PROGRAM
Kathryn Mientka:
Hallelujah-Pachelbel Mash-Up, arranged by Doug Montgomery.
Meghan Hund:
Diary of Longing - Sven Voolstra
BIOS
Kathryn Mientka
Kathryn Mientka Farruggia performed internationally to critical acclaim as the pianist in the Mientka Duo, which she and her late husband, Tyme Mientka co-founded in 1983. The Duo gave concerts for 20 years in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and the USA, where they were featured nationally on radio and television. Their debut at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. was received with an enthusiastic standing ovation. They also were featured numerous times on National Public Radio´s Performance Today, and in 1995 they were featured on PBS television in an hour-long documentary, “Almost Famous: the Mientka Duo”. The documentary was subsequently submitted by PBS for an Emmy. The Mientka Duo was the recipient of many honors and awards, including a special prize at the Concours International de Musique de Chambre in Paris.
Kathryn holds a Master’s Degree in Music Performance from the University of Southern California. She taught at Montana State University for two years. Subsequently she and her husband moved to Germany, where they lived for eight years, teaching and touring internationally. In 1995 they moved to Colorado. From 1999 to 2004 they founded and directed an after-school music and dance conservatory, a youth orchestra and a youth choir.
Kathryn founded the Western Slope Concert Series in Colorado, now in its 24th season, and is a founding member, pianist and music arranger in the cross-over Celtic band FEAST, which has toured nationally with great success and has been featured on PBS. Kathryn is founding member of Il Divo Colorado, a singing group which has toured Colorado with great success. She was staff pianist for the vocal faculty for six years at Colorado Mesa University and was staff piano accompanist for the vocal faculty at Northern Arizona University for two years.
Her special crusade is promoting the DS 5.5 narrow-keys keyboard, made by David Steinbuhler especially for small hands. She performs regularly on the keyboard, which fits into her Yamaha grand piano. In 2019 she presented a lecture-demonstration on the narrow keyboard at Northern State University in Flagstaff, for the Arizona State Music Teachers Association. In 2021 she performed a series of three piano recitals on the DS 5.5 at the Homestake Opera House in Lead, South Dakota. The themed lecture recitals were titled The Romantic Piano, The Epic Liszt Sonata, and The Piano through History. Kathryn and her husband Charles Farruggia recently relocated from the Black Hills to the beautiful Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. In December of 2022 they opened “Farruggia’s Music and Supper Club” in Mountain View, Arkansas. The supper club offers Italian cooking by Charles, and following dinner, Kathryn and Charles perform a show. The show features “oldies” songs sung by Charles, an accomplished baritone, and classical piano solos featuring Kathryn. Kathryn performs on her Yamaha C-7 grand piano with the DS 5.5 keyboard.
970-234-7408
Meghan Hund
Meghan was born on December 16, 2015, and discovered her love for music at just 5 years old when she started playing the piano. Since then, her passion for music has grown, and she has learned to play the violin, ukulele, and harp. She is also a proud member of her school choir, where she enjoys singing and sharing her love of music with others. When she’s not making music, Meghan loves staying active by playing basketball and softball. Whether she’s singing, playing an instrument, or enjoying sports, Meghan brings lots of energy, creativity, and joy to everything she does! She studies piano with Kathryn Mientka Farruggia and has recently acquired an Athena piano, which she loves. Meghan lives in Colorado.