Bethany Gonella
  • Home
  • Biography
  • News & Events
  • Recordings
  • Lessons
  • Hire
  • Contact

News & Events

Upcoming Performances and Events

Fri-Sat, March 11-12: Minnesota Sinfonia: Goldstein & Mozart - Amazing!

Thurs-Sat, March 17-19: Minnesota Orchestra:  Vänskä Conducts Mahler's Ninth

Tuesday, March 29: Minnesota Orchestra: Afkam Conducts Schumann

Saturday, April 2: South Dakota Symphony Orchestra 

Wednesday, April 13: Søndergård Conducts La Mer

Sun, May 1: MN Youth Symphonies spring concert featuring two of Bethany's students, one of whom is performing as a soloist with the orchestra since she won the 2022 MYS concerto competition!

Sat-Sun, May 14-15: GTCYS (youth symphonies) spring festival featuring several of Bethany's students

May 7-22: Minnesota Opera: Carmen

Sat, June 4: Bethany's students will perform in an end-of-year studio recital


Recent Performances and Events

Sunday, March 6: Vocalessence: Witness: Rejoice!

February 5-13: Minnesota Opera: The Anonymous Lover

Thurs-Sat, Jan 27-29: Minnesota Orchestra: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Saturday, January 22: South Dakota Symphony Orchestra 

Saturday, January 8-16: Chione Quintet recitals at Hamline, Marine Candlelight Series,  Fridays in the Valley Concert Series, Lakeville Coffee Concert Series

Summer-fall Minnesota Orchestra performances:  Black Panther, Edo de Waart's 80th Birthday Celebration, Vänskä Conducts Romeo and Juliet, Osmo Vänskä and Joshua Bell, summer opening concert, summer finale concert

Wednesday, September 22: MN Opera: ÓPERA AFUERA (Opera Outdoors) at Allianz Field

​Saturday, September 18:  Online premiere of Chione Quintet's music video "Stop for Equity," a new work by Gary Powell Nash commissioned and recorded  as part of the Breathe Collective

Saturday, September 4: Film Score Fest in Mears Park

July 2020: Bethany played the Claude Bolling Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano with the Skål Chamber Collective at a fun outdoor event.

​July 2020: Chione quINTENS!VE: The Chione Quintet runs an annual chamber music day camp open to all students playing flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn or bassoon who are entering grades 7-12.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and safety measures, the 2021 quINTENS!VE summer camp was smaller than usual, but it was a very fulfilling experience for those involved.


Supporting the Arts during the Pandemic

COVID-19 halted most live performances of classical music for more than a year, and many arts organizations, arts-connected businesses and individuals are still struggling.  If you are able to donate to a local arts organization, an emergency fund to help support arts organizations, or an emergency fund that is helping out-of-work individual artists (many of whom are unable to benefit from emergency resources such as unemployment insurance due to structural issues in our social safety net failing to provide for individuals with mixed W-2/1099/self-employment income - please contact your legislators!), you can make a huge difference in sustaining important cultural, educational, and economic opportunities that enrich our society and drive our economy so that they can adapt and continue to exist after this difficult time.

The Chione Quintet constantly pursues opportunities to create further arts programming, both online and in-person, to give access to arts for young students and adults alike, no matter how the pandemic situation might continue.  They are currently commissioning new works for educational outreach and other performances, both independently and as a part of the Breathe Collective.  They also provide need-based scholarships to students who attend quINTENS!VE chamber music camp.  Chione accepts donations at any time (as a 501c3 nonprofit); any amount will help support Chione's work to collaborate with living composers and artists and to provide arts access for students and audience members of all ages and walks of life.
Picture
Photo by Leta Albrecht
​     
Picture
PictureThe Chione Quintet
During the 2020-2021 season, most live performing was canceled.  Bethany recorded alto flute parts for MN Opera's youtube premiere of "Chim Lạc (Lost Bird)" by Charlie McCarron and Oanh Vu as well as flute parts for Charlie McCarron's album "2020."   During the summer and early fall of 2020, the Chione Quintet made outdoor video recordings to share as educational outreach materials for Dakota County Arts in the Park, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR)'s Class Notes program, MacPhail School of Music's educational programming, and several public libraries' programming.  They enjoyed getting to interact with students during some live online programming through MPR Class Notes.  At the end of the season, Bethany enjoyed returning to play the final South Dakota Symphony Orchestra concert.  The Chione Quintet commissioned and recorded a new work by Gary Powell Nash as part of the Breathe Collective; the video will be premiered in September.

During the 2019-2020 season, before the pandemic, Bethany played as acting second flutist of Minnesota Opera, assistant principal flutist South Dakota Symphony, and the flutist of Chione Quintet (which performed at a wide variety of locations, performing both educational concerts and formal classical concerts for audiences of all ages).  She also performed as a substitute with Minnesota Orchestra and in a variety of freelance settings.  After the pandemic began, live performances were canceled for the remainder of the season. ​

PictureBethany Gonella and Paul Jacobson perform at the Lyra Baroque Orchestra's annual fundraising gala
Bethany's students have continued to learn and grow through online lessons since the pandemic hit.  They have refined their recording skills and grown immensely during the process of making solo videos for online recitals, and family members near and far enjoyed joining in to celebrate their hard work.  In spring 2021, they learned how to record ensemble parts with click track recordings so that they could "play with the other parts" while recording, and their end-of-year recital featured a lovely combination of solo and combined ensemble videos.   In December 2020, many of Bethany's students recorded performances for Upper Midwest Flute Association's Marathon Flute Concert (online) and helped the event to successfully raise funds for UMFA's flute student scholarship program. 

Online group lessons co-taught with Jenna Gullickson enabled students to continue being part of a supportive peer group of musicians as everyone adjusted to a new "normal."   Several of Bethany's students continued to play in Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies and Minnesota Youth Symphonies (either online or in distanced rehearsals), and they worked hard to successfully audition and be accepted into Minnesota all-state band and orchestra.   Several of them pursued opportunities to grow further at summer music camps and master classes such as Chione's quINTENS!VE chamber music camp and Jim Walker's "Beyond the Masterclass."

Proudly powered by Weebly