North Dakota Museum of Art to host acclaimed string quartet
Feb. 15—GRAND FORKS — The award-winning Marian Anderson String Quartet will perform in the Concerts at the Gallery series at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at the North Dakota Museum of Art.
The quartet will perform works by contemporary composers Thiannon Giddens, Samuel Adler and Jonathan McNair, as well as Antonin Dvorak's "String Quartet No. 12 in F major," also known as the "American" quartet.
The first half of the program will feature new music or new orchestrations of traditional African-American music, said Jennifer Tarlin, coordinator for chamber music concerts at the NDMOA.
A new piece by Gibbens, "At the Purchaser's Option," was inspired by a small ad in a pre-Civil War edition of a newspaper. The ad's sad headline noted the sale of a Black woman. "About 22 years old; used to both house work and farming. ... She has a child about 9 months old, which will be at the purchaser's option."
The second half of the program will be devoted mainly to traditional music, including Dvorak's "American Quartet" and ending with "Lift Ev'ry Voice," also known as the Black National Anthem, Tarlin said.
In 1991, the quartet won the International Cleveland Quartet Competition, becoming the first African American ensemble in history to win the classical music competition, she said. In 2008, the group won the prestigious Guardneri Award from Chamber Music America. They performed at the Kennedy Center in 1993 as part of the 52nd presidential inaugural celebration.
Tickets for Sunday's concert are $30 for members, $35 for non-members and $10 for students and military. The concert is free for children 12 and younger and K-12 orchestra and band students. For tickets or more information, call (701) 777-4195, visit
or email
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On Monday, Feb. 20, the Marian Anderson String Quartet members also plan to visit Winship Elementary School, and will present a Young Audience Concert for students at Valley Middle School. These activities are supported by the Neel Fund of the Community Foundation of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks and Region.
Hope Church will host the Christian pop rock band The Newsboys in concert at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 23, at the church in the Grand Cities Mall, 1601 17th Ave. S.
Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
The event, part of the band's "Let the Music Speak" tour, will feature special guest Adam Agee.
The band, formed in Queensland, Australia, in 1985, came to the U.S. in 1987. Based in Nashville, the group has produced 19 studio albums, the most recent are "Stand," released in 2021, and "United," released in 2019.
Industry recognition includes several Dove awards, such as the Rock Recorded Song of the Year for "Shine" and Rock Album of the Year for "Going Public," both in 1995. In 1996, CCM Magazine listed "Shine" in the top 10 in its ranking of the 100 Greatest Songs in Christian music.
General admission tickets are $25. The per-person cost for tickets for groups of 10 to 50 is $22.50. VIP tickets, $125, grant early entry beginning at 5 p.m. Prices do not include convenience or handling fees. For tickets, visit
https://gfhope.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1581897
.
Anyone 16 and older may register as a volunteer for the event at
https://gfhope.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1572083
. All are welcome; you do not have to be a Hope Church member to volunteer.
The works of two artists who have long-time affiliations with the UND Department of Visual Arts are on display at the ArtWise Gallery near the center court at the Columbia Mall.
A paired gallery exhibit features "I Am," by Paige Synnott, and "Fringes," by Wes Rabey.
In his artwork, Rabey arranges elements of design and practices current modeling, mold-making and casting techniques, said Rita Haag, ArtWise executive director.
His work is "primarily figurative, with an emphasis in contemporary pathos," he said in a news release. He uses silicon bronze as a medium to address universal themes.
Photographer and artist Synnott uses herself as the subject of her art as a means of exploring her own identity, according to the exhibit opening announcement.
Through her art, she has found "a beautiful side of myself that I want to share," she said. "This show is all about everything I've thought of myself, or been told, things that have all come to make me who I am today."
For more information, visit
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The Grand Forks Master Chorale will present "Songs of the North" concerts at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Grand Forks and 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at the Kittson Central School Auditorium in Hallock, Minn.
For this concert, the Chorale's 29 singers will be joined by string musicians. The program will feature vocal soloists Lynneah Boyer, Lisa Lee, Richard Schrom and Lyndon Johnson, all Chorale members.
Music by composers from northern lands will be highlighted, said Mathew Cherian, the Chorale's executive director. The songs include "Guuterput," a 1852 Greenlandic Christmas hymn by Ramus Berthelsen; "Lamb of God," by F. Melius Christiansen, which showcases the rich culture of the St. Olaf Chorale; "Lux Aeterna," by the late Edwin Fissinger, NDSU composer, scholar and conductor; "The Old Church," by Stephen Paulus, which address the appearance and importance of churches that rise out of the prairie throughout the Midwest; and "This is My Song (Finlandia Hymn)," by Jean Christian Sibelius, who is often heralded as Finland's greatest composer.
Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and $5 for students with ID.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church is at 319 S. Fifth St., Grand Forks. Kittson Central School is at 444 Ash Ave., Hallock.
For more information, visit
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The Schroeder Middle School choir, directed by Allyse Dunnigan, was selected as the "showcase choir" for the showcase concert Friday, Feb. 3, at the North Dakota Choral Directors Association Middle Level All State Honor Choir Festival recently in Bismarck, said Geoff Mercer, vocal music teacher at Grand Forks Central High School.
Jack Berry, a ninth-grader at Grand Forks Central High School, earned an award for being selected to attend the festival all three years of eligibility, Mercer said.
Berry; Jaded Halvorson and Ugo-Chiedu Chukwuisiocha, Valley Middle School students; and Kenai Auch, Schroeder Elementary School student, were chosen as soloists during the event, he said.
North Dakota students in grades 7-9 audition in late fall and are selected to participate in the music festival.
Forty-three students — including 11 Grand Forks Central students and students from Schroeder, Valley and South middle schools and Red River High School — attended the event. They worked with nationally recognized educators, including Melanie Popejoy, a member of the UND music faculty, Mercer said.
"It is really enjoyable to see students who thrive on hard work and dedication get to experience music with other like-minded individuals," Mercer said. "There are a lot of great things happening with vocal music in the Grand Forks Public Schools."
