Title: Christmas in Mill City
Artist: Mill City String Quartet
Label: CD Baby
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 703132305721
Genre: Xmas Vocal

'You'll think the Ghost of Christmas present has come to your house when you slip this disc in the player. It's joyous and playful and like a cup of spicy punch.' - Steve Staruch, Classical Minnesota Public Radio The Mill City String Quartet is comprised of Angela Hanson, Erika Hoogeveen, Huldah Niles, and Jeffrey Erbland. These four professional Twin Cities musicians are dedicated to excellence in performance and education. The quartet was founded in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, during the fall of 2007. Their goal was to rehearse regularly, studying and performing the major works in the classical repertoire. During the first two years, the quartet played at schools, churches, weddings, and other special events, establishing their presence in the Cities. In the summer of 2008, the quartet was invited to give a concert and master class at Monticello high school as part of a summer community orchestra program. The performance and master class were very well received and, as a result, the quartet has returned for a repeat performance. June 2009 marked the culmination of two years' work and the first full recital for the group. The event came off as a huge success, thanks to regular coachings from cellist and artistic director of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association, Tom Rosenberg. It was noted by many that the group played with precision and musicality. Shortly after this event that highlighted the culmination of the ensemble's two-year commitment, the quartet's cellist at the time, John Eadie, moved to take a position with the Kansas City Symphony. After an extensive search for a new cellist, Jeffrey Erbland was selected in September, 2009 to be the newest member of the Mill City String Quartet. Since the addition of Erbland, the quartet has continued to perform in many different settings, most notably a second full recital in March 2010. A third full recital is scheduled for September, 2012. The group released a recording of Christmas music, entitled "Christmas in Mill City," in November of 2011. The music was played on Minnesota Public Radio throughout the Holiday Season and is in the MPR library for future airings. Angela Waterman-Hanson completed a doctor of music arts degree in violin performance at the University of Minnesota, where she studied with Sally O'Reilly. Originally from Wheaton, Illinois, Hanson has a bachelor of music degree in violin performance from St. Olaf College, where she studied with Charles Gray, and a master's degree in violin performance also from the University of Minnesota. A member of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra (and concertmaster during the 2006-2007 season), Hanson performs often as a substitute violinist for the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. She was recently named the concertmaster for the Dakota Valley Symphony in Burnsville, and also plays regularly with the Mill City String Quartet and the Minnesota Sinfonia. Hanson has performed with many other groups including the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Josh Groban, Vocal Essence, Kantorei, the South Dakota Symphony, the Wheaton Symphony, and the Chicago Youth Symphony, and has attended the Aspen, Bravo!, and Kent/Blossom Music Festivals. Dr. Hanson currently teaches violin lessons in the twin cities area at Bethel University, Grace Free Lutheran Church/Heritage Christian Academy, the Association Free Lutheran Bible School (AFLBS), and at her home in Coon Rapids. Erika Hoogeveen received her Master's degree in violin performance and Suzuki pedagogy at the University of Minnesota, studying with Sally O'Reilly. Erika's Bachelor of Arts degree in violin performance was completed at Dordt College in Sioux Center, IA, studying with Rick Lohmann and Margaret Carpenter. A founding member of the Mill City String Quartet, she was recently named associate concertmaster of the Dakota Valley Symphony Orchestra. She has performed with a variety of groups, including South Dakota Symphony, Kantorei, Mankato Symphony, Exultate, Mannheim Steamroller, Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra (as associate concertmaster and principal violist), Sioux City Symphony and Cherokee Symphony, and has attended the Bravo! And Northern Lights Music Festivals. Erika has been on the violin faculty of MacPhail Center for the Arts, St. Joseph's School of Music, and Dordt College in Sioux Center, IA. Currently, she teaches private lessons in her home in St. Paul where she resides with her husband and three children. Huldah Niles is an accomplished violinist and violist. Ms. Niles received both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Violin Performance from the University of Minnesota under the tutelage of Sally O'Reilly. She has also studied viola with Thomas Turner, Principal Viola of the Minnesota Orchestra. Ms. Niles currently plays with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra and as Principal 2nd Violin for the Mankato Symphony. She is also a substitute for the Minnesota Orchestra on both violin and viola. Ms. Niles is a regular guest performer at the Music on the Hill chamber music series in Mankato, MN. Ms. Niles has performed with a wide range of artists including Mannheim Steamroller, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Natalie MacMaster, Vocal Essence, and Kantorei. Huldah began her music studies on violin at the age of five at the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City, Iowa with Doris Preucil (William Preucil's mother). Through the Preucil School of music, Huldah traveled to Japan with a group of peers from the Cleveland Institute of Music where they played for Dr. Suzuki at his private residence and for the Prince and Princess of Japan in Tokyo. Ms. Niles has also attended many summer music festivals including Chautauqua Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Bravo!, and Rocky Ridge Music Festival. A native of Fairport, NY, Jeffrey Erbland was privileged to enroll in the Eastman School of Music's college preparatory school in his younger years. After receiving diplomas in both Cello Performance and Music Theory from the school, Mr. Erbland continued on to receive his B.M. in Cello Performance from the Wheaton College Conservatory in Wheaton, IL. He has received instruction from Rochester Philharmonic members Polly Hunsberger and Kathleen Murphy Kemp, along with Linc Smelser of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Tanya Lesinsky Carey. Mr. Erbland has traveled domestically and abroad with various regional and honors symphonies, and has performed regularly with the Tulip Chamber Players and the Wheaton Chamber Players. He has studied chamber music with members of the Ying Quartet and the Chicago Lyric Opera's Sharon Polifrone, participating in master classes with Martin Beaver of the Tokyo String Quartet and Peter Slowik of Oberlin Conservatory. Mr. Erbland currently performs regularly with the Mill City String Quartet and the Mankato Symphony Orchestra. He runs a small home teaching studio, teaches at the Linden Hills House of Music, and recently graduated with his M.M. at the University of Minnesota, studying under the instruction of Tanya Remenikova.

Tracks:
1.1 Winter Wonderland
1.2 Let It Snow
1.3 He Is Born, the Holy Child
1.4 Little Drummer Boy
1.5 O Come, All Ye Faithful
1.6 Tannenbaum, Oh!
1.7 Jingle Bells
1.8 March (From the Nutcracker Suite)
1.9 Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (From the Nutcracker Suite)
1.10 Arabian Dance (From the Nutcracker Suite)
1.11 What Child Is This?
1.12 We Three Kings in 3 Be We
1.13 Silent Night
1.14 Angels We Have Heard on High
1.15 Fiddlin' on the Housetop
1.16 Frosty the Snowman
1.17 Jingle Bell Rock
1.18 Yeah, Joy
1.19 The Coventry Carol
1.20 The Holly and the Ivy
1.21 We Wish You a Merry Tango