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Allégresse fills listeners with "joy"Print OptionsMore InformationRelated Information |
Allégresse fills listeners with "joy"
Johnson County Community College
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Annie Gnojek, flute; Ellen Bottorff, piano; Margaret Marco, oboe |
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Allégresse, the French word for "joy," aptly depicts the graceful artistry of this inspiring new trio – Annie Gnojek, flute, Margaret Marco, oboe, and Ellen Bottorff, piano. Allégresse will perform at noon Monday, Feb. 9, as the opening recital in the spring 2009 Ruel Joyce Recital Series featuring Kansas City classical musicians. Recitals are free and open to the public.
The trio plays a wide range of music of the classical masters, including Quantz, Telemann, W.F. Bach and Rossini, and the contemporary works of Frank Martin, Madeleine Dring, Thea Musgrave, Jean-Michel Damase and William Grant Still.
Gnojek can be heard as principal flutist on the 2006 Naxos Release of Redline Tango with the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Kansas where she studied with John Boulton and David Fedele. Gnojek, who has a successful flute studio, is currently an adjunct professor of flute at Ottawa University and the principal flutist of the Lawrence Chamber Orchestra.
Marco has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras including the Orquesta Sinfònica de Maracaibo, Rome Festival Orchestra and Kansas City Chamber Orchestra. Currently she serves as co-principal for the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and performs frequently with the Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Lyric Opera and Kansas City Ballet Orchestra. She is a founding member of the Chamber Music Society of Kansas City. Since 1998, she has taught at the University of Kansas where she is an associate professor of oboe.
Bottorff has toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada, performing on live radio broadcasts, regional and national conventions, competitions and recital series. In addition, she can be heard on three professional recordings, Just for Fun, with euphoniumist Pat Stuckemeyer and trumpeter Justin White; Rare Breeds and Dog-Eared Classics, with the Kansas Brass Quintet; and Arrows of Time, with trombonist David Vining and has been a featured soloist with the St. Joseph Symphony. Bottorff was on the keyboard and voice faculty at Missouri Western University from 1994-2004.
A graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Missouri Western University, Bottorff studied with Richard Cass, Jerry Anderson and Rita Sloan. Currently, she is the interim piano professor at KU.
The spring 2009 Ruel Joyce Recital Series continues at noon Monday on the following dates in the Recital Hall, unless noted.
| Feb. 16 | Alan Murray, tenor Kerri Shiflett, soprano Geoff Wilcken, piano |
| Feb. 23 | Victoria Botero, soprano Beau Bledsoe, guitar |
| Mar. 2 | Brendan Kinsella, piano Andrew Fuller, violin |
| Mar. 9 | Roger Oyster, trombone |
| Mar. 16 | The Goldenbergs, violin and piano |
| Mar. 23 | Douglas Niedt, guitar |
| Mar. 30 | Brass Knights (Polsky Theatre) |
| Apr. 6 | Francesca Manheim, violin Ya-Ting Liou, piano |
The series is named for Ruel Joyce, a longtime jazz bassist who headed the local musicians federation from 1977 until his death in 1989. The concerts are cosponsored by the JCCC music department, Community Services and the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts. Admission is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, call 913-469-8500, ext. 3605.
