Rawlins Ensemble to perform cello, piano concert at SDSU

The South Dakota State University School of Performing Arts will welcome the Rawlins Ensemble, featuring musicians Sonja Kraus and Eun-Hee Park, on campus later this month.

The guest artists, both music faculty members at the University of South Dakota, will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. April 13 at the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center’s Founders Recital Hall.

The public is invited to attend the free performance.

Titled “Between Shadows and Fire,” the Rawlins Ensemble’s program is one of intensity, contrast and transformation. From the rhythmic spark of Carlos Simon’s “Lickety Split” to the sultry passion of Piazzolla’s “Grand Tango,” the evening moves through sound worlds of energy and longing. Margaret Hubicki’s “Two Contrasting Pieces” offer a modern yet lyrical voice, while Britten’s “Cello Sonata, Op. 65” crowns the program with wit, drama and emotional fire.

An associate professor of cello, Kraus is a German-born cellist, educator and music scholar. She is an internationally recognized performer and clinician whose career spans Europe, Asia, Latin America and the United States.

Formerly the cello professor at Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo and principal cellist of the Orquesta Filarmónica Municipal de Guayaquil in Ecuador, Kraus now also serves as orchestra manager of the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico and artistic director of Ensemble Zusammen.

Korean pianist Park serves as an assistant professor of music at USD and enjoys a wide-ranging career as soloist, chamber musician and educator. She has appeared in numerous concerts across the United States, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Brazil and Costa Rica.

Her acclaimed albums — including “Korean Soundscapes,” “Korean Tapestry” and “Child’s Play” — each received Global Music Awards Silver Medals, while “Gulfstream” was named BBC Music Magazine’s Music U.S. Choice and a Naxos Critics’ Choice.

For more information on the April 13 concert, contact the SDSU School of Performing Arts at 605-688-5187.