In 2003, I began playing music with fellow U-M musician, double bassist/composer Evan Premo. Our name, Duo Borealis, was inspired by the northern regions of the United States where we were each raised: Mary from New Hampshire and Evan from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Duo Borealis weaves classical, traditional, folk, and original music. In April 2007 we released our first CD, which features many of Evan’s compositions.
www.duoborealis.com coming soon! I had the distinct pleasure of singing with pianist Wei-Han Wu for two years while a student at the University of Michigan. A truly rare and wonderful musician, Wei-Han has been an ideal partner for a variety of projects, in particular my senior voice recital. Currently, he is a Bard College Conservatory of Music Piano Fellow. In January of 2006, I created a recital of all chamber music that was performed at the University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor, MI. The chamber recital was entitled Moving Landscapes in Music, and engaged the audience through diversity of both musical soundscapes and visual landscapes. I chose to experiment with the audience physically, following the music around the museum much like a tour group would follow a guide. Both the music and the paintings came from a diversity of genres and countries. The works included Dowland lute songs, a Monteverdi soprano duet, Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5 with 8 cellos by Villa-Lobos, Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, Gaelic music, Cole Porter, and original music by Evan Premo. Throughout the evening, both the physical movement and the open dialogue I had with the audience as I introduced each musical piece and painting resulted in not only attentive listeners, but also an environment that encouraged laughter, fun, community, and a new appreciation for the wealth of artwork at the U of M.

I also have a dream of continuing this idea throughout my career, resulting in a to a nation-wide festival in which chamber music concerts are performed in art museums all over the country. Similar to my recital, musicians would be stationed around the museum, and the audience would travel throughout the museum, visiting the music and art “stations.”

Sometimes you’ll find me with a fiddle under my chin. Perhaps I’ll be performing then as part of the Crockpot String Band with double bassist Evan Premo, banjo, guitar, fiddle, cittern, dobro-playing and singer Laurel Premo, and Bob Lester on guitar, dobro, or banjo. We had our debut in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at the Second Sunday Folk Dance series of musician/scientists Bette and Dean Premo in October of 2007.