Dr. Dimitri Shapovalov

Musicologist, Author of the Program Notes

Dimitri Shapovalov is a published author and translator on musicological topics connected with Russian culture at the turn of the twentieth century. He received his Ph.D. in musicology from Cornell University in May 2005. His dissertation, 'Russian Solo Song in the Silver Age, 1890-1917,' discusses the aesthetic, poetic, and musical context of solo songs by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Nikolai Tcherepnin, Igor Stravinsky, and Sergei Prokofiev. He has presented papers on Russian music at national and international conferences, including the Prokofiev International Symposium in Manchester, UK, and the American Musicological Society in Washington, DC. At Carthage, Shapovalov's teaching interests center on nineteenth- and twentieth-century music history and the relationship between art and society.

Lynne Gardow

Lyric Mezzo

Lyric Mezzo Lynne Gardow has developed a reputation as an accomplished musician on both the concert and operatic stage. A native of Wisconsin, Lynne is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where she studied in the Professional Studies Program.

Before she came to the Twin Cities from New York, Lynne appeared as Dorabella in Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte at the Silesian State Opera House, Opava, Czech Republic. She participated in a residency with composer Alexander Miller, whose commissions have been heard nationally, in New York City, Washington, D.C. and London. While in residency, Lynne was heard in Mahler's Symphony No.2 with the Grand Rapids Symphony under conductor Catherine Comet, and as Alisa in Opera Grand Rapids' production of Lucia di Lammermoor.

Lynne has done extensive work in contemporary music including Charlotte in Zimmermann's Die Soldaten at the Banff Centre and Bernstein's Songfest in Sapporo, Japan at the Pacific Music Festival. She is one of the few artists to have essayed the role of Candace Whitcomb in the Village Singer, written by acclaimed contemporary composer Stephen Paulus.

No foreigner to other styles, Ms. Gardow has performed the title roles in the Merry Widow, Sister Angelica and Jenny in The Threepenny Opera with the Natchez Opera Festival, the Blossom Festival and Opera in the Ozarks.

After performing the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at the Silesian State Opera House, she was cast to portray Madame Giry in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera with Stella Productions in Hamburg, Germany. Lynne was also heard on the National Public Radio broadcast of Trotsky in New York by Ronald Senator. She played Natalia, the wife of Leon Trotsky.

This summer Lynne portrayed the role of Sarah in Theater L'Homme Dieu's production of Quilters. Last Fall she worked with Peter Rothstein in Latte Da's La Boheme.

Lynne has a Master of Music from the San Fransisco Conservatory and a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Wisconsin. She is a student of Marni Nixon.

Masha Petrenko

Emcee

Masha Petrenko (also known as Maria Petrenko) is a local filmmaker and an actress. She is also a linguist with an M. A. in Linguistics from the University of Minnesota, and a Minnesota Court Certified Interpreter. Masha travels around the country working with cultural and business groups of Russian professionals, interpreting for them at conferences and seminars.

Masha enjoys taking part in local films as an actress. Ashes to Ashes by High-Def Chefs, the film where she played a supporting role, won the Best Acting award at the National Film Challenge Competition in 2006. Two local feature films with Masha's participation are in post-production: Holiday Beach by Steve Larson of Northern Skies, and In Clamatore by Wesley Tank of Vehement Behemoth.

Masha is a member of the local WIFT chapter (Women in Film and Television). Recently, she started a video production company Percolate Films. Her latest short fiction film, Windows and Walls that she wrote, directed and produced, is used for intercultural communications training sessions throughout Twin Cities. It was included in the 2008 Minneapolis/ St. Paul International Film Festival. It screened at the St. Anthony Main Theater, April 27th of 2008 as part of the "International Shorts" program. Windows and Walls was short listed for a prize in the short film category in the Babelgum Online Film Festival! It was also screened in France, in the Short Film Corner at Cannes in May of 2008.

Shana Eisenberg

Second Emcee

Shana Eisenberg is an active participant in Twin Cities community theatre. Some of her favorite performances include 'Urinetown: The Musical' (Heritage Theatre Company), 'The Fantasticks' (Lex-Ham Theatre), 'Follies' (Bloomington Civic Theatre), and 'A Little Night Music' (Lakeshore Players). Shana also spends a great deal of her time singing and playing guitar for various events involving children of all ages. She is excited about participating as an extra in the new Coen brothers movie, 'A Serious Man'. ('Look for me in the Physics classroom!') And, in her real life, Shana works as a veterinary anesthetist at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center.

Marina Liadova

Orchestra Conductor

Marina Liadova was born in Russia in 1960. She grew up in Moscow and attended Gnessin Music School for talented youth, where she was invited to teach after finishing college. She was only 18. She taught Music theory at that school for 10 years, while working on her Graduate Diploma in Musicology at the same time.

She pioneered a Young Opera Troup, where she created and produced many original shows and commissioned several new operas, including King Matiush by Lev Konov.

After moving to the United States, Marina worked in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, as a music teacher at Boyd and Park elementary schools. She directed many memorable "synergy" concerts, which included choral singing, creative movement, theatrical surprises and even 6-foot tall puppets.

When she moved to the Twin Cities, Marina continued to work as a teacher in Roseville, where she conducted the Brimhall International Choir, comprised of singers from 35 countries around the world. She also began working as a Music Director and a pianist with various theater groups, primarily Lakeshore Players Theater. and, just this year, Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company.

Three years ago she began studying orchestral conducting with an esteemed German professor Alexander Vitlin. These studies inspired her to create a new company, Lidia Productions. Marina will be creating memorable orchestral concerts with a strong focus on Twin Cities musicians.