Cellist Marie-Élaine Gagnon will present three sonatas in a faculty recital at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music on Jan. 27.
SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music will host a faculty recital featuring cellist Marie-Élaine Gagnon on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Sara M. Snell Music Theater.
Accompanied by pianist Brandon Linhard, Gagnon will present three sonatas during the performance, including a 1947 piece by Canadian composer Jean Coulthard, as well as works by Ludwig von Beethoven and César Franck.
Gagnon, who is an assistant professor of cello at Crane, described Coulthard’s sonata as deserving of a “core place in the 21st century cello repertoire.”
“The sonata is written in three movements and illustrates the musical language of Jean Coulthard: building energy, quiet moods, rigorous development, delicate chord progressions and also constant rhythmical forward motion,” Gagnon said. “This work for cello and piano may be an introduction to Coulthard for some, but the hope is that it begins a lifelong interest that begets countless initiations to cellists around the world.”
This concert is free, and the public is invited to attend.
About the performers:
Canadian cellist Dr. Marie-Élaine Gagnon has performed as a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and orchestra musician in Canada, the United States, Panama, France, Italy, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Taiwan and South Korea. She has been featured in recital broadcasts by CBC Radio, Iowa Public Radio and most recently by South Dakota Public Radio. Her appearances as a soloist with orchestras and ensembles range from Bach to Bates. An avid chamber musician, Gagnon was cellist for the Ibis Camerata from 2000 to 2006, and for the past 10 years has been a member of the Rawlins Piano Trio. She also co-founded the Zapateado Duo with Venezuelan-born pianist Angelica Sganga. In the fall of 2017, she joined the Crane School of Music faculty as an assistant professor of cello and chamber music. Gagnon also taught at the University of South Dakota from 2007 to 2017 and before that at the Université de Montréal youth program. Gagnon holds performance degrees from the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal and Québec, a Master of Music degree from Florida International University and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Miami. During her doctoral studies, she was the graduate assistant of Ross Harbaugh. Notable teachers include Leslie Snider, David Ellis, Philippe Muller, Roland Pasquier, Keith Robinson, Paul Watkins and Desmond Hoebig. While studying in Canada, Gagnon won several concerto and chamber music competitions as well as the Jeunes Artistes auditions of Radio-Canada. She performs on a 1904 cello made by the French master, Paul Bailly.
As a chamber musician and soloist, pianist Brandon Linhard has given a profusion of performances worldwide, and has been seen in venues throughout the U.S., Canada, England, France and Germany. He has performed with such renowned artists as Charlie Castleman, James DePreist, Benjamin Dickerson, Thomas Landschoot, David Pittman-Jennings and Paulina Swierczek. Some influential collaborative mentors that he has extensively worked with include Laura Bossert, Katherine Ciesinski, Alan Harris, Terry King, Julianne Kirk Doyle, Boris Loushin, Russell Miller and Phillip Ying. Linhard received a Bachelor of Music degree from The Crane School of Music, where he studied with Professor Eugenia Tsarov. In 2017, he graduated with a Master of Music degree in accompanying and chamber music from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Dr. Jean Barr.
This concert will be broadcast live on the Crane School of Music YouTube channel at the performance time. To view the program and see other upcoming streaming performances, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/streaming.
For more information about SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.
Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York’s only All-Steinway institution.
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