MacPhail Faculty Recital

Jeff Lambert joined MacPhail’s guitar faculty in 2006, and brings over 20 years teaching experience. Jeff teaches students ages five to adult in the genres of rock and classical music. By pinpointing the goals of each of his students, he tailors his teaching to best suit their needs. He has performed extensively as a soloist and ensemble musician. He has been awarded top prizes in guitar competitions in both Minneapolis and Chicago, and has released three solo CDs. He has performed with Zeitgeist, the Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble and the Bakken Trio, and was a member of the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet (MGQ) for ten years. As a member of the MGQ, he performed with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and others. The group also made numerous radio and television appearances. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in music from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and Master of Music and Doctor of Music degrees from Northwestern University.

Carrie Vecchione, oboe instructor at MacPhail, steers her students towards opportunities and experiences which will complement their musical goals. Her own goal is to make the study of oboe and music relevant in the lives of each of her students, from the ones who want to spend their lives professionally playing oboe, to those who just want to play as a hobby. Teaching for more than 25 years, Carrie enjoys working with students of all ages. She has guided many of her high school and college performers to respected colleges and conservatories, many receiving scholarships. Carrie performs in the Twin Cities and around the country in orchestras, as a chamber musician, and as a soloist. She is a substitute with the Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Opera, and has been principal oboe for the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, the Muncie Symphony, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and Baton Rouge Opera. Carrie received Doctoral and Bachelor degrees from Louisiana State University, and her Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music.

Sarah Hruska Olson holds a Bachelor of Arts in music and English from Lawrence University, a Master of Music in vocal performance from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Minnesota. She teaches classes for children and older adults in the Sing Play Learn, School Partnerships, and MacPhail Music For Life departments at MacPhail Center for Music. Although teaching is Sarah’s primary occupation and passion, she enjoys singing whenever she has the opportunity. Sarah was thrilled to sing the 2nd lady/2nd spirit role in the May 2022 Opera Reading Project reading of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”. Her most recent recital performance was a duet project with classical guitarist Jean Seils. In February of 2021, Sarah sang the role of Dido in an online reading of Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” directed by Eric McEnaney with the Opera Reading Project. In 2019, Sarah sang the role of Gertrude in the ORP reading of “Hansel and Gretel”.

Sue Ruby, a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM), hails from the tiny northern MN town of Tamarack. Ms. Ruby graduated from the University of MN-Duluth summa cum laude with a BM in Piano Pedagogy. She studied with Betty Anne Diaz and Dr. John O’Brien while earning her MM in Piano Pedagogy from Columbus State University (GA). Currently, Ms. Ruby teaches, directs, and co-owns K & S Conservatory of Music in Woodbury. This year (2022) marks her 20th year on the faculty of MacPhail Center for Music and the 20th year of her nonprofit organization, APPI, the Association of Professional Piano Instructors. An avid collaborative pianist, Ms. Ruby is co-founder of Fridays in the Valley, a chamber music series that raises money for charity in Golden Valley. She spent much of the pandemic researching solo and chamber repertoire of underrepresented composers. In 2020, she received a grant from MacPhail to research and perform piano trios by female composers. When not teaching or playing chamber music, Ms Ruby can be found preparing articles and presentations on a wide variety of pedagogical topics for local, state, and national platforms.

Nina Olsen joined MacPhail’s clarinet faculty in 1991. Music is her source of expression and the place where she learned to achieve excellence. She loves working with a wide variety of students and hope to help each one teach themselves to achieve excellence. Currently, Nina teaches at Carleton College, and previously at St. Cloud State and St. Olaf College. She is a member of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, an artist member of Thursday Musical, and an active freelance musician in the Twin Cities area. Nina is a frequent performer on faculty recitals at MacPhail Center for Music, Carleton College and the International Music Camp in North Dakota. She is co-president of the Minnesota chapter of the International Clarinet Society. She holds a DMA in Clarinet Performance from the University of Minnesota, a Master’s of Music in Woodwinds, Clarinet Specialist from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor’s in Clarinet Performance from the University of Denver.

Sarah Miller has been an instructor of composition, theory and piano at MacPhail since 1996, and our composition coordinator since 2001. Sarah has received numerous grants and commissions. Her most recent State Arts Board Grant featured pieces inspired by works of art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Seven of the pieces are available at the MIA website, artsmia.org. Those pieces plus several more were performed at MIA in April 2022. This is the third State Arts Board Grant that Dr. Miller has received. Sarah developed the composition program at MacPhail which features two recitals a year and a summer camp. Her students have won many prizes in various composition contests including the Junior Composers Contest and the MMTA Composition Contest. She holds a PhD in Music Composition as well as a MM in Piano Performance, a BM in Piano Performance, and a BA in Humanities, all from Michigan State University.

Caitlin Lucic has taught at MacPhail since 2013. She is a Sing, Play, Learn with MacPhail®, School Partnerships, and MacPhail Music for Life™ instructor. Caitlin is a freelance percussionist, drummer, and marimbist in the Twin Cities area. She has performed with various artists and arts organizations including Celtic Woman, Lorie Line’s Pop Chamber Orchestra, Children’s Theatre Co., Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Zephyr Theatre, Youth Performance Company, The Phipps Center for the Arts, Lyric Arts, and The Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra. Caitlin received her M.M. degree in Percussion Performance from The Hartt School of Music and her B.M. degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.  She holds a MN K-12 music teaching license from the University of MN-Twin Cities and is trained in The Kodály Method and the Orff-Schulwerk.  In 2018, she was awarded the James. E. Ericksen Professional Development Grant in conjunction with MacPhail Center for Music. Caitlin utilized this award to study jazz improvisation, world music, and drum set at St. Olaf College with Dr. David Hagedorn.

The Performers: Guest Artists

As a Saint Paul native, Emily Paige Johnson has performed various roles in the Twin Cities, including Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Giovanna in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and Buttercup in Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore. In 2017, she made the move to Knoxville, Tennessee where she earned her Master’s of Music in Vocal Performance. During her time at The University of Tennessee she performed several operatic roles including Arminda in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera and Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen. She was also fortunate enough to perform in various concerts in Graz, Austria, including partial roles as Angelica in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and Adriana in Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur. Emily is absolutely thrilled to be stepping back into the role of First Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute for this performance, and to once-again be singing alongside the wonderful Sarah Hruska Olson and Emily Herman.

Emily Herman is a Twin Cities based mezzo originally from Black Creek, Wisconsin. She earned her Master of Music degree from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. There, Emily performed the roles of Lady Billows in Britten’s Albert Herring and Junon in Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers. She was also featured as Leonore in an excerpt of Beethoven’s Fidelio and Kostelnička in Janáček’s Jenůfa. In the Twin Cities, Emily has been active with Opera Reading Project where she has sung the roles of Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte and the Witch in Humperdinck’s, Hansel and Gretel. Emily has also been involved in LAH-SOW where she performed the role of Gertrud in Humperdinck’s, Hänsel und Gretel.

As a composer, music director, sound designer and performer Victor Zupanc has worked on over 300 plays at some of the most prestigious theaters in America and abroad. Artists he has worked with include Stephen Sondheim, Randy Newman and David Byrne. Victor has also received many commissions to compose new music for orchestras and choirs around the country. His music has been heard in China, Japan, Europe, South America, South Africa, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. In addition, he has scored several feature films and documentaries that have been distributed worldwide including the critically acclaimed motion picture, The Operator. Victor’s theme music has been heard on National Public Radio. Since 1989, he has been the resident Music Director/Composer at the Tony Award winning Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis. He has also worked on over twenty productions at The Guthrie Theatre and dozens of shows at The Mixed Blood Theatre. www.victorzupanc.com