Five Winds
and a Bagatelle
April 19, 2026 at 3pm
Trinity Chapel
Bethany Lutheran College​
“Pastoral” for Wind Quintet
Amy Beach | 4’
“Five Winds” for Wind Quintet
Ulysses Kay | 14’
Allegretto
Andante
Allegretto
Allegro​
​
Jill Mahr, flute
Brendon Bushman, oboe
Chelsea Kimpton, clarinet
Nick Brown, horn
Thea Groth, bassoon
_____________________________
​
“Five Bagatelles” for Clarinet Quintet
Gerald Finzi | 15’
Prelude
Romance
Carol
Forlana
Fughetta
​
Chelsea Kimpton, clarinet
Eunice Kim, violin
Abbey Roemer, violin
Jordan Warmath, viola
Sharon Rodgers, cello
_____________________________
String Quintet in E major, Op. 1
Ethel Smyth | 27’
Allegro con brio
Andantino poco allegretto
Scherzo. Allegro vivace
Adagio con moto
Allegro molto
​
Eunice Kim, violin
Abbey Roemer, violin
Jordan Warmath, viola
Sharon Rodgers, cello
Richard Belcher, cello
New Zealand cellist Richard Belcher joined the SPCO in 2019 after a twenty-year career as founding cellist of the Grammy-nominated Enso String Quartet. With the quartet he earned highly critical accolades from recording and concertizing in many of the world’s major concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Kennedy Center in the United States, as well as abroad in Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand.
​
Richard is the Artistic Director of Music on the Hill in Mankato, Minnesota, and since 2008 has been Principal Cellist of River Oaks Chamber Orchestra in Houston, Texas. He has taught and performed at many festivals including St. Bart’s, Festival d’Aix en Provence, Prussia Cove, Madeline Island, Campos do Jordao International Winter Festival, SummerFest La Jolla, and the San Miguel de Allende International Chamber Music Festival. In demand as a teacher and chamber music coach, Richard has previously served as Adjunct Faculty at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and has given numerous masterclasses around the world.
​
Richard moved to the United States in 1998 to study with Aldo Parisot at Yale University, and it was while there that he founded the Enso String Quartet. Richard’s other principal teachers include Norman Fischer, Marc Johnson, and Alexander Ivashkin. He plays an N.F. Vuillaume cello made in 1856, and is married to Cecilia Belcher, Assistant Principal 2nd Violin of the Minnesota Orchestra.
Nick Brown received his Undergraduate Performance Diploma (PDIP) from the Oberlin Conservatory and has previously taught as a faculty member at the University of St. Thomas in 2021-2022. In addition to teaching, Nick currently serves as the Principal Horn for the Mankato Symphony Orchestra since 2021 and as the Fourth Horn for the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra since 2023. Other notable performance appearances include the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, Lansing Symphony Orchestra in Michigan, and with the Rochester New Music Ensemble. He has studied under the tutelage of Roland Pandolfi of the Oberlin Conservatory, Corbin Wagner of Michigan State University, and Herb Winslow, former associate principal horn of the Minnesota Orchestra.
Brendon Bushman is a freelance musician and teacher based in the greater Twin Cities. He is currently principal oboist of the Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra, and faculty at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, The St. Paul Conservatory of Music, Anoka-Ramsey Community College, and Martin Luther College, and maintains private studios in St. Cloud & St. Louis Park. Having taught privately since 2001, his students have made district and state level honor bands in Georgia, Texas, and Minnesota, and have gone on to study music at colleges including Florida State University, Arizona State University, and Louisiana State University.
​
In addition to the SCSO, Brendon can often be heard with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Sioux City Symphony, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, Journey North Opera, Minnesota Dance Theatre, and 10th Wave New Music Ensemble, and accompanying Twin Cities choral groups including VocaleEssence and the South Metro Chorale. He is a former member of the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra (SC), Union Symphony Orchestra (NC), Round Rock Symphony (TX), and Capitol City Opera (GA), and over the last 20 years has performed with regional orchestras throughout the southeastern US and Texas. In 2004, he served as principal oboist on the southeastern tour of “The Pirates of Penzance” with the NY Gilbert & Sullivan Players (NYGASP).
​
A dedicated chamber musician, Brendon can be heard with the SCSO woodwind quintet as a part of the “Classics For Kids” outreach program which reaches over 1,400 students each year. Previous engagements include Trio Vientos, The Northstar Winds, The Antithesis Project, Charlotte based new music collective Out of Bounds Ensemble, Mercury Season, and The Highland 5 Quintet. From 2005-2008, he was a core member of the Atlanta Chamber Winds, including performing on their 2009 Albany Records CD & Digital release, Music from Paris.
Mr. Bushman received his Bachelor of Music in Oboe Performance at the University of Texas at Austin, studied oboe and studio art at Indiana University Bloomington, and finishes his Masters in Music at theUniversity of Minnesota this spring. His primary teachers include John Snow, Rebecca Henderson, Nicholas Daniel, Theodore Baskin, Anne Leek, & Yvonne Powers Peterson.
​
Brendon lives in St. Cloud with his wife Catharine, daughters Emmaline & Zadie, and their dog Nori. When not making reeds, Brendon enjoys exploring gravel roads across minnesota on his bike, hiking & camping with his kids, & and good coffee.
Dr. Thea Groth is a bassoonist, educator, and clinician based in Northfield, MN. Early in her career she discovered a passion for musician's health and wellness. During her doctoral work, Groth studied performance-related injuries in instrumental musicians, the basis of her dissertation "Musician's Maintenance: A Scientific Approach to Healthy Practice Techniques for Optimal Performance." Groth lectures and leads workshops teaching injury awareness and prevention.
​
As a performer, Groth has performed on stages throughout the United States, Canada, and Brazil. Currently the Principal Bassoonist of the Mankato Symphony Orchestra, Groth is a former member of Ensemble 212, Hudson Valley Chamber Winds, founding member of Chione Quintet, and has made numerous freelance appearances with Greater Bridgeport Symphony, Amore Opera, Savannah Philharmonic, Greater Newburgh, Bergen, St. Cloud, Rochester, and South Dakota Symphony Orchestras. Groth has recorded with The Hartt School Wind Ensemble, and trombone soloist Joseph Alessi of the New York Philharmonic, on Passaggi, released on the Naxos Wind Band Classics label.
​
Groth has served as faculty at the Festival Eleazar de Carvalho in Fortaleza, Brazil, as well as Luther and Carleton Colleges. She currently teaches at St. Olaf College, and maintains a private teaching studio in Northfield, MN. Dr. Groth holds both a BM and DMA from the The Hartt School and a MM from The Manhattan School of Music.
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, violinist Eunice Kim made her solo debut at the age of seven with the Korean Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra. Called “just superb” (The New York Times), she recently made her solo debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Louisville Symphony, and performed George Tsontakis’ Unforgettable with the Albany Symphony Orchestra. Also recently, she performed at the Library of Congress on the “Ward” Antonio Stradivari violin, and she toured Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany and South Korea with “Curtis On Tour.”
​
A winner of Astral’s 2012 National Auditions, Kim is the recipient of awards and honors from the California International Violin Competition, the Pacific Music Society Competition, the Korea Times String Competition and the Youth Excellence Scholarship for the Arts. She also represented the Curtis Institute of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in the Millennium Stage Series Conservatory Project at the Kennedy Center.
​
An enthusiastic advocate for community engagement, she has partnered with The Philadelphia Orchestra Department of Education to perform an outreach series, and she regularly participates in Astral’s Community Engagement & Education programs. She has taught at numerous international music festivals, most recently at the Teatro Del Lago Festival in Chile and the Valdres Music Academy in Norway. Kim has participated in the Music from Angel Fire and Marlboro Music festivals.
Chelsea Kimpton is a clarinetist based in Phoenix, Arizona, with a dynamic career spanning both music performance and finance. She earned a Bachelor of Music in clarinet performance from St. Olaf College and later received her M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas.
She currently serves as principal clarinet of the Mankato Symphony Orchestra and the Arizona Wind Symphony. Chamber music is also a central part of her musical life, reflecting her passion for collaboration and intimate ensemble performance.
In addition to performing, Ms. Kimpton works as a finance analyst at Mayo Clinic Arizona, balancing a dual career path that bridges both artistic and analytical pursuits.
Jill Mahr holds a B.M. degree in flute performance and music education with a jazz minor from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. She earned a Master of Music degree in Flute Performance at Northwestern University, where she studied with Walfrid Kujala of the Chicago Symphony. In addition to flute instruction, Ms. Mahr directs the St. Olaf Handbell Choir, the St. Olaf Chapel Ringers, and oversees the direction of the student-led Manitou Handbell Choir. Ms. Mahr is principal flute in the Mankato Symphony Orchestra and has a private flute studio in her home.
Sharon Mautner-Rodgers is a California native, and a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music where she received her Bachelor's degree and the Ellis A. Feiman award for excellence.
​
A private cello teacher for over 30 years, Sharon has also taught at The Luzerne Music Center, Cornell College, Grace Christian School, St. Jose Sanchez del Rio minor seminary, and was recently invited to be a sabbatical replacement at Drake University in Des Moines, IA.
​
Sharon has been a member of many professional symphony orchestras all around the USA. She has performed at the Bastille Opera House in Paris, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and in Singapore, Malaysia, China, and South America.
​
Currently, Sharon is professor of cello and teaches string techniques class at Gustavus Adolphus College, as well as principal cellist of the Mankato Symphony and Associate Principal of the South Dakota Symphony. She is a regular freelancer in the Twin Cities, and plays with the Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra, Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and has performed with the Oratorio Society, VocalEssence, and the Loring String Quartet. She is a member of the Kasota Piano Trio.
Abbey Roemer is a violinist, fiddler and teacher based in St. Paul Minnesota. She received her Masters degree in Violin performance at Carnegie Mellon University, and her Bachelors in violin performance at Lawrence University in Appleton Wisconsin. She has played with numerous orchestras across the Midwest and East coast, including the Erie Philharmonic, Butler Symphony and Rochester Symphony, and is currently Assistant Concertmaster of the Mankato Symphony. During her time at Carnegie Mellon, Abbey was the recipient of the Gindroz Prize for Summer travel, through which she spent the summer of 2016 learning about traditional fiddle music and the way it is taught in Ireland, Scotland and Norway. She is passionate about sharing music through teaching and performing, and loves to challenge audiences and students alike to think about music in a new light.
Violist/ Violinist Jordan Warmath received her DMA in Viola Performance from UCSB in 2017. As a sought after performer and collaborator she has appeared on stage with internationally acclaimed pop artist Sting, soprano Renée Fleming, the Takács Quartet, cellist Carter Brey, pianist Emanuel Ax, and violinists Ray Chen, Anne Akiko Meyers, Glenn Dicterow, and Gil Shaham. As a lover of orchestral music she regularly performs with the Pasadena, New West, and Bakersfield Symphonies in addition to serving as Principal Viola for the Westside Chamber Orchestra and associate principal viola for the Pacific Opera Project. A passionate promoter of modern compositions, Dr. Warmath has premiered solo viola works by contemporary composers Charles Peck, Arthur Gotschalk, Joel Feigin, Hillary Purrington, Jennifer Dirkes, and Marc Evans at Rice University, the University of Texas at Austin, UCLA, and UCSB. As an advocate for modern viola and violin literature, she continues to commission, seek, promote, and perform contemporary music (and opera!) as frequently as possible. However, her favorite part of working in Los Angeles has been performing in the studio where she can be heard on the soundtracks to Obi-Wan, Star Trek, Black Adam, Lego Movie 2, and many more.
