Meet the Winners’ Showcase Musicians

On February 12, 2017 at 3:00 p.m., six exceptional musicians will perform their award-winning selections at the Ives Auditorium. These six (profiled below) won Kenwood Symphony Orchestra’s 19th Annual Masters Concerto and Aria Competition late last year. The first four performers won in the emerging professionals category. The final two are exceedingly talented amateur musicians. Tickets for the show are online now.

Carolyn Forte

Lyric soprano Carolyn Forte is thrilled to be making her debut singing the aria from Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra. Known for voice quality that is rich with warmth and color, Forte will be traveling to Pittsburgh this spring to sing the role of Magda in Puccini’s La Rondine with Undercroft Opera.

In the past, Forte performed the roles of Mimì (La Bohème), with the Boulder Symphony; and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte–The Magic Flute) and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) with American Singers’ Opera Project in North Carolina (now a part of Painted Sky Opera in Oklahoma City). Originally from Washington, D.C., Forte received her Master of Music degree from Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia and her Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the University of Rochester in New York.

Joseph Okell

Joseph Okell is a young tenor who already has experience performing many different opera roles. He has sung the roles of Lt. B. F. Pinkerton (Madame Butterfly), Don Jose (Carmen), Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos), Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Dr. Caius (Falstaff), Eddie Fislinger (Elmer Gantry) and Tamino (Die Zauberflöte—The Magic Flute). For his role as Jesus in the show Parables, Opera News—in a February 2015 review—described his performance as “inspired…with a clear no nonsense delivery.” At the Winners’ Showcase Okell will sing the aria from George Bizet’s Carmen: “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée.”

As a featured soloist, Okell has performed with the University of Minnesota Wind Ensemble, Rochester Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Oratorio Society and VocalEssence. He completed his Bachelor of Music degree at Cornell College in Iowa, and earned his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Minnesota. Okell lives in Richfield with his wife Cassandra and daughters Lillian and Vivian.

Hyeeji Kim

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Hyeeji Kim showed an early interest in playing piano and rapidly gained proficiency. During her undergraduate and graduate studies, she played a concerto with the Shumen State Philharmonic Orchestra of Bulgaria, as well as a chamber concert and recitals at the University of Texas at Austin. Kim made her New York debut at the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. At the Ives Auditorium, she will play Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Movement 1.

Kim earned her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea. Her Master of Music in Piano Performance came from the University of Texas at Austin, where she also received a Sidney M. Wright Endowed Presidential Scholarship and earned honors at the Outstanding Master of Music recital. Currently she is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at the University of Minnesota under the guidance of Professor Paul Shaw.

Cameron Longabaugh

Cameron Longabaugh hails from Kansas where he earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Kansas State University and worked for a couple years as the Assistant Director of Bands at Blue Valley West High School in Overland Park. Since moving to the Twin Cities, Longabaugh has earned a Master of Music in Saxophone Performance from the University of Minnesota and performed with a number of groups. In addition to joining various university ensembles, he has played with the Schubert Club, the Minneapolis Civic Orchestra and the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis Orchestra. With Kenwood Symphony Orchestra on February 12, Longabaugh is performing Henri Tomasi’s Concerto pour Saxophone Alto et Orchestre, Movement 1.

To sharpen his skills as a musician, Longabaugh competes in national solo and chamber music competitions. He was a semi-finalist in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artist Competition, a finalist in the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, and semi-finalist with the Plowman Chamber Music Competition. He also enjoys teaching, and presented a workshop on woodwind techniques at the 2016 Kansas Music Educators’ Association Conference in Wichita. Longabaugh is currently completing his Doctor of Musical Arts in Saxophone Performance with a Secondary Emphasis in Musicology at the University of Minnesota.

Sonja Wangensteen

At age six, when most children are simply starting first grade, Sonja Wangensteen was also starting to play harp. By the time she reached high school, Wangensteen was so good that she played at the Minnesota Governor’s mansion on multiple occasions. Wangensteen also performed at the 7th World Harp Congress in Prague, the Czech Republic and the 8th World Harp Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Closer to home, she appeared on Minnesota Public Radio’s “From the Top” program.

After high school, Wangensteen started her freshman year at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, and ultimately earned her Bachelor’s in Music from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Great harpists, including Judy Loman of the Toronto Symphony, Nancy Allen of the New York Philharmonic, and Susann McDonald, distinguished professor at Indiana University mentored her. Wangensteen, who is playing Carl Reinecke’s Harp Concerto in E minor, Movement 1 on February 12, currently lives in Minneapolis and serves as the Hovland Conservatory of Music’s Outreach Coordinator. She also teaches piano at the Conservatory.

Sarah Wright

Sarah Hao Wright grew up with a passion for music. While in high school, she played violin with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and rose to the level of co-concertmaster in her final season. She also played with the National High School Honors Orchestra. As she got older, Sarah earned chamber music and orchestral fellowships, and completed her violin studies with acclaimed violists Ellen dePasquale, Jun-Ching Lin and Jeff Thayer. Like Sonja, she was also featured on Minnesota Public Radio’s “From the Top” program.

During college, though she still enjoyed being a musician, Sarah decided to pursue a career in pharmacy. Ultimately she earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (or PharmD) at the University of Georgia. These days Dr. Wright works as a clinical review pharmacist in QA and training at Prime Therapeutics and lives in Bloomington with her husband, Matthew, and young son. Still active in music, Sarah is grateful to have this opportunity to perform as a soloist with Kenwood Symphony Orchestra. At the concert, she is playing Johannes Brahms‘ Concerto in D major, Movement 3.

If you would like to see these great musicians in person, please reserve your tickets today. Buy Now.