Gustavus Adolphus College ‘Cellist Adriana La Rosa Ransom will present a faculty recital on Sunday, September 18, in Jussi Björling Recital Hall. With Pianist Jason Alfred, Ms. Ransom’s performance begins at 3:30 p.m. and marks her first appearance on the Björling stage since joining the Gustavus Department of Music this summer. This faculty recital is free and open to the public.
For this program, Ms. Ransom and Mr. Alfred will open with the two-movement Sonata for Cello and Piano by Claude Debussy, followed by Variations on a Theme by Rossini, composed by Bohuslav Martinu. Following intermission, the duo returns to the stage to present Sergei Prokofiev’s Sonata in C Major, Op. 119.
Ms. Ransom, a native of Kansas City, studied with Nina Gordon at the University of Missouri where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree before moving to the University of Minnesota where she received both her Masters and Doctorate under the tutelage of Tanya Remenikova. She has performed with many distinguished artists and recently was selected to perform an Armenian work with Yo Yo Ma in connection with the Silk Road project. In addition to her work at Gustavus, Adriana continues to teach at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis and is the assistant principal ‘cello in the Minnesota Opera Orchestra.
Pianist Jason Alfred, an active soloist, accompanist and chamber musician, completed his doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota, with degrees from Ithaca College and the Cleveland Institute of Music. He continued his study at the Moscow Conservatory and has taught at the Riverside Academy of Music, the Cleveland Music School Settlement, the Aspen Music Festival, the Bravo! Chamber Music Festival and the Cleveland Opera.
Sunday’s perfomance by Adriana La Rosa Ransom and Jason Alfred begins at 3:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. A reception follows in the recital hall lobby to allow the public to meet this new member of the department faculty.