PRESS ROOM

August 8, 2005

TO BE CERTAIN OF THE DAWN
BIOGRAPHIES

Michael Dennis Browne
As a librettist, Michael Dennis Browne has written many texts for music, principally with composers Stephen Paulus and John Foley, S.J. Browne has taught at the University of Iowa, Columbia University, Bennington College and, since 1971, the University of Minnesota, where he is a Distinguished Teaching Professor of English, former director of the creative writing program, and Fesler-Lampert Professor in Humanities for 2005-2006.

Browne's poems have been published in many magazines and anthologies, including TriQuarterly, The Iowa Review, The New Yorker and The American Poetry Review. He has authored six poetry collections, most recently Things I Can't Tell You (Carnegie Mellon Press, 2005), and is the recipient of Minnesota Book Awards for poetry in 1993 and 1998. A picture book, Give Her the River, was published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers in 2004.

Reverend Michael J. O'Connell
Father O'Connell is rector of the Basilica of Saint Mary and pastor of Church of the Ascension, both in Minneapolis. Under his leadership the Basilica has experienced dramatic growth - from 900 households in 1985 to more than 5,000 today. Also during Father O'Connell's tenure, the Basilica community established and continues to sustain the annual Basilica Block Party, has carried out three successful capital campaigns to preserve and enhance its historic building, and expanded educational programs and increased ministries to the poor.

Father O'Connell previously served as pastor of St. Cecilia's in St. Paul, associate pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle in Minneapolis, director of the archdiocesan Permanent Deaconate Program, director of vocations, and vicar general and Moderator of the Curia for the archdiocese in more than 35 years as a Roman Catholic priest. He is also an active member of the Downtown Interfaith Association, which promotes dialogue and understanding among the clergy and congregants of Minneapolis Jewish, Protestant, Christian, Catholic and Islamic congregations. Known as a visionary and an adept fundraiser, Father O'Connell is acknowledged as a leader in the Twin Cities community.

Stephen Paulus
A renowned composer and longtime Minnesota Orchestra collaborator, Paulus' prolific output of more than 200 works covers many genres including music for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensembles, solo voice, keyboard and opera. Paulus has received commissions from the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Houston Symphony and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Paulus has served as composer in-residence for the orchestras of Atlanta, Minnesota, Tucson and Annapolis, and his works have been championed by such eminent conductors as Sir Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur, Christoph von Dohanyi, Leonard Slatkin, Yoel Levi, and the late Robert Shaw, among others.

Paulus also has been commissioned to write works for numerous solo artists, has written eight works for the dramatic stage, and has had his choral works performed and recorded by some of the most distinguished choruses in the U.S. including the New York Concert Singers and the Dale Warland Singers.

Osmo Vänskä
Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä became the Minnesota Orchestra's tenth music director in September 2003. Praised for his intense and dynamic performances, Vänskä is recognized for compelling interpretations of the standard, contemporary and Nordic repertoires, as well as the close rapport he establishes with the musicians he leads. In his initial seasons in Minnesota, Vänskä has drawn acclaim for concerts both at home and abroad. He has led the orchestra on a major European tour, been named 2005 "Conductor of the Year" by Musical America and drawn ongoing international acclaim for his first all-Beethoven disc with the Minnesota Orchestra - part of a five-year, five-disc project to record the complete Beethoven symphonies.

Vänskä also serves as music director of the Lahti (Finland) Symphony, an ensemble he has transformed into one of Finland's flagship orchestras, and is the former music director of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra of Glasgow. He has guest conducted the world's top orchestras, ranging from the Chicago Symphony and New York Philharmonic in the U.S. to the Berlin Philharmonic and London Philharmonic abroad. An accomplished clarinetist, Vänskä began his career as co-principal clarinetist in the Helsinki Philharmonic. He recently extended his tenure with the Minnesota Orchestra through 2011.

Rabbi Marcia A. Zimmerman
Rabbi Zimmerman has been the senior rabbi of Minneapolis' Temple Israel since 2001, and was the first female rabbi to serve a congregation of Temple's size. Rabbi Zimmerman is the current president of the Minnesota Rabbinical Association and is a member of the Executive Committee for the Minneapolis Jewish Federation; the Downtown Clergy Association; and the Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP Foundation. She is active in interfaith relations, serving on the Program Committee for the Phillips Jewish Christian Learning Center at the University of St. Thomas.

Rabbi Zimmerman was recently elected to the Board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). In addition to serving on the National Outreach Commission for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Zimmerman is a former member of the Board of the Jewish Family and Children's Service. A founding member of the Minnesota Religious Coalition for Reproductive Rights, she received its Faith and Freedom Circle of Honor Award. Rabbi Zimmerman has also taught at Augsburg Weekend College and Macalester College.

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