The Shank-Hagedorn Duo will perform
Friday, September 18, 2026, from Noon – 1:00 pm
at the Rochester Music Guild,
Christ United Methodist Church,
400 5th Ave SW, Rochester, MN 55902
Leslie Shank will play viola with String Quartet including
Taichi Chen, Sally Dorer, and Catherine Schubilske
Thursday, October 29, 2026
at the Cafesjian Art Trust Museum in Shoreview, MN
Doors Open: 6:00 pm, Performance: 6:30 pm
Tickets $30
Four of Minnesota’s premier classical musicians will perform a short concert developed in response to Meet Me in the Forest. The selected works will include the music of Beethoven.
Chamber Music America names Tom Rosenberg “2025 Arts Advocate of The Year”
Arts Advocate of the Year: Thomas Rosenberg
As Artistic Director of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association since 1981, Thomas Rosenberg has exemplified consummate leadership and a commitment to advancing the arts on a national scale. He has been an essential piece to Fischoff’s impact on professional development, education, and outreach, and was the leading factor in the organization’s growth over 40 years. A dynamic teacher, performer, and chamber coach, Rosenberg teaches cello and chamber music at Carleton and MacAlester Colleges and maintains an award-winning pre-college home studio. Describes one nominator, “his nurturing of countless ensembles, including those in the junior division, has been an incredible boon for small ensemble growth,” and his work developing extensive community engagement programs has greatly contributed to chamber music’s proliferation. (Chamber Music America)
Upcoming Performances:
Cello and Piano Recital with Mark Mazullo
February 13th, 2027, 7:30 pm at Macalester College
Cello and Piano Recital with Nikki Melville
April 25th, 2027, 4:00 pm at Carleton College
Tom Rosenberg
trcello@gmail.com 651-387-5411
2025 National Arts Advocate of the Year (Chamber Music America)
Artistic Director (since 1981) Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition www.fischoff.org
Isles Ensemble www.islesensemble.org
Faculty: Carleton College, Macalester College
Director, Saint Paul Chamber Music Academy www.thespcm.org
Opus 1911 Music Studio www.tomrosenbergmusic.com
Kenneth Howard Freed, 1961 - 2025
On June 29th 2025, our musical world was shaken at the sudden passing of Isles Ensemble violist and beloved colleague Kenneth Freed. Our thoughts and hearts continue to be with his wife Gwen, and their children, Zachary, Eleanor, and Jonah.
Ken came to the Twin Cities in 1998, when he joined the viola section of the Minnesota Orchestra after being a violinist of the Manhattan String Quartet. His huge mark on the Orchestra and the musical community of Minnesota is indelible. Alongside his instrumental career he enjoyed a 12-year tenure as music director and conductor of the Mankato Symphony Orchestra and was an assistant conductor for the Minnesota Orchestra. He was deeply committed to social and educational activities as a founder of the Learning Through Music Consulting Group, a teacher at The Walker West Music Academy and many other things.
Famously hilarious, Ken was fearless to do almost anything to make people laugh, but he also had a very serious side and deep concern and empathy for those he knew and those he did not know. Ken was wise and full of ideas. He was a catalyst for the growth of The Isles Ensemble. The process of learning a piece together and performing with Ken was not just playing music, but truly making music. Words can not express the warmth, energy, open-heartedness, and humor with which Ken lived his life. Though his musical and professional achievements were many, it is the depth and steadfastness of his friendship, his zest for life, and the love and esteem he showed for his family, friends, and colleagues, that set him apart. Ken was a world of love, a world of compassion, a world of integrity, a world of humor and a world of good. He will be immeasurably missed.
Isles Ensemble October Concert featured on January 29, 2024, PBS Newshour.
The concert, a personal and musical journey of Jewish identity, culture and history, featured recently discovered Music of Auschwitz.
Isles Ensemble cellist, Laura Sewell, released a CD on the Innova label last year that has been garnering some favorable attention! Another Isles member, Ivan Konev, is one of three collaborative pianists on the album. The recording, “Threescore,” showcases works for cello and piano written by prominent American composers, Paul Schoenfield, Stephen Paulus, and David Evan Thomas.
Here is a link to a review that appeared in the Nov/Dec 2023 issue of Fanfare Magazine, along with an interview with Laura that will appear in the Jan/Feb 2024 issue.