Meet the Rose Ensemble
| Jordan Sramek (Founder/Artistic Director/Tenor) | |
Heather Cogswell (Soprano) is in her sixth year with The Rose Ensemble. Although a bona fide "Min-ah-SO-tan", Heather spent a year living in St. Andrews, Scotland before beginning her time at Illinois Wesleyan University where she earned degrees in vocal performance and music education. A master’s degree in music education from The University of St. Thomas followed as did eight years of teaching music in the public schools. Heather, who is no longer
teaching, enjoys her job as the organist at Parkview United Church
of Christ in White Bear Lake, MN as well as her Rose Ensemble duties. An avid
international traveler, Heather tries to venture from the U.S. at
least every two years. In addition to traveling, she also enjoys
movies, theater, reading, baking, and working on her house. Heather
is married to her "best friend and soul-mate" Ryan. They
have a miniature schnauzer named Corby. |
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Tim O'Brien (baritone and percussion) now in his seventh season with the Rose Ensemble, is a native of St. Peter, MN. He is a 1999 graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, where he now teaches private voice. Tim holds an MA in musicology from the University of Minnesota and has begun work on his PhD. He plays a variety of percussion instruments on the Rose Ensemble stage and also serves on the group's educational outreach team, performing for and coaching students of all ages. A past member of the Dale Warland Singers, he maintains a busy teaching and research schedule, working as a freelance program annotator and pre-concert lecturer in addition to singing. Recently returned from his second summer walking the Camino de Santiago in France and Spain, Tim pursues an active interest in the relationships between medieval and modern life. |
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Linda Kachelmeier (alto) is a founding member of the Rose Ensemble. She has also performed in the Twin Cities area and throughout the United States for more than fifteen years with such diverse groups as The Dale Warland Singers, VocalEssense, Virgin Ground, and the a cappella quintet Dare to Breathe for which she did quite a bit of arranging. She has recently turned composer with a commission by the Cincinnati women’s chorus MUSE in 2005, and had her first original composition premiered by Virgin Ground in 2006. She was thrilled to receive the 2006 Jerome Composers Commissioning Program for Emerging Composers grant. Linda is originally from Slinger, Wisconsin, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a degree in choral education with an emphasis in piano. She has worked as a junior high and high school choir educator, and since 1991 has been the choir director and, more recently, music director at First Presbyterian Church in South St. Paul, Minnesota, where she directs two adult choirs, a girls ensemble, the youth bell choir, and the children’s choir. She likes to cook with her husband, has a musical laugh and two adoring poodles. |
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Kathy Lee (Soprano) is a performer of many styles, but is most sought-after as an early music soprano. In addition to the Rose Ensemble, of which she is a founding member, she has appeared regularly with Virgin Ground, the Gregorian Singers, the Lyra Concert, the Early Music Ensemble of St. Paul, and the St. Paul Early Music Series. She has also toured extensively throughout North America and Europe singing music from Buxtehude to Britten. A frequent recitalist and soloist, Kathy has been featured in Johannes Brahms' "Requiem" with the Oratorio Society of St. Paul. Kathy is a founding member of the a cappella ensemble Dare to Breathe, with whom she has performed several U.S. tours. Weekends find her working as cantor, soloist and section leader at the Church of St. Louis, King of France... and working on her scrapbooks! (Any other scrapbookers out there?) Kathy's most recent solo recital, entitled "Mostly Minnesotan, Mostly Alive," featured music of Minnesota composers...and also Monteverdi and Gustav Holst. Kathy lives in St. Paul with her son Allan, and can make a toy out of any household object! |
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Dustin Wirth (Tenor) is looking forward to another fun-filled concert season. This will be his fourth season performing with The Rose Ensemble as well as his first season working full time with the Rose Ensemble office staff. Dustin will be taking on some administrative duties and aiding with the general growth and development of the organization. Dustin graduated in 2004 from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN with a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Music and a business minor with an emphasis in arts administration. His vocal career began as a boy in Sioux Falls, SD where he began performing with the Singing Boys of Sioux Falls. Continuing to sing throughout school he eventually joined the Concordia Concert Choir and after graduation began singing with The Rose Ensemble as well as the Ensemble of the North, The Bach Society of Minnesota, and as a tenor section leader in the Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church of Edina adult choir. When Dustin is not singing and goofing around in the Rose office, he can be found annoying his gorgeous wife Emily, of 3 years, and his delightful one and a half year old daughter Nya. He also enjoys rock climbing, home-brewing, fishing, baseball, and building things. |
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Lisa Drew (contralto) is originally from sunny San Diego where she spent 10 years singing with the San Diego Opera. Since moving to Minneapolis, she continues to enjoy her soloist career, performing to critical acclaim with such groups as VocalEssence, The Minnesota Opera, and The Minnesota Chorale. In addition, she can also be heard as the alto soloist at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis. Now in her sixth season with The Rose Ensemble, Lisa is looking forward to touring with the Rosies, this fall, in Spain and New England. In addition to her musical career, Lisa also freelances in administrative support, graphic design and abstract photography. She loves to travel, cook, and is the gadget-geek extraordinaire. Visit Lisa's website www.killeralto.com to learn more! Lisa Drew resides in the Shingle Creek Neighborhood in North Minneapolis with her husband, love of her life and best friend, Bob McClain. |
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Kim Sueoka (Soprano) is originally from Kaua'i, Hawai'i. She currently sings with lutenist Paul Berget, Full Moon Rabbit, the Space Station Alpha Sextet, and is regularly involved in collaborative projects with local composers to perform and record their works. She is also the artistic director of Voce y Cuerdas Duo, a voice and classical guitar duo devoted to the performance of early and classical western music, world music, and new compositions. Kim was recently a featured soloist in the world premiere of Acapelorus (A Walrus Tale), composed by Libby Larsen for the Buglisi Dance Theater. She has appeared as a soloist in The Owatonna Arts Center Chamber Music Series, The American Composers Forum SoundCheck Concert Series, The Schubert Club's Courtroom Concert series, Minnesota Guitar Society's Local Artist Concert Series, and the City of Blaine's Performance in the Park Series. Her website contains a list of upcoming performances. Kim earned a bachelors degree in vocal performance at the University of Evansville, Indiana and a masters degree in vocal performance at the University of Minnesota. In 2005, she was awarded a Cultural Community Partnership Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to research early Hawaiian music and present, a series of educational workshops and concerts with The Rose Ensemble. She lives in Minneapolis, where she enjoys running and gardening with her fiancé Wade Oden. She loves nature photography and dreams of someday being an amateur woodcarver and carpenter. |
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Having survived the disco era, John Bitterman (Bass) is pleased as punch to be singing good music with the Rose Ensemble. Bringing a diverse musical background to the Ensemble, John has been an instrumentalist (playing in orchestras and marching bands), an opera singer (with several small opera companies and university groups), a recitalist, an oratorio singer, a voice teacher, and briefly and spasmodically, a conductor. Several of these pursuits continue to occupy his time, and he is also still a terrible pianist. Coming originally from the Philadelphia area, John tried briefly and unsuccessfully to be a stage lighting designer, a field in which he lacked aptitude. After some aimless early college years, in which he tried to do everything while nominally majoring in music theory, John rediscovered singing. He then moved to New York City to finish college and stayed on for twelve years. Opportunely, John was able there to sing under the batons of some amazing conductors like Giulini, Mehta, Masur, Slatkin and Levine. Finally, John moved to Minnesota, just in time for winter. Since that time, he has continued his musical escapades, singing more opera, oratorio, lieder, and, at last, early music—but no disco. He has also continued to teach voice, and is currently on the faculty of the St. Paul Conservatory. John is also a composer of vocal, choral, chamber and orchestral music. In the rest of his time, John enjoys travel, languages, history, gardening, and warm weather. |
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Ginna Watson (vielle, rebec, and harp) is a busy free-lance string player in addition to performing with The Rose Ensemble. She plays locally with the Lyra Baroque Orchestra and Bach Society, and throughout the country with the Texas-based medieval ensemble Istanpitta. She has appeared on many early music series throughout the United States, including Early Music Columbus and the Milwaukee Early Music Now series, as well as the Boston, Indianapolis, and San Antonio early music festivals. Internationally, Ginna has performed in the Tage Alte Musik early music festival in Regensburg, Germany, and the Los Siglos de Oro early music series in Madrid, Spain. Ginna is the violin instructor at Hamline University in St. Paul. She also frequently gives masterclasses on medieval and baroque performance practice in the Twin Cities and throughout the country, including Houston Baptist University, Colorado State University, Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity in Los Angeles. |
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| Mark Dietrich (Bass) hails from Avon Lake, OH, on the shores of beautiful Lake Erie. He spent his college years in Cincinnati, where he earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in vocal performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Since 1996 he has been a resident of St. Paul, and has performed with many local arts organizations, including Dare to Breathe, 15 Head, Vocalessence, The Dale Warland Singers, and Theatre de la Jeune Lune. In 2002 he wed the lovely Miss Jennifer, and to hear him tell it, has been on his honeymoon ever since. | |
David Burk specializes in ethnic music traditions and counts oud, cuatro, ukelele, cavaquinho, guitar, tres, saz, bass, mandolin, tar and chumbus among the instruments he plays. His performing credits include the Georges Lammam Arabic Orchestra, Voices of Sepharad, famed Persian singer Sattar, traditional Persian group Robayat, Ethnic Dance Theatre, Fuego Flamenco, and Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble. As a recipient of grant awards such as the Jerome Travel and Study Grant (2001) and the Minnesota State Folk Arts Apprenticeship Grant (2002), he has studied directly with Arabic music masters Simon Shaheen, Bassam Saba, Dr. Ali Jihad Racy, and Sakhar Hattar. Running a small project recording studio in the basement has enabled David to produce his own music as well as more than 30 compact disc releases for various record labels and independent recording artists. His music has been heard everywhere from Minnesota's Mixed Blood Theatre to Hollywood 'B' movies to New York auto dealer commercials to Australian travel shows. As a music educator, David presents various music and cultural programs in schools, maintains a full, private lesson schedule, and has written instructional columns for GUITAR PLAYER Magazine and www.truefire.com. When pursuing non-music activities, you might catch him watching Marlon Brando movies, hiking with his dog Irie, reading about theology or world history, or calculating whether or not it would be worth it to start a grape farm somewhere in the wilds of southeastern Minnesota. |
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Kristine Kautzman (mezzo-soprano), a Cleveland, Ohio native, intended from a young age to be a concert flautist. During college she developed a passion for singing, and while performing with the St. Olaf Choir was inspired to continue studying voice. Kris joined the Rose Ensemble in 1999, more than ready to leave the desk job and pursue music. In addition to her work with Rose, she is a freelance flautist and the alto section leader at St. Paul on the Hill Church. An entrepreneur at heart, she loves the challenges and rewards of being self-employed. Currently she's honing her skills in the fine art of voice over, recording demos, and crafting a business plan for the coming year. When she's not working, you'll probably find Kris out in one of seemingly endless trails and parks in Minnesota - running, hiking, biking - and best of all, skiing. Any day with six inches of fresh snow is a perfect day! |
