast. A frequent collaborator with VocalEssence and other choral ensembles, she is also a regular guest at the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival and the Oregon Festival of American Music. For years, Twin Cities audiences have delighted in her Sopranorama performances with Molly Sue McDonald, Janis Hardy and Dan Chouinard.

Andra Suchy

Andra Suchy spent her childhood on a farm near Mandan, North Dakota, the daughter of two talented singers. By the time she was in grade school, she was traveling around, doing concerts and festivals with her family. These days, she sings with several groups in the Twin Cities area — including the all-girl trio The Dollys. She also works as a back-up singer and as a jingle singer on commercials for White Castle, Target, and more. Andra's solo CD is called Patchwork Story.

Sonja Thompson

Pianist Sonja Thompson has appeared in a wide variety of performance settings with both singers and instrumentalists. A graduate of the Juilliard School, she is assistant music director at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis. This year marks her 15th year as assistant professor of music at Augsburg College, and she has served as music director of Nautilus Music Theater's Composer-Librettist workshop in St. Paul. At home, Thompson plays mom — and chauffeur — to two teenage kids.

Guy's All-Star Shoe Band

The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band is led by A Prairie Home Companion music director Richard Dworsky. A masterful keyboard player, composer and improviser in any style, he writes all the script themes and underscores, and he has accompanied guests from James Taylor to Renée Fleming. His latest CD is So Near and Dear to Me.

Chet Atkins called Pat Donohue (guitar) one of the greatest finger pickers in the world today. And he writes songs too — recorded by Suzy Bogguss, Kenny Rogers and others. Freewayman (Bluesky Records) is the most recent of Pat's nine albums.

Gary Raynor (bass) has performed with the Count Basie band, Sammy Davis Jr. — with whom he toured for several years — and the Minnesota Klezmer Band. He teaches jazz bass at the McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul.

Peter Johnson (percussion) has played klezmer music with Doc Severinsen and jazz with Dave Brubeck. He was a drummer for The Manhattan Transfer and for Gene Pitney. He has toured the world, but he always comes back to home base: Saint Paul.

Andy Stein (violin, saxophone) definitely has far-flung musical leanings. He collaborated with Garrison Keillor to create the opera Mr. and Mrs. Olson, and he has performed with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Eric Clapton, Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles and Bob Dylan.