Holiday in the Air:
Oratorio, Concerto, and Suite
December 6th, 2025
7:30 PM
Christ United Methodist Church
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Featuring
Ninebark Ensemble String Orchestra Cecilia Belcher, violin Natalia Moiseeva, violin Karl Braaten, violin Mary Alice Hutton, violin Valerie Little, viola Chi-Chi Bestmann, viola Ruth Marshall, cello Darin Anderson, cello Irving G. Steinberg, bass Sahar Hassan, mezzo-soprano Horacio Nuguid, pianist Program Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - Keyboard Concerto No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1054 I. (No indication) II. Adagio e piano sempre III. Allegro Gustav Holst (1874-1934) - St. Paul's Suite, Op. 29 I. Jig II. Ostinato III. Intermezzo IV. Finale (The Dargason) George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) - Selections from the Christmas Portion of Messiah: Overture And the Glory But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming O Thou that Tellest Good Tidings For Unto Us a Child is Born Sinfonia Pastorale Then Shall the Eyes of the Blind Be Opened Hallelujah |
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The Ninebark Ensemble returns with another joyous program to start our holiday celebration! Joining in this concert is mezzo-soprano Sahar Hassan to sing selections from part one of Handel’s Messiah. Also in the program is a keyboard concerto by J.S. Bach and the St. Paul’s Suite by Gustav Holst.
Cecilia Belcher
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Violinist Cecilia Belcher, who joined the Minnesota Orchestra in 2014, was named assistant
principal second violin in 2017. She recently made her solo debut with the Minnesota Orchestra, performing the Beethoven Romances in July 2025. She has also been a featured soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra Bach Ensemble with whom she is concertmaster. Prior to joining the Minnesota Orchestra she performed with the St. Louis Symphony from 2008 to 2014 and also performed frequently with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, The Knights in New York and throughout Germany. She has been principal second violin of ROCO in Houston, and as concertmaster, has led the New World Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, Aspen Music Festival Opera Orchestra and Mississippi Valley Orchestra. She has traveled the world for many festivals and performances including to Aspen, Tanglewood, Verbier, Banff, Beijing, New Zealand and throughout Europe. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Belcher began violin studies at age 3, and was a student of the renowned Suzuki pedagogue Winifred Crock. She earned degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Paul Kantor and the Shepherd School of Music with Kathleen Winkler. She and her husband Richard Belcher, a cellist in the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, live in Minneapolis with their two children. |
Natalia Moiseeva
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Russian native violinist Natalia Moiseeva holds BM and MM degrees in Violin Performance
from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia, and a DMA degree in Violin Performance from the University of Minnesota where she studied with Professor Sally O’Reilly. Moiseeva is a prizewinner of national and international competitions and she has appeared as a soloist with orchestras both in the United States and in Europe. An avid chamber music player, she performs regularly in the United States as well as abroad, collaborating with the members of the Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and music faculty from Twin Cities music schools. Ms. Moiseeva has been a guest musician at Bravo! and Northern Lights music festivals and performed with Musical Offering Ensemble as well as Minnesota Orchestra’s Chamber Music series. Ms. Moiseeva served as an Assistant Concertmaster of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra between 2014 and 2023. Currently, Moiseeva teaches applied violin at Macalester and Carleton Colleges and plays with the Minnesota Orchestra. Ms. Moiseeva is a member of a St Croix duo, where she collaborates with her husband, pianist Ivan Konev. Moiseeva is a recipient of a 2020 Artist Initiative Grant and a 2022 Creative Support for Individuals Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. In 2021 Moiseeva released a solo CD The Young Violinist’s Album. |
Karl Braaten
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Karl Braaten, violin, grew up in the Twin Cities and is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music (BM) and Northwestern University (MM). While at Northwestern, Karl had a full scholarship through the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. After school, he played with the Sarasota Orchestra, from 1998-2001. He was a tenured violinist with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra from 2001-2019. In 2019 he moved back home to Minnesota and currently plays with the Minnesota Sinfonia, Minnesota Opera, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Minneapolis Pops Orchestra and many other groups around the Twin Cities. He continues to perform with the Sarasota Orchestra and Alabama Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the Florida Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, and Minnesota Orchestra. He was principal second violin of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta from 1999-2018, and has performed as concertmaster of the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra for several seasons. Karl lives in Roseville with his wife Maija, son Erik, and corgi Tilly, and is very happy to be back home.
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Mary Alice Hutton
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Mary Alice Hutton is known for her beautiful tone and passion for the violin. She is a new
member of the first violin section of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra and joined the second violin section of the Des Moines Symphony in 2023. As an orchestral player she frequently performs with several orchestras throughout Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Iowa and is the former associate concertmaster of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra. Festival experiences include the National Repertory Orchestra, New York String Orchestra Seminar, Center Stage Strings, and the Pienza Music Festival. An active chamber musician, Mary Alice has won first prizes at the Golden Classical Music Awards International Competition and King’s Peak International Music Competition, and the audience prize at the St. Paul Chamber Music Competition. Ms. Hutton has also been featured on many albums – both classical and contemporary. Most recently, she can be heard on the album Red (Taylor’s Version). She received her bachelor’s and master of music degrees at the University of Minnesota and studied with Sally O’Reilly. In her spare time, Mary Alice and her husband love to kayak, try new restaurants, and travel. |
Valerie Little
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Pennsylvania native Valerie Little became a tenured member of the Minnesota Orchestra in September 2015 after serving six seasons as acting assistant principal librarian. Also a violist, Little has often performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Minneapolis Pops, Orchestra Iowa, Florestan Chamber Music, Ninebark Ensemble, Apollo Music Festival and on the Schubert Club’s Courtroom Concerts series. She is also an eight-time MPR Class Notes Artist, and a past teaching artist for Schubert Club, Chamber Music Society of St. Cloud, and Britt Festival in Jacksonville, Oregon. Little holds bachelor’s degrees in viola performance and English from Penn State University, a master of music degree in viola performance from the University of Texas-Austin, and a doctor of musical arts degree in viola performance from the University of Minnesota. Outside of music, Little studied creative writing at Penn State and through a graduate program at University of Pennsylvania. Her work has been featured in over a dozen journals and on Minnesota Public Radio. Two of her non-fiction pieces were nominated for a 2020 Pushcart Prize and in 2022, her debut chapbook, Little Blue Primer, was one of seven finalists for the 16th Annual National Indie Excellence Award for Poetry. She also is pursuing studies in mortuary science and currently serves at two funeral homes and a crematory in the Twin Cities area.
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Chi-Chi Bestman
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Chi-Chi Lin Bestmann is a multifaceted conductor and violist whose musical journey spans continents and genres. Born in Taiwan, she has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall, where she notably collaborated with hip-hop icon Jay- Z, exemplifying her versatility across diverse musical landscapes. A committed educator, Ms. Bestmann has held faculty positions at Mannes School of Music, Hoff-Barthelson Music School, and the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. Her conducting roles include leading the Philharmonia orchestra at Third Street Music School Settlement and currently directing MacPhail's Northside Youth Orchestra and the Northern Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Bestmann founded Petite Concerts, a program enriching young children's musical experiences through live performances, cultivating the next generation of classical music enthusiasts. As a passionate chamber musician, she was a founding member of the Solace Piano Quartet and collaborates with players from the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, and Minnesota Orchestra. Ms. Bestmann holds a bachelor of music in orchestral conducting and a master of music and professional studies diploma in viola performance from Mannes School of Music, where she studied with renowned mentors including violists Karen Ritscher and Thomas Reibl. Ms. Bestmann relocated to Minnesota in 2018 with her family, where she maintains a dynamic career as performer, educator, and entrepreneur in the Twin Cities' vibrant music scene.
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Ruth Marshall
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Cellist Ruth Marshall enjoys a varied career split between teaching and performing. She is the
cellist of Artu Duo, a collaborative ensemble with pianist Garret Ross, which has performed extensively across the United States, including a debut at Carnegie Hall in 2016. Ruth is also active as a soloist, and has played concertos with the Winona State University Chamber Orchestra, Wartburg Community Symphony, Winona Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble Society of New York City, and the Kokomo Symphony Orchestra. From 2012 to 2016, she performed extensively as an orchestra player, simultaneously playing as principal cello of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, as an associate member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, and as a permanent sub in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Ruth is equally committed to, and delighted by, her work as a cello instructor, working with students of all ages and levels at her home studio, and teaching cello students at Winona State University and Hamline University. She holds graduate degrees in cello performance from DePaul University in Chicago, and undergraduate degrees in Comparative History of Ideas and Music Theory & History from the University of Washington in Seattle. She lives in St. Paul with her husband and two children. |
Darin Anderson
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Darin Anderson grew up in Wayzata and began playing cello at age five. His early musical
education began at the MacPhail Center for Music, and he played in the Greater Twin Cities’ Youth Symphonies. Darin attended the Wayzata school district until age 15 when he left to pursue his musical education in Philadelphia where he studied with Aldo Parisot. He attended both the University of Minnesota and the Manhattan School of Music. Darin is a member of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and the Minnesota Sinfonia. He also subs with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and is involved with local ballet and theatre productions. In addition he teaches cello, composes, and arranges music out of his home studio. Darin currently lives in Minnetonka with his wife, two daughters and their dog. In his spare time he enjoys playing hockey and golf. |
Irving G. Steinberg
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Born in Willingboro, New Jersey, Irving G. Steinberg grew up in San Francisco and started
studying the double bass at age 10. He resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and family, where he teaches and freelances. His teachers include Charles Siani, Brian Marcus, Edwin Barker, George Neikrug, Todd Seeber, and Jim Orleans. He has performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Virginia Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Alea III, Springfield (Massachusetts) Symphony, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Ballet, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Portland (Maine) Symphony, and Albany Symphony. Twice a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, he has also participated in the 11th New Music Festival Sound Ways in St. Petersburg, Russia, New Hampshire Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Festival Dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, and Aspen Festival. |
Sahar Hassan
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Egyptian American mezzo-soprano Sahar Hassan is “… rich toned and authoritative.” (Star Tribune). She is as an opera singer, chamber musician, oratorio soloist and the artistic director of the Twin Cities based Ladyslipper Ensemble.
As an oratorio singer, Ms. Hassan performed with Twin Cities Catholic Chorale. She was the alto soloist in Franz Schubert’s Mass in C major, Haydn’s Gross Orgelsolo Mass, as well as Missa Brevis in D, Credo Mass and Missa Longa by W. A. Mozart. Additionally, she has been a soloist with St. Catherine Choral Society, where she performed Haydn’s Harmonie Messe and Vivaldi’s Gloria. She has also appeared in productions of An Opera Theatre, Journey North Opera Company, and other regional opera companies. A recipient of several grants, Ms. Hassan was awarded a 2017 Artist Initiative grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to produce a CD of vocal chamber music. The World’s Highway was released in 2019 on the Centaur label and reviewed by Fanfare Magazine “… we hear the excellence of Hassan’s vocal technique in her evenness of legato and her control when flying high and loud.” She was also a grantee of a 2020 and 2022 Next Step Fund from the Metro Regional Arts Council and the McKnight Foundation, Creative Support for Individuals grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board in 2021 and 2022, to create virtual concerts during the pandemic and in 2023 to produce a live recital, as well as a 2022 Music in Action grant from the Richard Wagner Society of the Upper Midwest to present a program of German lieder. She was a finalist for the 2022/23 McKnight Fellowship for Musicians. As an educator, Ms. Hassan She has served on the faculties of Wellesley College, Phillips Exeter Academy, in New Hampshire, New England Conservatory’s Division of Preparatory and Continuing Education, Salve Regina University, in Newport, Rhodes Island, College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University, in Collegeville, McNally Smith College of Music, as well as the Wellesley Composers’ Conference, where she was a chamber music coach. She earned a Bachelor of Science in French from California State University, Fresno and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from New England Conservatory of Music, with additional studies at the Versailles Conservatory in France and the College of Music in Munich, Germany. She is assistant faculty at the Minnesota Center for the Alexander Technique. |
Horacio Nuguid
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With an extensive repertoire, pianist Horacio Nuguid has captivated audiences with his “beautiful tone” and “elegance.” In addition to several well-known piano concertos, Nuguid has performed lesser-known works such as Edward MacDowell's Concerto in A Minor, Clara Schumann’s Konzertsatz in F Minor, Mario Pilati’s Suite, and Ferdinand Ries’ Grand Variations on Rule Britannia with orchestras in the Philippines, Mexico, and United States. As the pianist and artistic director of the Rochester Chamber Music Society, Nuguid has been performing with distinguished artists in the region, earning him the Ardee Award (Mayor's Award) for
Outstanding Artist. Nuguid received his music performance degrees from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila (BM), the University of Northern lowa (MM), and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (DMA). As a music educator, Dr. Nuguid has presented masterclasses internationally and has served as an adjudicator for piano competitions in Minnesota. He also has served as artist/faculty at the Young Artist World Piano Festival in Minnesota for over 20 years and has taught as guest artist at the Philippine High School for the Arts. His pioneering anthology—Philippines Piano Pieces—has been widely received for its scholarly edition of works by Filipino composers. |
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