Concerts

thursday musical concert
piano and violin
carson rose schneider and aja Majkrzak
sunday, may 4
2:00 pm concert

Praised for her “excellent musicianship” (Talkin’ Broadway) and “stunning and emotionally evocative” playing (Cherry and Spoon), Carson Rose Schneider is a versatile pianist who works as a duo partner, coach, music director, and rehearsal pianist with opera companies, chamber groups, and choirs. Based in Minneapolis, MN, she is at home playing with singers and instrumentalists and is in demand by companies and recitalists around the Midwest. The list of companies she has recently been seen gigging with includes Skylark Opera Theatre, Lyric Opera of the North, Out of the Box Opera, An Opera Theatre (AOT), Journey North Opera, St Croix Valley Opera, Really Spicy Opera, Schubert Club, and Twin Cities Opera Guild. Most recently, she was the Music Director and Pianist for Lyric Opera of the North's October 2023 production of Michael Ching's Speed Dating Tonight. She is Music Director at Union Congregational Church United Church of Christ in Elk River, MN and has a private home recording and coaching studio.

Aja Majkrzak has been playing the violin since she was 4 years old. She received her Bachelor's of Music from the University of Minnesota in 2011 under the tutelage of Mark Bjork, and her Master's of Music from Louisiana State University in 2013 studying with Espen Lilleslatten. Since then she has performed with many regional orchestras and has served as section leader for various community orchestras. Her orchestral experiences have given her the opportunity to share the stage with performers like Leila Josefowicz, Audra McDonald, and Gil Shaham.

Orchestral playing is the focus of her career but Aja has also performed with 2 Cellos, Foreigner, Harry Connick, Jr., Kygo, the Transiberian Orchestra and the Latin jazz group Charanga Tropical. In June 2015 she traveled to Havana, Cuba with the group to become the first band from the United States to participate in the International Danzon Festival.

If she is not making music you can find Aja with her two cats, Dexter and Cindy Lou Who, cooking vegetarian and vegan meals, and attempting to keep her plants alive.