Mary Beth Ions and the Amethyst Quartet
Sunday May 12 @ 4 pm
Mary Beth Ions (violin), Carol Ruzicka (second violin), Laura Kuennen Poper (viola) and Kent Collier (cello) will play a Whitman’s Sampler of favorites from Bach to Broadway. Mary Beth introduces the music with delightful commentary throughout the concert and welcomes questions and comments from audience members. The concert if free and beverages may be purchased at the Callaloo Cafe. This annual Mother’s Day concert is a lovely way to spend the afternoon with your mother or friend.
Mary Beth Ions has played in large orchestras, small orchestras, theater orchestras, with touring musicians, in churches and synagogues, and for President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. She is the founding member of the Amethyst String Quartet.
Carol Ruzicka, second violinist, appears frequently as a recitalist and chamber musician in the Great Lakes area, and is also a published author. A noted violin pedagogue, Ms Ruzicka is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, an American honor society dedicated to furthering music in higher education.
Laura Kuennen-Poper has more than 30 years experience teaching viola, violin, and chamber music, and a performing career unusual for both its breadth and depth. She has held faculty and summer appointments across the country and in Spain, has held orchestra posts from Los Angeles to Rochester, NY, has long been a proponent of contemporary and newer music, and has held management positions at the Oberlin Conservatory, Red {an orchestra} and Opera Cleveland. Currently, Laura teaches at the Conservatory’s Community Music School, performs with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, and is a consultant in music management and career development.
Kent Collier was inspired to become a cellist when he was seven; he’d seen a cellist on the Lawrence Welk show who never stopped smiling, and concluded that the cello must make her very happy. Since then, he has been principal cellist for Cleveland Opera, Cleveland Ballet, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, and Lyric Opera; served as principal cellist with Red an Orchestra, Blossom Festival Orchestra and the Cleveland Pops Orchestra; and taught cello at Allegheny College, Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, and the Cleveland Music School Settlement.
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