Two UTSA music faculty featured in First Fine Arts Lenten Series March 17, 24, 31

Pictured top to bottom, Linda Poetschke and Kasandra Keeling

By Jasmine Dean
First Baptist Church San Antonio

(March 5, 2015) - First Fine Arts presents the inaugural First Fine Arts Lenten Series featuring organist Jae Ha, pianist and UTSA faculty member Kasandra Keeling, soprano singer and UTSA faculty member Linda Poetschke, Olmos Ensemble and the Baylor Chamber Singers. Each performance will begin at noon on March 17, 24 and 31. Admission is free and open to the public. All performances will take place on the campus of First Baptist Church San Antonio, 515 McCullough Ave.

“It was an important addition to this year’s First Fine Arts schedule,” said Aaron Hufty, Associate Pastor of Worship and Music at First Baptist Church San Antonio. “The mission of First Fine Arts is to extend the cultural arts ministry of First Baptist Church of San Antonio to bring the art and faith communities together.”

Jae Ha assumed the position of Organist at First Presbyterian Church in October 2003. A native of Seoul, Korea, he earned a bachelor's degree in organ performance from Yonsei University in Korea and received a master's and Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ performance in 2003 from the University of Texas at Austin. He currently serves as adjunct organ professor at University of the Incarnate Word.

Kasandra Keeling is currently Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator of the Keyboard Area at UTSA. She teaches undergraduate and graduate applied piano, chamber music, and piano literature. Keeling received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Houston and was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her major teachers have included Janice Hodges, Nancy Weems, Alvin Chow and Larry Graham.

Soprano Linda Poetschke has enjoyed numerous appearances with symphony orchestras and regional opera companies across the Southwest. She has also performed as soprano soloist with the New York West End Chamber Ensemble in a Carnegie Hall appearance of REQUIEM by W.A. Mozart. Ms. Poetschke's orchestral repertoire encompasses more than 40 oratorical and concert roles, and she has appeared under the baton of Margaret Hillis, Nicholas McGegan, Christopher Wilkins, Elmer Iseler, Lawrence Leighton Smith, Roger Melone, John Silantien, and Kate Tamarkian.

Poetschke is a Professor of Music at the University of Texas at San Antonio where she received a Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award from the UTSA Alumni Association. She celebrated her 25th year of teaching at UTSA in 2009. An endowed vocal scholarship in Linda Poetschke’s name has been established at UTSA in the Department of Music where she has served as Coordinator of the Vocal Area since 1989.

Created in 1994 by Artistic Director, Mark Ackerman, the Olmos Ensemble exists to perform chamber music at the highest level of quality. Its members are drawn from principal positions in the San Antonio Symphony with the addition of New York-based pianist, Warren Jones. The ensemble frequently features outstanding young artists from the San Antonio area. A significant part of the mission of the Olmos Ensemble is the tradition of bringing the next generation of musicians to the public eye.

Specializing in music from the Renaissance and Contemporary periods, the 18-voice Baylor Chamber Singers are noted for their excellence in the choral art. Performing in the exceptional acoustics of the Meditation Foyer of the Armstrong Browning Library, the Chamber Singers were prominently featured in the PBS special, Christmas at Baylor. The Chamber Singers have made several recordings over the years including their most recent entitled "Songs of Praise."

For more information, contact Jasmin Dean at 210-701-6049 or aaron@fbcsa.org.

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