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2011 Duluth Santa Fun Run and Walk - What Fun!

December 17, 2011

The DSSO organized the first annual 2.5 mile Duluth Santa Fun Run and Walk which took place this past Saturday, December 17th.  The event raised $750 and four boxes of food.  Proceeds will benefit CHUM and the DSSO Youth Ensembles.  We hope this becomes an annual tradition so dust off your running shoes, get your santa hat ready and join us next year for this fun event!

DSSO Gives New Year's Eve Concert tickets to 148th Families

December 16, 2011

The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra presented 180 tickets to the New Year's Eve event that will allow families with the 148th Fighter Wing to enjoy the performance of the Peking Acrobats at no charge.

Joining Rebecca Petersen, Executive Director, in the presentation was Joe Konradt, president of National Bank of Commerce; the bank is the lead sponsor of the New Year's Eve performance.

Accepting the tickets were Jennifer Kuhlman and Jody Stauber whose work on behalf of the families of the 148th is greatly appreciated.

First DSSO Music Director Candidate Arrives in Duluth

September 9, 2011

On Tuesday September 13, 2011 the first of five candidates for the position of Music Director with the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra will arrive in Duluth.  Rei Hotoda, current Assistant Conductor with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will conduct the DSSO on Saturday September 17, 2011.  The concert program, designed by Hotoda, includes Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 as well as Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky/Revel.

This is the first of two appearances Ms Hotoda will make in Duluth.  In April she will conduct the DSSO for a Pops concert; An Evening of Beach Boy Favorites.

Prior to her on stage appearance with the orchestra, Hotoda will meet with various groups and individuals in the community.  She will also visit the Superior Senior High School Orchestras on Wednesday September 14.  From 8:00am until 9:00am, she will met with the Concert Orchestra, she will return to Superior Senior High School at 12:30 when she will meet with Spartan Orchestra.

On Thursday, September 15, she will host the DSSO’s debut of Urban Overtures at Black Water Lounge from 5:00pm until 6:30pm.  Urban Overtures is a new DSSO program designed for young professional who are interested in expanding their concert experience.  Ms Hotoda will give a short presentation on the DSSO concert coming up on Saturday September 17.  There will be a complimentary appetizer buffet, and everyone attending Urban Overtures will receive a discount voucher for the Saturday concert.  

On Friday, September 16, Ms Hotoda will meet residents of the Benedictine Health Center from 10:00am  to 11:00am

Saturday evening, September 17, at 8:00am in Symphony Hall at the DECC.   Rei Hotoda will open the DSSO’s 80th season conducting the first Masterworks concert of the season.

Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra names new board members and chair-elect.

July 25, 2011

The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra (DSSO) held it’s Annual Meeting on June 22nd at the Kitchi Gammi Club.   At that meeting, board President Mary Ann Ulishney announced the appointment of four new board members, and the chair-elect.

Nancy Hutchinson,  Mark Danielson, Chris Hill and Mary Katherine Cohen have joined the DSSO board for 3 year terms.

Hutchinson is the Senior Vice President of Minnesota Power Employees Credit Union.

Danielson is Vice President of Wells-Fargo Investment Management and Trust.

Cohen is an attorney with the law firm Orman, Nord and Hurd.

Hill is the Director of Recruitment for US Bank Human Resources.

At the same meeting, Monte Wittmann was selected to serve as Chair-elect for the fiscal year ending in June 2012.  Wittmann is recently retired ISD 709 school principal.  His last position was principal at Lowell School, a music magnet school.

Duluth Superior Symphony Association Board of Directors announces appointment of new Executive Director

June 6, 2011

Duluth, MN —On Wednesday, June 01, 2011 Mary Ann Ulishney, Board Chair, announced the appointment of Rebecca Lynn Petersen to the position of Executive Director of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra (DSSO). Petersen, Executive Director of A Center for the Arts in Fergus Falls, will start her new job in early July. She succeeds Andrew Berryhill who joined the DSSO in April of 2002 and resigned this year on March 31.

No stranger to Duluth, Petersen spent her freshman and sophomore years at UMD before moving on to the University of Vermont in Burlington where she received her BA degree in music. She notes that her love for the city of Duluth and our great lake was instantly rekindled when she came here to interview for the position. She also remarked that during her UMD years she had studied violin with a musician who still plays with the DSSO.

As Executive Director of the Fergus Falls organization for the past eighteen years she has built a strong and capable staff while producing and hosting a wide array of arts programming, including folk, chamber, and jazz music series, theater and holiday series, and a wide variety of literary, visual arts and film events. Such ambitious programming could not happen without contributed income and grant support, let alone ticket sales; in that respect too, Petersen shines. Besides serving on numerous not-for-profit boards where trustee participation in fund raising is nearly obligatory, she has written grant applications securing nearly $1.5 million for the Center.

In addition to her impressive management skills, Ulishney notes that Petersen nourishes her passion for symphonic music by continuing to play violin with the Fargo Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, and the Fargo Moorhead Opera as well as playing viola and violin in a local string trio. Ulishney adds "we are fortunate to have hired Rebecca who brings a perfect blend of management and leadership talents and a track record of organizational growth and development". Not surprisingly, those musicians from the Orchestra, with whom she met while interviewing for the job, expressed enthusiastic support for her appointment.

Following her graduation, she studied Child Development & Music Therapy at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and subsequently worked as an Early Childhood teacher and Administrative Assistant at the MacPhail Center for the Arts in Minneapolis, and performed with the Minneapolis Civic Orchestra. She has served on a wide variety of volunteer boards, participated in many organizational collaborations, and received wide professional recognition.

In her own words:"During the past two decades I have learned a lot about how to manage people and organizations – both from my experiences with A Center for the Arts in Fergus Falls and with the Fargo Moorhead Symphony and Fargo Moorhead Opera. I am so excited to combine these skill sets as I embark on my new life and new position in Duluth with the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra. I'm also incredibly excited about the strategic plan the Board has developed and their focus on Education, Outreach, Long Term Stability and Communication. I have a passion for all of these!"

Music Director announces departure in 2013

June 23, 2010

Duluth, MN — The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra (DSSO) held its annual meeting June 23, 2010, at the Kitchi Gammi Club.

Markand Thakar (the DSSOs music director since 2000, only the eighth in the Orchestra's history, and the third longest tenure as music director in its 78 years), announced that he will be leaving the DSSO after the 2012-2013 season. In a written statement Markand said, "During my tenure as music director of the DSSO we have made extraordinary progress together as a performing ensemble, and I take great pride in our achievements. But at some point it becomes essential for both me and the Orchestra to take on new challenges and new inspirations. This has been one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made, but with the Orchestra performing at historically high levels, with the audiences large and enthusiastic, and with the classical concerts flourishing financially, now seems like a most opportune time to take the plunge. I will always cherish my years in Duluth, and will do anything I can to help the DSSO and its musicians."

Thakar will continue as the DSSOs Music Director through the 2012-2013 season. He will conduct ten concerts in 2010-2011, including all seven classical performances. During the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons, he will conduct selected concerts and music director candidates will guest-conduct the remaining concerts. The DSSO Board will create a search committee beginning its work later this summer.

"Markand has been an invaluable part of our organization and an important contributor to our community. He will be greatly missed by all," said Helena Jackson, outgoing DSSO board chair.

Thakar will next lead the DSSO at two free concerts: July 3rd at Grand Casino Hinckley and July 4th at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth.

Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra Music Directors and their tenures are noted below. Of note, Markand Thakar holds the third longest tenure in the DSSOs 78 year history.

Paul Lemay (1932-1942) Tauno Hannikainen (1942-1947) Joseph Wagner (1947-1950) Hermann Herz (1950-1967) Joseph Hawthorne (1967-1977) Taavo Virkhaus (1977-1995) Yong-yan Hu (1995-2000) Markand Thakar (2000-2013)