Rutgers Trio in Concert

The Rutgers Trio is Janara Kellerman, mezzo-soprano; Susan Poliacik, cello; and Mary Nelson, piano. Admission is free; donations for the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter will be accepted.

About The Artists

Often referred to as “sultry,” “elegant,” and “compelling,” Mezzo-Soprano Janara Kellerman is quickly making a name for herself among opera lovers and critics alike. Hailed by Opera News for her “keen dramatic instincts” and “voluptuous tone,” Ms. Kellerman is delighting audiences throughout the world. Upcoming, Ms. Keller-man will be the Mezzo Soprano soloist in the Verdi Requiem with the Mineola Choral Society. On the concert stage, she has performed the alto solos in Händel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Mass in C Minor, Bach’s St. John’s Passion, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Vivaldi’s Gloria, as well as, Azucena in Il Trovatore and Dalilah in Samson et Dalilah.

Cellist Susan Poliacik majored in music at Indiana U. School of Music and received a MM from Yale School of Music, studying with Aldo Parisot, Fritz Magg, Janos Starker, and George Neikrug. She toured with the Met Opera, the Duke Ellington Band, Luciano Pavarotti’s Farewell tour, and played many seasons with the Joffrey and Alvin Ailey ballet companies. She currently plays with the Long Island Philhar-monic, the Bronx Arts Ensemble and NYGaSP. Susan has performed chamber music across the US, in Asia, Europe, and the Carribean, and she is the cellist of the Kallos Piano Trio, which performed at Rutgers two years ago. Susan is the MS/US cello teacher and chamber and orchestra coach at Riverdale Country School. She recently cut this position back, allowing her to enjoy collaborating with musicians such as Mary Nelson and Janara Kellerman!

A Minnesota native, pianist Mary Nelson is the Director of Music and Organist at Rutgers Presbyterian Church in New York City. As a pianist, organist, and harpsichordist, Ms. Nelson has performed as a soloist and with orchestras in the Midwest, on the East Coast, and in Texas. She played the opening of the Ordway Music Hall in St. Paul, Minnesota as a soloist with the 3M orchestra and she has played with the Nebraska Chamber Orchestra, the Mississippi Valley Chamber Symphony, and Baroque Orchestra of Champaign, Illinois to name a few. She is also a frequent member of regional orchestras throughout Connecticut. Ms. Nelson is one of two music directors at Fairfield County Day School in Fairfield, Connecticut. The choirs and bell choirs perform throughout the region and have recently returned from Italy where performances included masses in Assisi and the Vatican in Rome. The choirs’ final mass at St. Mark’s in Venice had an unexpected ending … the opportunity to sing for the first lady, Michelle Obama and her family.