Guest Information

Renée Fleming

Soprano Renée Fleming has charmed audiences the world over with her vocal intelligence, exquisite musical grace, and voice of "liquid gold." Her recordings range from Strauss' complete Daphne to the jazz album Haunted Heart to the soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Her Metropolitan Opera appearances this season are in Massenet's Thaïs and Dvořák's Rusalka. For several years, she has hosted "Live from Lincoln Center" on PBS as well as the Met's HD series for movie theaters and television. This fall, the perfume company Coty launched La Voce by Renée Fleming, a limited-edition fragrance with proceeds benefiting the Metropolitan Opera. The most recent recording from this two-time Grammy winner is Strauss: Four Last Songs (Decca).

Odetta

Odetta was one of the most celebrated figures in music. She was a recipient of the National Medal of the Arts and Humanities, the National Visionary Award from the Kennedy Center, the first Duke Ellington Fellowship Award from Yale University, Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Library of Congress, the International Folk Alliance, the World Folk Music Association, and Presidente d'Honeurs from the Cognac (France) Blues Festival, as well as Grammy and W.C. Handy Award nominations and numerous honorary degrees from various universities. She was born in 1930in Birmingham, Alabama. From there, her family moved to Los Angeles, where she began classical voice training. In 1944 she started a four-year association performing at the famed Turnabout Theater in Hollywood, and in 1949 she joined the touring company of Finian's Rainbow. Odetta found her way into the folk music scene in the early 1950s, singing at the Hungry i and the Tin Angel in San Francisco and the Blue Angel in New York. In the decades since, she has released dozens of recordings. As a leading voice of social activism around the world, she participated in the Civil Rights marches in Selma, sang at the 1963 and '83 marches on Washington, and played for President Kennedy and his cabinet on the nationally televised Civil Rights program Dinner with the President. Odetta passed away in December 2008.

Musica Sacra

Musica Sacra was founded by Richard Westenburg and Central Presbyterian Church in 1968; it was the first all-professional, paid admission choral series ever undertaken by a church. It was extremely popular and, in the early seventies, it became independent and moved on to larger venues, including Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although they have an affinity for Baroque music, Musica Sacra has performed in all styles, from the chant of Hildegard to commissioned works and premieres from leading contemporary composers such as Britten, Rorem, Hovhaness, Schickele and Rands. They have recorded on RCA, CBS, Vanguard, BMG and Deutsche Grammaphon in music ranging from Handel to Brahms and Bruckner, to Schoenberg and Meredith Monk. In October of 2001, Bravo Recordings, a label dedicated to choral music, was launched. Five Musica Sacra recordings, A Christmas Sing-Along, Of Eternal Light, Songs and Psalms of the Divine, Brahms: Songs and Romances, and Hildegard and Monk: Monk and the Abbess, were re-released as part of its initial offering. Musica Sacra is Soprano: Jacqueline Horner, Joan Krause, Ellen Taylor Sisson, Janine Ullyette, Cynthia Richards Wallace; Alto: Sarah Bleasdale, Meg Bragle, B.J. Fredricks, Karen Goldfeder; Tenor: Gregory Davidson, Jim Fredericks, Todd Frizzell, Steven Raiford; Bass: Frank Barr, Hayes Biggs, Elliot Levine, Alan Rasmussen, Mark Wagstrom.

*Also joining us will be a string quintet and a flutist. The musicians are: Violin I: Alexander Simionescu; Violin II: Jenny Lind Nilsson; Viola: Susan Pray; Cello: Michael Mermagen; Bass: Barbara Wilson; Flute: Sheryl Henze.

The Sonos Handbell Ensemble

The Sonos Handbell Ensemble was founded in 1990 by director James Meredith, who has been conducting handbell ensembles since 1983. The influence of the Sonos Handbell Ensemble goes beyond their concerts: the group has sought the best transcriptions and original material available today, and they have encouraged composers to write for handbells alone. The group has performed at events such as the 1992 World Ice Skating Championships and the United Nations 50th Anniversary Celebration, and they have made numerous appearances on television and radio. This is the group's first performance on A Prairie Home Companion. They have recorded several CDs including their latest holiday recording, Christmas with Sonos Handbell Ensemble (Well-Tempered Productions), and their latest release, Classical Sonos (Well-Tempered Productions), a CD featuring pieces by Bach, Mozart, and Vivaldi. The Sonos Handbell Ensemble is: James Meredith (director), Mark Decker, Rick Hoffmeister, Christopher Kinzel, Jason Tiller, Diane Tiller, Tim Rossi, Michael Raposo, Cyndi Tully, Kathie Fink-Hein, P.L. Grove, Lois Kail, Mary Kidwell, and Peggy Rising.

The 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.