Ken Aiso is internationally recognized as one of today’s most musical and versatile violinists. His playing is praised not only for his singularly beautiful tone, but also for the unique atmosphere of intimacy he evokes as he draws in his audiences. As recitalist and chamber musician, he has performed widely in Europe, the U.S., and Japan appearing at prestigious concert venues such as the Wigmore and the Queen Elizabeth (London), the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) and the Suntory (Tokyo) Halls. He is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he was later elected an Associate. He is a prize-winner of the Long-Thibaud International Competition in Paris and International Music Competition of Japan. In 2003, he was honored to appear before the Emperor and Empress of Japan. In 2018, he received the Kanichi Shimousa Music Prize from his home county in recognition of international service in music. Aiso has been invited to renowned music festivals in Europe, India, Georgia, Bolivia, and Kazakhstan, and has taught at the Montecito International Music Festival since 2008. He has performed regularly with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, on period instrument, as well as with the London Philharmonic, Mahler Chamber, English Chamber, Scottish Chamber, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestras in many major concert venues in Europe and USA. He currently resides in Los Angeles and serves as a faculty member at the Loyola Marymount, La Sierra, and Biola Universities. His interest in music as a healing medium has led him to give concerts, workshops, and meditation sessions at hospitals, senior residences, schools, and institutions for children with special needs. --- Sonia Lee is a multi-instrumentalist who performs on historical keyboards, organ, and piano with a wide repertoire ranging from classical to contemporary to commercial to early music. She has been invited to give solo and collaborative performances and masterclasses in more than 150 cities on four continents including festivals and venues such as the Rome Festival, Nordic Historical Keyboard Festival, Milwaukee Museum of the Pianoforte, Tagliavini Collection at San Colombano (Bologna), Taipei National Concert Hall, Olympus Hall (Seoul), and the early music festivals of Boston, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, and Utrecht. Her performances have been praised by critics as “full of elegance and expression" (Cleveland Classical) and possessing “grace and flair” (Sounding Board, UK). Her discography includes collaborations with the Classical Chamber Players and La Donna Musicale featuring first recordings of music by Antonia Bembo, Joseph Weigl, and Leopold Kozeluch. As director or guest director, she has led the University of Illinois Collegium Musicum, Dulces Exuviae, Musicerend Gezelschap, the Phantasie String Orchestra, and La Réunion Musicale. She has been invited to judge many regional and international competitions, including the Calgary Performing Arts Festival (piano) and the historic Gianni Gambi International Harpsichord Competition (Italy). Lee holds graduate degrees in music from McGill University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a past president of the Historical Keyboard Society of North America and has served as music faculty and staff at Illinois Wesleyan University, Scripps College, Rio Hondo College, and California State University, San Bernardino. She is interim editor of the peer-reviewed Early Keyboard Journal. Since 2022 she has been the director of the prestigious quadrennial Jurow International Harpsichord Competition whose most recent edition took place in July 2024 in Montreal. The NMM Live! Series is made possible by the USD Student Government Association and the South Dakota Arts Council through the Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Kerry Grombacher and Aspen Black, both award-winning solo artists, have worked together as a duo since 2014. Influenced by the English ballad tradition, the string-band music of Aspen’s Appalachian home, and the corridos of the desert Southwest, where Kerry has lived and worked, their songs tell stories of the people and events that shaped the West. Kerry Grombacher plays guitar and mandolin. His song “Range of the Buffalo” was named the 2021 Song of the Year by the International Western Music Association. He’s been featured on the ABC-TV adventure travel show, “Born to Explore,” and on the internationally-released Putumayo World Records CD “Cowboy Playground.” Kerry has released six albums of original songs, and his songs have been recorded by artists such as Jim Jones, Belinda Gail, The Texas Trailhands, Gary Prescott, and Trails & Rails. There’s a room named for him at the Sands Motel in Grants NM, on Historic Route 66. Aspen Black plays guitar and bass. Her song, “Born to be a Cowgirl” was a Finalist for the Western Writers of America’s 2024 Spur Award, and she’s a Will Rogers Medallion winner for her 2018 Cowboy Poetry CD, “Tales From the Road.” Aspen’s “Lovin’ the West” CD was the Rural Roots Music Commission’s 2017 Classic Western CD of the Year, and her “Eastern-Western Cowgirl” was the RRMC’s 2015 Female Country-Western CD of the Year. She is a multi-year Top Five finalist for the International Western Music Association’s Female Poet of the Year, and both her 2018 “Tales From the Road,” and her 2016 “Invisibility,” were Top Five finalists for the IWMA’s Cowboy Poetry CD of the Year. The NMM Live! Series is made possible by the USD Student Government Association and the South Dakota Arts Council through the Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The seven-string guitar played a vital role in music of the Russian Empire with many works composed for guitar solo and duet. Combinations of guitar with other instruments are quite rare, and the best music for guitar and piano comes from the circles of Vladimir Morkov (1801–1864). Miller and Timofeyev will perform Morkov’s original works and transcriptions, using the NMM's fortepiano by Anton Martin Thÿm, ca. 1815, and an original guitar by Mikhail Eroshkin, ca. 1900, from Timofeyev's personal collection. Elizaveta Miller is a true and inspired multi-instrumentalist, who plays most of the keyboard instruments: harpsichord, fortepiano and piano but also clavichord and organ. Her repertoire covers five centuries of music, from late Renaissance to contemporary. In 2013, she became the first prize winner of the Bruges Musica Antiqua Competition. She has performed throughout Europe and Russia, taking part in the Bruges MA Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Bozar Music, Dubrovnik Music Festival and The Homecoming Music Festival. As a continuo player, she has collaborated with numerous conductors, including Václav Luks, Reinhard Goebel, Maxim Emelyanychev, Robert Hollingsworth, Christian Curnyn, and others. Miller studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and at Yale School of Music. She held a teaching position at the Moscow State Conservatory in historical instruments departement for 9 years but resigned and left the country in March 2022, after the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression on Ukraine. In May 2022, she received an offer from the McGill University in Montreal, where she is now an Assistant Professor of harpsichord. --- Oleg Timofeyev is a musicologist, guitarist, composer, documentary film director, and the world authority on the Russian seven-string guitar tradition. Dr. Timofeyev holds an M.A. in Early Music Performance from the University of Southern California and a Ph.D. from Duke University. The recipient of two IREX Fellowships, two Fulbright Research and Teaching Fellowships, he has won the coveted Noah Greenberg Award for his CDs “Music of Russian Princesses at the Court of Catherine the Great.” In addition, he has recorded more than twenty CD solo and ensemble recordings featuring the music for the Russian seven-string guitar, to critical acclaim worldwide. Dr. Oleg Timofeyev has taught at universities and conservatoires in the US, Russia, and Ukraine. In addition to a book on Russian-Romani guitar playing (Centerstream, 2018) and a critical edition of collected works by Matvei Pavlov-Azancheev (with Stefan Wester, DGA Editions, 2020), Timofeyev recently published the historically first monograph on the seven–string guitar in Russia (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2023). This program is funded by the Clayton & Odessa Lang Ofstad Foundation, Bank of America N. A., Co-Trustee.

Michele Benuzzi studied the harpsichord with Ottavio Dantone and obtained a harpsichord Performing Diploma at the Royal College of Music, London. He also studied musicology at the University of Pavia. Specializing in historic performance, Benuzzi will play a harpsicord made by Jacques Germain, dated 1785. The instrument features the standard late-18th-century French disposition, with keyboard naturals made of ebony, while the sharps consist of hardwood stained black and covered with bone slips. The program will present a selection of compositions by Couperin, Forqueray and Duphly. In 2003, he won third prize at the seventeenth Yamanashi International Harpsichord Competition in Japan. He regularly performs in major festivals in Europe, Australia and Asia. He promoted and played the opera omnia of Domenico Scarlatti's Sonatas, which were performed from 1995 to 2002 in France. He founded Arcomelo, a group performing seventeenth and eighteenth-century music, examining baroque music - especially problems concerning execution on historic instruments. With Arcomelo, he recorded the harpsichord concertos by C. Ph. E. Bach for “La Bottega Discantica,” receiving excellent reviews. In 2007, he recorded the harpsichord concertos and symphonias by W. F. Bach. In collaboration with Japanese recorder plaery Mitsuko Ota, he recorded all of Vivaldi’s Flautino and Flauto Concertos, receiving a nomination in the Japanese “The record Geijutsu magazine” (May 2013). As a soloist, he recorded Scarlatti's Sonatas using the 1764 Hass instrument in the Russell Collection in Edinburgh. For London Independent Records, he released "Hamburg 1705," featuring music by Händel, Graupner and Mattheson, using the 1730 Dulcken harpsichord in the Barnes Collection. For Brilliant Classics, he recorded works by J. W. Hässler on a 1773 Falkener harpsichord in the Russell Collection. All his solo recording where acclaimed by international magazine, and the Hässler CD received 5 stars from “Musica” (July, August 2012). In 2011, he recorded with Arcomelo the Six Collection of chamber music and solo harpsichord music by J. A. Benda in a 6 CD box. In 2014, the complete Ch. Nichelmann Sonatas in a 2 CD set and in 2015 the Sonatas by J. Galles. He has begun recording the complete keyboard works of J. W. Hässler, the first volume of which received 5 stars from “Musica” (March 2018). For these recordings he used a harpsichord, Silbermann piano, clavichord and an original Broadwood square piano dated 1798. Recently he recorded the complete harpsichord music by J. L. Krebs in 5 CDs. Benuzzi's next project will be recording the six harpsichord sonatas by J. E. Altenburg, the complete Sonatas by Ch. S. Binder, and the “Certamen Musicum” by J. P. Kellner. --- ITA L'Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Chicago, in collaborazione con il National Music Museum di Vermillion, presenta un concerto dal vivo del clavicembalista italiano Michele Benuzzi. Il programma includerà una selezione di composizioni classiche per clavicembalo di compositori francesi dei secoli XVII e XVIII. Specializzato nell'esecuzione su strumenti antichi, Benuzzi si esibirà su un clavicembalo realizzato da Jacques Germain e datato 1785, parte della collezione del Museo. Lo strumento presenta la disposizione tipica francese della fine del XVIII secolo, con i tasti naturali in ebano, mentre i diesis sono costituiti da legno duro macchiato di nero e ricoperti con intarsi di osso. Michele Benuzzi ha studiato clavicembalo con Ottavio Dantone e ha ottenuto il Diploma di Esecuzione al Royal College of Music di Londra. Ha anche studiato musicologia all'Università di Pavia. Nel 2003 ha vinto il terzo premio al diciassettesimo Concorso Internazionale di Clavicembalo di Yamanashi in Giappone. Si esibisce nei principali festival in Europa, Australia e Asia. Ha promosso e suonato l'opera omnia delle Sonate di Domenico Scarlatti dal 1995 al 2002 in Francia. Ha fondato Arcomelo, un gruppo che esegue musica dei secoli XVII e XVIII e studia la musica barocca, in particolare problemi legati all'esecuzione su strumenti antichi. Con Arcomelo ha registrato i concerti per clavicembalo di C.Ph.E.Bach per "La Bottega Discantica", che hanno ricevuto ottime recensioni. Nel 2007 ha registrato i concerti e le sinfonie per clavicembalo di W.F.Bach. Recentemente ha pubblicato un CD con tutti i Concerti per flautino e flauto di Vivaldi insieme alla flautista giapponese Mitsuko Ota, che è stato nominato dalla rivista giapponese "The record Geijutsu magazine" (maggio 2013). Come solista ha registrato le Sonate di Scarlatti utilizzando lo strumento Hass del 1764 della Russell Collection di Edimburgo. Per "London Independent Records" ha registrato il CD "Hamburg 1705" con musica di Händel, Graupner e Mattheson utilizzando il clavicembalo di Daniel Dulcken del 1730 della Barnes Collection. Per Brilliant Classics ha registrato J.W.Hässler con un clavicembalo di Robert Falkener di Londra del 1773 con il permesso della Russell Collection. Tutte le sue registrazioni soliste sono state acclamate dalle riviste internazionali, e il CD di Hässler ha vinto il premio 5 stelle nella rivista "Musica" (luglio, agosto 2012). Nel 2011 ha registrato con Arcomelo la collezione di musica da camera e musica per clavicembalo solista di J.A.Benda in una scatola di 6 CD. Nel 2014 ha registrato le Sonate complete di Ch. Nichelmann in un set di due CD e nel 2015 le Sonate di J. Galles. Ha iniziato a registrare l'intera musica per tastiera di J.W. Hässler; il primo volume con quattro CD è stato pubblicato e ha di nuovo vinto il premio 5 stelle nella rivista "Musica" (marzo 2018). Per queste registrazioni ha utilizzato clavicembalo, pianoforte Silbermann, clavicordo e un pianoforte a coda originale Broadwood del 1798. Recentemente ha registrato l'intera musica per clavicembalo di J.L. Krebs in cinque CD. Il prossimo progetto sarà la registrazione delle sei Sonate per clavicembalo di J.E. Altenburg, delle Sonate complete di Ch.S. Binder e del "Certamen Musicum" di J.P. Kellner.

This concert is inspired by Antonio Stradivari’s mandolino coristo (choral mandolin), dated 1680. It is one of only two surviving from the Stradivari workshop. Several patterns relating to mandolin construction survive in the Museo del Violino in Cremona, Italy. The program will present a selection of compositions for classical mandolin by European composers Filippo Sauli, Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Riggieri, and Raffaele Calace. Carlo Aonzo is a worldwide known Italian mandolin performer, teacher at the Conservatory of Bari and winner of several prestigious awards. During his long career, he has performed across the world for such institutions as the Philharmonic Orchestra of La Scala (Milan), the Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, the McGill Chamber Orchestra in Montreal (Canada) and the Philharmonia of San Petersburg (Russia). Soloist, researcher, teacher and, since 2006, founder and director of the International Italian Mandolin Accademia, he boasts a wide discography both in classical music and in other musical genres. Aonzo constantly carries out studies on the history of his instrument collaborating, among others, with the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and Hal Leonard. --- L'Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Chicago, in collaborazione con il National Music Museum di Vermillion, presenta un concerto dal vivo del mandolinista italiano Carlo Aonzo. Il programma includerà una selezione di composizioni per mandolino classico dei compositori europei Filippo Sauli, Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Riggieri e Raffaele Calace. Il concerto è ispirato al Mandolino coristo (mandolino corale) di Antonio Stradivari datato 1680, parte della collezione del Museo. Questo piccolo mandolino è uno dei due superstiti della bottega di Stradivari. Diversi modelli relativi alla costruzione del mandolino sono conservati al Museo del Violino di Cremona. Carlo Aonzo è un mandolinista italiano noto a livello mondiale, docente al Conservatorio di Bari e vincitore di numerosi premi prestigiosi. Durante la sua lunga carriera ha suonato su tutti i continenti per istituzioni quali l'Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala di Milano, il Carnegie Hall e il Metropolitan Museum di New York, la Nashville Chamber Orchestra, l'Orchestra da Camera McGill a Montreal (Canada) e la Filarmonia di San Pietroburgo (Russia). Solista, ricercatore, insegnante e, dal 2006, fondatore e direttore dell'Accademia Mandolinistica Italiana Internazionale, vanta una vasta discografia sia nella musica classica che in altri generi musicali e porta avanti costanti studi sulla storia del suo strumento, collaborando, tra gli altri, con il New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians e Hal Leonard.

Group members include Dr. David Bohnert, dean of arts and humanities at Wayne State College (WSC), on trumpet; Dr. Josh Calkin, director of bands and professor of low brass at WSC, on tuba; Kevin McLouth, director of instrumental studies at Northeast Community College, on trumpet; Dr. Randy Neuharth, retired director of instrumental studies at Northeast Community College, on trombone; and Dr. Gary Reeves, retired horn instructor at the University of South Dakota and Northern State College, who currently serves as an adjunct instructor at Morningside University, on horn. The NMM Live! Series is made possible by the USD Student Government Association and the South Dakota Arts Council through the Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts.