Songs of Silverstolpe, Mendelssohn and Schumann are featured March 2

PLEASE NOTE -- THIS CONCERT HAS BEEN CANCELED.

On Saturday, March 2, at 8 p.m. in Barnes Hall, soprano Rebecca Ferguson and fortepianist Lars Haugbro present an evening of songs by 18th-century Swedish composer Fredrik Silverstolpe, Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann, beginning with five Mendelssohn lieder. Two sets of songs by Silverstolpe are then featured. Following intermission, Ferguson and Haugbro present Schumann's cycle of 12 songs, Liederkreis, op. 39.

Ferguson, who has given solo concerts in London and Geneva, is an avid recitalist who specializes in unusual programs. She was invited to Ferrara, Italy, to perform songs by Schubert's lesser-known contemporaries and has constructed art-song recitals based on themes including "Children in Song" and "Parting, Longing and Return" for American audiences.

Ferguson also is a scholar, currently pursuing a Ph.D. in musicology at Cornell, where she has been recognized for her superior commitment to teaching as well as performing. Her most recent local performances include a unique program composed almost entirely of songs about gardens and flowers, with pianist Blaise Bryski, and a joint recital with her teacher, Associate Professor Judith Kellock, in Cornell's Poulenc Festival in April 2000, as well as other collaborations with Haugbro, Bryski and Geoffrey Govier.

From Oslo, Norway, Haugbro made his orchestral debut with the Oslo Philharmonic in 1979 and his recital debut in 1982. In the same year, he received his master of music degree from the University of Oslo. In 1984 Haugbro received the higher diploma in piano from the State Academy of Music, also in Oslo. He has given recitals in the United States, Scandinavia, Italy, France, Russia and Spain as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. Haugbro has recorded frequently for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corp., including a series of major contemporary works by Norwegian composers. For the past 15 years, he has been teaching piano at two junior colleges and at the State Academy of Music in Oslo.

After an accident in 1989 that prevented him from using the pedals of the piano, he started to study music from the 18th century. In 1998 Haugbro begun studying the fortepiano and currently is a student of Professor Malcolm Bilson in the doctor of musical arts program at Cornell.