Osowski-Rafn at Landmark

Osowski and Rafn premiere “We Will”

Thursday, May 11, 2023 @ 12 noon
(Rescheduled from February)
Landmark Center 317
Downtown St. Paul

Mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski and pianist Casey Rafn premiere David Evan Thomas’s song “We Will” at St. Paul’s Landmark Center on Thursday, February 23 at noon. The work, “We Will,” was composed in October 2022 and is dedicated to Clara Osowski. “We Will” is a setting of Sonya’s final monologue from Chekhov’s play, Uncle Vanya. Osowski and Rafn will also perform songs by Jonathan Posthuma and Daniel Nass on texts by Louis Jenkins. Also on the program, Steve Staruch, tenor and David Cherwien, piano, performing works by Eberhart, Donaldson and Daniel Nass.

This Courtroom Concert hosted by Abbie Betinis will be held in Courtroom 317 of Landmark Center, 75 West 5th St., downtown Saint Paul, Minn. Admission is free.

Mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski is one of Minnesota’s musical treasures, recognized with the coveted McKnight Artist Fellowship and Co-Artistic Director of Source Song Festival, a week-long art song festival in Minneapolis which strives to create and perform new art song and cultivate an educational environment for students of song.

With pianist Tyler Wottrich, Osowski became the first-ever American prize winner when she placed second at Thomas Quasthoff’s International Das Lied Competition in Heidelberg, Germany in 2017. Later that year, the duo reached the final round in the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation Song Competition in London. Osowski was awarded the Richard Tauber Prize for the best interpretation of Schubert Lieder. She recently won the Radio-Canada People’s Choice Award. Osowski has collaborated with pianist Wu Han, The Lydian String Quartet, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, Accordo, and Dark Horse Consort. Her passion for contemporary music is evident in the song-cycles and chamber music she has premiered or commissioned by numerous composers including Libby Larsen, Linda Kachelmeier, Reinaldo Moya, Carol Barnett, and Juliana Hall.

Recent performance highlights include her debut with Minnesota Opera as Mrs. Herring in Britten’s Albert Herring, and a solo appearance in The Schubert Club International Artist Series Recital with Eric Owens. She is also a member of Lumina Women’s Ensemble, Lorelei Ensemble, and Seraphic Fire.

Minneapolis-based pianist Casey Rafn enjoys a varied career both in the US and abroad. As a collaborative pianist, he has performed at venues in Latin America, Canada, New York City, and across the US. He is a member of the saxophone-piano trio {Trés}, which is currently nominated for a Grammy for their work with jazz saxophonist Miguel Zenon. He has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, and can often be found as a chamber musician with members of that orchestra, as well as members of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and also faculty from the University of Minnesota. Apart from his collaborative work, he enjoys solo playing, having taken top prizes at the International Liszt-Garrison Competition in Baltimore, as well as appearing as a soloist with Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra. He has held positions at the University of Minnesota School of Music, SPCPA, and Lundstrum Performing Arts in North Minneapolis.