Innocenti Strings LLC is proud to have the Mill City String Quartet among its roster of talented musicians comprised of Angela Hanson, Erika Hoogeveen, Huldah Niles, and Jeffrey Erbland. The four professional Twin Cities musicians are dedicated to excellence in performance and education.
The quartet was founded in Minneapolis/St. Paul during the fall of 2007. Their goal was to rehearse regularly, studying and performing the major works in the classical repertoire. During the first two years, the quartet played at schools, churches, weddings, and other special events, establishing their presence in the Cities. In the summer of 2008, a concert and master class was given at Monticello high school, which was very well received. The quartet has plans to return to this venue.
June 2009 marked the culmination of two years' work and the first full recital for the group. The event came off as a huge success, thanks to regular coachings from cellist and artistic director of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association, Tom Rosenberg. It was noted by many that the group played with precision and musicality.
The ensemble is embarking on a new chapter of its existence, redefining themselves as a prominent chamber group in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and working towards the goal of performing multiple recitals in 2010.
Angela Waterman-Hanson completed a doctor of music arts degree in violin performance at the University of Minnesota, where she studied with Sally O'Reilly. Originally from Wheaton, Illinois, Hanson has a bachelor of music degree in violin performance from St. Olaf College, where she studied with Charles Gray, and a master's degree in violin performance also from the University of Minnesota. A member of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra (and concertmaster during the 2006-2007 season), Hanson performs often as a substitute violinist for the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. She was recently named the concertmaster for the Dakota Valley Symphony in Burnsville, and also plays regularly with the Mill City String Quartet and the Minnesota Sinfonia. Hanson has performed with many other groups including the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Josh Groban, Vocal Essence, Kantorei, the South Dakota Symphony, the Wheaton Symphony, and the Chicago Youth Symphony, and has attended the Aspen, Bravo!, and Kent/Blossom Music Festivals. Hanson currently teaches violin lessons in the twin cities area at Bethel University, Grace Free Lutheran Church/Heritage Christian Academy, the Association Free Lutheran Bible School (AFLBS), and at her home in Coon Rapids, where she lives with her husband, Andrew
Erika Hoogeveen received her Master's degree in violin performance and Suzuki pedagogy at the University of Minnesota, studying with Sally O'Reilly. In 2004, she began a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conjunction with her Master's degree, but after a year put her DMA studies on hold with the arrival of her first child. Erika's Bachelor of Arts degree in violin performance was completed at Dordt College in Sioux Center, IA, studying with Rick Lohmann and Margaret Carpenter. As a winner of Young Artist Competitions for the Cherokee Symphony and the South Dakota Symphony, she had the privilege of soloing with both orchestras. She also performed twice as a soloist with the Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra. Erika has participated in the Bravo Music Festival and the Northern Lights Music Festival. A founding member of the Mill City String Quartet, she also regularly performs with the South Dakota Symphony. Other groups she has played with include Kantorei, the Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra (as associate concertmaster and principal violist), the Sioux City Symphony, and the Cherokee Symphony. Erika has been on the violin faculty of MacPhail Center for the Arts, St. Joseph's School of Music, and Dordt College in Sioux Center, IA. Currently, she teaches private lessons in her home in St. Paul where she resides with her husband and two children
Huldah Niles is an accomplished violinist and violist. Ms. Niles currently plays with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra and as Principal 2nd Violin for the Mankato Symphony. She is also a substitute for the Minnesota Orchestra on both violin and viola. Huldah began her music studies on violin at the age of five at the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City, Iowa with Doris Preucil (William Preucil's mother). Through the Preucil School of music, Huldah traveled to Japan with a group of peers from the Cleveland Institute of Music where they played for Dr. Suzuki at his private residence and for the Prince and Princess of Japan in Tokyo. Ms. Niles received both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Violin Performance from the University of Minnesota under the tutelage of Sally O'Reilly. She has also studied viola with Thomas Turner, Principal Viola of the Minnesota Orchestra
A native of Fairport, NY, Jeffrey Erbland was privileged to enroll in the Eastman School of Music's college preparatory school in his younger years. After receiving diplomas in both Cello Performance and Music Theory from the school, Mr. Erbland continued on to receive his B.M. in Cello Performance from the Wheaton College Conservatory in Wheaton, IL. He has received instruction from Rochester Philharmonic members Polly Hunsberger and Kathleen Murphy Kemp, along with Linc Smelser of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Tanya Lesinsky Carey. Mr. Erbland's orchestral endeavors have been of both domestic and international natures, taking him to numerous states and seven European countries with various regional and honors symphonies. Jeffrey has performed regularly with the Tulip Chamber Players and the Wheaton Chamber Players, along with various community and church organizations. He has studied chamber music with members of the Ying Quartet and the Chicago Lyric Opera's Sharon Polifrone; he has also participated in master classes with Martin Beaver of the Tokyo String Quartet and Peter Slowik of Oberlin Conservatory. Mr. Erbland plays regularly with the Mill City String Quartet, the Lirica Chamber Ensemble, and is a substitute cellist with the Mankato Symphony Orchestra. He runs a small home teaching studio, and is on faculty at Grace Music Academy in Andover, MN, along with the Linden Hills House of Music.
