Sahar Hassan
Mezzo-soprano & artistic director
Egyptian American mezzo-soprano Sahar Hassan is committed to bringing lesser-known works to life. Ladyslipper Ensemble was born out of her love for chamber music. Most recently, she performed with Mill City Opera, Out of the Box Opera, and Bold North Baroque Opera. In 2017, she received an Artist Initiative Grant from the state of Minnesota to record a CD of vocal/instrumental chamber music titled The World’s Highway, released on the Centaur label in 2019. Sahar is a 2020 Next Step Fund recipient. She has been on the voice faculties of New England Conservatory’s Division of Preparatory and Continuing Education, Wellesley College, College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University and McNally Smith College of Music. She earned her Masters in Music from the New England Conservatory of Music. She is a certified Alexander Technique teacher.
Helen Chang Haertzen
Artistic Partner
Helen Chang grew up in Massachusetts and studied with Bo Youp Hwang and Roman Totenberg. She attended the Curtis Institute of Music and Salzburg Mozarteum, after which she held the associate and principal second chair with the Bamberg Symphony in Germany. She has recorded the Bach Partitas with Cavalli Records and has appeared as soloist with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra where she is now a member of the first violin section. She plays with the Isles Ensemble and is a 2018 recipient of the Minnesota Artist Initiative Grant. Her CD American Avenues was released in October of 2019 on the Centaur Label.
Jane Cords-O’Hara
cello
Based in Minneapolis, MN, cellist Jane Cords-O’Hara is busy freelance cellist. She is a member of The Knights, Iris Orchestra, Jamison Ensemble and Ladyslipper Ensemble. She has performed, toured and recorded with many other ensembles including St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, MN Opera, Orchestra of St Luke’s, Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Da Capo Chamber Players, SONYC and A Far Cry. Equally comfortable in many styles, Jane has played a large amount of new and spectral music, as well as a more recent venture on baroque cello, and has played with Lyra Baroque, Bach Society of MInnesota and WolfGang ensemble. As a longtime member of the Grammy nominated chamber orchestra The Knights, Jane has played at festivals such as Tanglewood, Ravinia, Ojai, Stillwater and Caramoor, as well as internationally in Germany, Austria, Poland, Ireland and at the Canary Islands music festival. She is a very devoted teacher and has a private studio as well being on faculty at Augsburg University. Jane studied at the RNCM with Hannah Roberts and at Mannes College with Tim Eddy.
Oleg Levin
piano
Dr. Levin is an Adjunct Professor of Piano at the Concordia University, St. Paul, and the piano faculty at the St. Paul Conservatory of Music and InterHarmony International Music Festival, Italy. As a pianist, Dr. Levin has won prizes in a number of local piano competitions, including Schubert Club Competition, Marvin O. Mechelke II Piano Competition, and Hutchinson Music Scholarship. In 2015, Dr. Levin was awarded a fellowship grant by the Minnesota State Arts Board to record a CD of Russian piano music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Dr. Levin maintains an active performance schedule as a soloist and chamber musician. Individuality and creativity have marked the overall pursuit of his musical career.
Charles Block
bass
Charles Block studied double bass at San Francisco State University with Shinji Eshima, and Indiana University with Bruce Bransby. He currently serves as Principal Bass of both Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in Madison and Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra. He can also be heard performing as a substitute with Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Minnesota Opera, Grant Park Symphony, and Lakes Area Music Festival. Past positions include Assistant Principal of Memphis Symphony. Internationally, Charles has worked with RTE Irish National Symphony Orchestra, Macau Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and as guest Principal of Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Mr. Block lives in Minneapolis with his wife Kathryn Nettleman, a member of Minnesota Orchestra, and their daughter Inez.