Rose Winebrenner is a former circus performer and Chicago native. But these days, she's playing the piano.
Peoria area audiences may remember Winebrenner under her Dueling Pianos stage name of Chicago Rose. For a long time, Winebrenner was one of the most highly sought-after dueling pianos players in the Midwest.
Winebrenner is taking a step out of her comfort zone by entering a new format of musical entertainment, an original cabaret-style piano bar show where she will play the piano and flute at the same time.
"It takes two hands to play the flute and it also takes two hands to play the piano, and the way that I do that is with my lockar pedal," she said.
Winebrenner says that being involved in different ensembles, she has met several different people and has made several connections.
"One of the people in the ensemble, his name is Edgar Gabriel. He was a violinist for Cirque De Soleli and they called him up looking for new talent," she said. "He gave them my name and Cirque De Soleil called me up and asked me if I would be interested in auditioning. And of course, I said yes!"
Winebrenner says that the pandemic has given her more practice time and has allowed her to hone her musical and performance skills.
"I had the opportunity because there weren't very many places to perform, obviously we were under lockdown," she said. "Let me tell you, I learned at least 100 new cover songs."
For more information on Winebrenner’s upcoming shows, click here.
