Thomas Schönberg and Chris Kachian

The Arpeggione Duo of guitarist Dr. Christopher Kachian and cellist Dr. Thomas Schönberg will perform a 7 p.m. concert Wednesday, Nov. 19, in the Great Hall on the second floor of O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library.

Program features the French Suite in G major by J.S. Bach, another French suite by Gabriel Faure and Maurice Ravel, and Hello Cello by Claude Gagnon. The duo also will premier several new works they have commissioned: Campfire Songs by Michael Karmon, Fantasy by Bryan Johanson, and Frozen Columns by Ron Pear.  The evening’s program is the same one the duo will perform on their November concert tour throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota.

Schönberg and Kachian, who are educators as well as performers, formed the Arpeggione Duo after meeting at the Guitar Festival of Sollentuna, Sweden, in 2004. Since that time, they have toured annually and have recorded four albums.

Schönberg is a native of Sweden and was accepted to the Royal Music Academy of Stockholm at age 13. He received his doctorate at the University of Hartford, Conn., and is dean of the Lidingo School of Music in Sweden. He performs throughout Europe, Asia and the United States on a cello made by Guarneri filius ca 1715.

Kachian, whose doctorate is from the University of Minnesota, heads the Guitar Studies Program at St. Thomas and in 2011 was inducted into the renowned Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity. A champion of new music, he has commissioned and premiered more than 40 works for guitar. He has given more than 500 performances in Japan, China, Africa, Cuba, Costa Rica, Peru and throughout Europe and North America.  Kachian is a founding member of the Society for the Affectation of Baroque Music and also plays the blues harmonica.

The duo’s name reflects the musicians’ blend of guitar and cello. Invented in 1823 by Viennese guitar maker Johann Stauffer, the arpeggione has six strings and frets like a guitar, but it is similar in size to a cello and played with a bow. Only one major work was written for the instrument, the Sonata in A Minor for Arpeggione and Piano by Franz Schubert.

The Duo Arpeggione’s 10th anniversary concert is free and open to the public —  refreshments will be provided.   For more information please call Julie Kimlinger at (651) 962-5014.

Shelly Nordtorp-Madson and Chris Kachian

“noonartsound” returns to the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library on Tuesday, October 7 – noon to 1pm in the O’Shaughnessy Room, Rm 108.

Free and open to all, noonartsound brings together the talents of Dr. Shelly Nordtorp-Madson, chief curator and a member of the clinical faculty in the Department of Art History, and Dr. Chris Kachian, guitarist and professor of music.   Often the programs are enhanced by students or faculty members who bring their own expertise to the specific programs.

This semester’s first noonartsound on Oct. 7 will focus on jazz from the 1940′s and World War II era.

“From zoot suits and bobby soxers to rationing and victory gardens, to the GI Bill and Rosie the Riveter, the 1940′s was a time of great social upheaval, leaving no part of society untouched,” says Kachian, giving a taste of what will be offered.  “Frank Sinatra was a teenaged star and Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire brought a whisper of a carefree, sophisticated society that was far from armament factories and foxholes.”

Nordtorp-Madson and Kachian have been performing these popular lecture-concerts together for more than 12 years. The professors are known their unique style and humor, along with beautiful, satisfying, yet “unstuffy” presentations of their art.   If you have any questions, please contact Julie Kimlinger at 651-962-5014 or jakimlinger@stthomas.edu

Here is the noonartsound schedule for the rest of the year – we hope you will be able to join us!

• Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014:         Ireland
• Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014:         Spanish Flamenco with Guest Guitarist Tony Hauser
• Tuesday, March 3, 2015:      Vienna and Franz Schubert
• Tuesday, April 7, 2015:        The British Invasion: 1964-1967
• Tuesday, May 5, 2015:         The 1930’s With Songs of the Early Labor Movement

For the last couple of years, the staff in O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library have been posting a question on a big white board near the entrance. Sticky notes are provided for anyone to respond to the question.   We’ve asked questions like:

–  What would you tell a prospective student about the library?
–  Books – print or digital, which do you prefer?
–  What’s the best discovery you’ve made in the library?
–  What’s your favorite political movie?
–  What are you thankful for?
–  What helps you get to sleep?
–  What is your best study tip?
–  What are you working on right now?
–  What are you most excited about this semester?
–  How do you get your political news?

Our goal with the white board is to create a conversation with the people who come into the library, and to, we hope, learn more about them. We will ask a mix of lighthearted, social questions as well as more serious questions about your use of the library and our resources.
The answers to our latest question ‘What was the high point of your summer?’ demonstrates how interesting our users are. All the answers (necessarily brief, since the sticky note is small) suggested stories behind our users’ lives:

–  People travelled to Peru, Chile, England, Spain, Italy, Vietnam, Brazil, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and South Africa as well as many points in the U.S.
–  The Iowa State Fair!
–  More than one attended the Bonnarroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee
–  People worked at a number of jobs, volunteered, coached, and took classes
–  The usual Minnesota summer activities were represented – boating, camping, laying in the sun, hanging with the family, hiking up north
–  And one person won a lot of money in Las Vegas!

We’ll keep putting up questions throughout the year – and hope to continue to learn more about you!