Howard Community College

HOROWITZ HAPPENINGS Professor and Alumna Collaborate Duo Performance Piano Program Coordinator Dr. Kristina Suter and alumnus Rasa Mahmoudian, violinist, have partnered as the Mahsu Duo, to perform a concert entitled "Hidden Treasures: The Feminine Slant" on April 17, 2016. The partnership between Mahmoudian and Suter began while Mahmoudian was a student at HCC. He asked Suter if she would work with him on the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor. Since then, they have performed for Lee Hartman's "The Beauty of the Line," a masterclass for Jonathan Carney, principal violinist of the BSO, the Viva Vino Wine Tasting, and in several pieces for the Tales of Seduction concert. Since his time Theatre Student Performs in Rep Stage Production Theatre student Daniel Ayoola was featured in Rep Stage's "Antigone Project: A Play in 5 Parts" that ran February 18 – March 6, 2016. Rep Stage is the only professional Equity theatre in the country in residence at a community college. Casting a current student in a role is rare, but a special opportunity to put training to the test in a professional production. Rep Stage Co-Producing Artistic Director Joseph Ritsch said, "Casting Daniel Ayoola was a great fit all around. at HCC, Mahmoudian has received his bachelor's degree in music from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Now performing as professionals rather than as teacher and student, the Mahsu Duo looks forward to their April concert. The upcoming concert will be unique in that most of the pieces are by lesser-known women composers, He is really thriving in the environment, and it's been a pleasure to have him in the cast. He is very hard working, wonderfully directable, and up for taking the risks one must take in the theatre." "It has been a very valuable experience working with my fellow actors and Joseph," said Ayoola. "There is a lot of interaction between the director and the actor during scene work, and a lot of what comes out of it as a result is very organic and authentic. It is the kind of acting that I became an actor for." and the duo will talk briefly about each composer and work, including their favorite piece. "It's the Sonata in B Minor for violin & piano by Amanda Rontgen-Maier, a Romantic composer who was a friend of Brahms, Grieg, and other prominent composers of that era," says Suter. "It is so beautiful, yet haunting, and so romantic." 16 Howard Community College Photo by Katie Ellen Simmons-Barth

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