Lieder by Schubert and Brahms
October 21st, 2023 
​
Christ United Methodist Church
​Featuring
Clara Osowski, mezzo soprano 
Horacio Nuguid, piano
David Townsend, clarinet

Program
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Lieder
Fischerweise, D. 881
An den Mond, D. 259
An Sylvia, D. 891
Der Zwerg, D. 771
Du bist die Ruh, D. 776
Ganymed, D. 544
Im Walde, D. 708

Intermission

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Sonata, Op. 120 No. 1 in F Minor
III.  Allegretto grazioso

Lieder
Zwei Gesänge, Op. 91
     No. 1 Gestillte Sehnsucht
     No. 2 Geistliches Wiegenlied
Vergebliches Ständchen, Op. 84, No. 4
Die Mainacht, Op. 43, No. 2
Wie Melodien zieht es mir, Op. 105, No. 1
Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer, Op. 105, No. 2
Der Jäger, Op. 95, No. 4
Mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski will make her first performance in Rochester on October 21, 2023.  Hailed for her “rich and radiant voice,” this multi awarded Minnesota singer, together with Horacio Nuguid at the piano, will perform some of the most beautiful songs by Schubert and Brahms.  Joining them is clarinetist David Townsend.
Clara Osowski​
Mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski, who sings "from inside the music with unaffected purity and sincerity" (UK Telegraph), is an active soloist and chamber musician hailed for her "rich and radiant voice" (Urban Dial Milwaukee). She was a Metropolitan Opera National Council Upper-Midwest Regional Finalist, the winner of several competitions including Bel Canto Chorus Regional Artists Competition of Milwaukee, the Houston Saengerbund Competition, several time runner-up in The Schubert Club Bruce P. Carlson Scholarship Competition, and third place in the Madison Handel Aria Competition. Recognized for her excellence in Minnesota, Clara was a recipient of the prestigious 2018-2019 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Musicians administered by MacPhail Center for Music.

Recent performance highlights include her debut with Minnesota Opera as Mrs. Herring in Britten’s Albert Herring, and active as a recitalist, she stepped in for Susanna Philips in The Schubert Club International Artist Series Recital with Eric Owens. She has also been a feature recitalist at the Enlightenment Festival of Seraphic Fire, The Pablo Center of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, The Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, and several universities. She has collaborated with many chamber musicians, including pianist Wu Han, The Lydian String Quartet, VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, Accordo, and Dark Horse Consort. Clara’s passion for contemporary music is exhibited in the song-cycles and chamber music she has premiered or commissioned by numerous composers including James Kallembach, Libby Larsen, David Evan Thomas, Linda Kachelmeier, Reinaldo Moya, Carol Barnett, and Juliana Hall. 

Orchestral performance highlights include her soloist debuts of Bach's St. Matthew Passion with the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee, B Minor Mass with the Back Bay Chorale of Boston, Christmas Oratorio with Bach Society of Minnesota, Mozart’s Requiem with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with Tulsa Signature Symphony, Bernstein’s Jeremiah with Mid-Columbia Symphony, and Dominick Argento's orchestral song cycles Casa Guidi and A few words about Chekhov with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra of Minneapolis.
​
Active also as an educator, Clara has enjoyed giving masterclasses and convocations at several universities, including Syracuse University, Muhlenberg College, Seattle University, Concordia College (Moorhead), and North Dakota State University. She was also the guest artist in residence at Indiana State University's 50th Contemporary Music Festival celebrating the music of Libby Larsen. Clara also served on the faculty at the Aspen Music Festival's Professional Choral Institute in partnership with Seraphic Fire, and has been a panelist for SongFest and the Lakes Area Music Festival.
In addition to performing, Clara serves as the Artistic Director of Source Song Festival, a week-long art song festival in Minneapolis. This festival strives to create and perform new art song, and cultivate an educational environment for students of song, including composers, vocalists, and collaborative pianists. In addition to her solo work, she participates in a number of ensembles, including Lumina Women’s Ensemble, Lorelei Ensemble, and Seraphic Fire.
Horacio Nuguid
Horacio Nuguid is a pianist with an extensive repertoire whose “beautiful tone” and “elegance” has captivated audiences. In addition to several standard piano concerti, Nuguid has also performed lesser-known works such as Edward MacDowell’s Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Clara Schumann's Konzertsatz, Mario Pilati's Suite and Ferdinand Ries' Grand Variations on Rule Britannia with different orchestras in the Philippines, Mexico and the United States. As founder and artistic director of the Rochester Chamber Music Society, Nuguid has been collaborating with distinguished artists in the region for more than 22 seasons. He was the recipient of the Ardee Award for “outstanding artist” in the city of Rochester. Nuguid received his music performance degrees from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila (BM), the University of Northern Iowa (MM) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (DMA). As a music educator, Dr. Nuguid has presented master classes internationally and served as an adjudicator for piano competitions in Minnesota. He has served as artist/faculty at the Young Artist World Piano Festival in Minnesota for over 20 years and has been a frequent guest artist of the Philippine High School for the Arts. Nuguid has recently published an anthology of piano pieces by Filipino composers, which he has been promoting through a series of lecture-recitals.
David Townsend
David Townsend is a clarinetist, educator, and woodwind repair technician.  He was the principal clarinetist of the Rochester Symphony Orchestra & Chorale for 32 years, and is a founding member of the Rochester Chamber Music Society, which began in 2003.  His concerto performances include works of Mozart, Weber, Spohr, Bruch, Krommer, Molter, Hindemith, and Copland.  His quintet performances include works by Mozart, Brahms, Reger, Reicha, and Hindemith.  He has earned degrees from Indiana University, Michigan State University, and the University of Arizona, and has also studied chamber music at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.  His primary teachers include John Denman, Rudolf Jettel, Keith Stein, Elsa Ludwig-Verdher, and Lawrence Maxey.  After serving three years as a clarinetist and recitalist with the U.S. Army Band at West Point, New York, he subsequently taught at the college level for 13 years before turning to woodwind repair and restoration, a second career he pursued for 35 years.  He is now retired and recognized as a master of restoration and repair that served musicians internationally.  Also, he has continued as a free-lance musician and resides in Rochester, MN, with his wife, Jane.
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