Feb. 8, 2023

Contact Mary Ellen Haupert at 608-796-3770 or mehaupert@viterbo.edu

VITERBO OUT OF OUR MINDS CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES CONTINUES FEB. 19

LA CROSSE, Wis. – The third concert of the Out of Our Minds Chamber Series will feature the talents of oboist Carolyn Haupert Drazich, pianist Mary Ellen Haupert, and members of the Druzhba Trio—violinist Michelle Lee Elliott, violist Busya Lugovier, and cellist Derek Clark at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19 in the Viterbo University’s Fine Arts Center Nola Starling Recital Hall. It is free and open to the public.

The program features Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for Oboe and Piano and Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet in C Minor, Op. 15.

It is with great pleasure that Mary Ellen Haupert will perform with her eldest daughter, Carolyn Haupert Drazich. Carolyn studied oboe with Mary Beth Hensel while growing up in La Crosse. She continued her studies at the College of St. Benedict with oboist and Alexander Master Teacher Andrea Fedele, and graduated with a BA in oboe performance and minor in German. After graduating, Carolyn continued language studies in Bamberg, Germany where she was employed as an au pair. She is currently a registered nurse who lives and works at Essentia-St. Mary’s in Duluth with her husband, Dr. Brandon Drazich.

The Druzhba Trio (which means friendship in Russian) was formed by violist Busya Lugovier. It was out of friendship and admiration that she asked violinist Michelle Lee Elliott and cellist Derek Clark to be part of this fine ensemble. When not playing in the trio, these three exceptional La Crosse musicians can be seen and heard on all stages in the La Crosse area.

Poulenc wrote his Sonata for Oboe and Piano in 1962, one year before he died. The work is dedicated to Sergei Prokofiev, quoting themes from his flute sonata. The final movement, Déploration, was the last music that Poulenc wrote. Fauré wrote two piano quartets, two piano quintets, and a piano trio, all of them superb works of the highest order. The Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15 begins the series of larger ensemble works and is a technical and musical tour de force.

There will be a free will offering to cover artist fees and marketing expenses.

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