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B O U T O U R C O N D U C T O R
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Josh
Aerie is
an experienced educator, conductor, chamber musician, and
performing and recording artist. He received his Master
of Music degree in Cello Performance from the University
of Colorado in 2002, and completed his undergraduate work
at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Oberlin College, where
he received both a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance
and a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Anthropology.
Mr. Aerie was the cellist of the Nacht String Quartet, the
University of Colorado’s Graduate Quartet from 2000
to 2002. Mentored by the Grammy-winning Takacs Quartet,
the Nacht won both first prize and the audience choice award
in the Bruce Ekstrand Memorial Competition in December 2001.
They were then invited to be the inaugural quartet in an
exchange and residency program with the Hans Eisler Conservatory
in Berlin. Subsequently, the Quartet spent 8 weeks in Germany,
performing in Berlin, Lichterfelde, and Bielefeld.
In the summer of 2004 he moved to Northern Virginia from
Los Angeles where he was a successful freelancer and teacher.
While in Southern California he was a regular cellist in
many orchestras, including the Riverside Philharmonic, the
San Bernardino Symphony, the Los Angeles Debut Orchestra,
and the Golden State Pops. While in the Washington, D.C.
area Mr. Aerie performed with the National Philharmonic,
Maryland Symphony, Baltimore Concert Artists, Fairfax Symphony,
Roanoke Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, and the National
Cathedral Orchestra. Additionally, he performed for various
dignitaries, including Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary
of Veterans’ Affairs Anthony Principi, foreign ambassadors,
and members of congress at such venues as the Kennedy Center,
Strathmore Hall, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian
museums.
Mr. Aerie currently lives in Duluth, Minnesota, and is on
the music faculty at both the College of St. Scholastica
and Mesabi Range Community and Technical College. At St.
Scholastica he is the Cello and Beginning Violin Instructor,
and teaches music courses for the school’s Emeritus
College program. At Mesabi College he is the primary Music
Course Instructor, Strings Instructor, and is Artistic Director
and Conductor of the Mesabi Community Orchestra. Mr. Aerie
is also Artistic Director and Conductor of the Red Cedar
Symphony Orchestra, and conducts the Duluth Community Orchestra.
Most recently, in the spring of 2009, he was appointed the
new Music Director and Conductor of the Heartland Symphony
Orchestra, based in the Brainerd/Little Falls Minnesota
area. In the summer of 2007, he founded the Woodland Chamber
Music Workshop which provides adult amateur chamber musicians
an annual opportunity to come together for coachings, seminars,
and performances on the picturesque North Shore of Lake
Superior.
Mr. Aerie has performed numerous public cello recitals in
the Northland, collaborated with the area’s foremost
musicians in chamber music, and is a founding member of
the Gichigami Piano Trio. He has numerous recording credits,
including on United Artists and Vitamin Records labels,
and on film soundtracks. He has appeared on nationally-syndicated
television programs and national tours. Closer to home,
plays in the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and the
Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, and has served as Principal
Cellist of both the Duluth Festival Opera and Lyric Opera
of the North.
Mr. Aerie enjoys teaching and maintains an active studio.
He has conducted master classes and coached various ensembles,
and is sought after as a judge for competitions and auditions.
While at Oberlin, he was Instructor of Cello in both the
Conservatory’s String Preparatory Program and the
Secondary Lesson Program. While residing in the Washington,
D.C. area, he coached and conducted for the Washington D.C.
Youth Orchestra Program, the American Youth Philharmonic
Orchestra, and the Capital Cello Circle.
An outspoken proponent for music and arts in education and
the community at-large, Mr. Aerie serves on the Board of
Directors for the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, Sacred
Heart Music Center in Duluth, and the St. Croix Guild in
St. Paul. Additionally, he is Artistic Advisor to the Arrowhead
Center for the Arts in Virginia, Minnesota. |
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B O U T H E A R T L A N D
S Y M P H O N Y |
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O A R D O F
D I R E C T O R S
Sarah Fogderud - President
Michelle Sakry-Winkeman - Vice President
Susan Kavanaugh - Vice President
Mona Steinke- Treasurer
Helen O'Brien - Secretary
Betty Alderman
Echo Kowalzek
Mary Voigt
Dustin Austreng
Maren Sederquist
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R T I S T I C
S T A F F
Josh Aerie, Conductor
Leslie Zander, Concert Master
O F F I C E S T
A F F
Fran Dosh, Orchestra
Manager
Dawn Buehner - Business Manager
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The Heartland Symphony Orchestra (HSO)
was founded in 1977 by a group of musicians
from Little Falls and Brainerd with Hazel
Johnson Wunsch of Long Prairie serving as
the first conductor. The HSO has provided
live orchestra concert performances and other
musical opportunities in Little Falls, Brainerd
and surrounding communities for 30 years now.
The goals of the symphony are (1) to offer
local musicians and students an opportunity
for symphonic training and performance, (2)
to provide central Minnesota residents with
cultural and musical enrichment through live
symphony concerts and other special programs,
and (3) to partner with central Minnesota
educational institutions in developing outstanding
music education programs for area youth.
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S O L E A D E R S H I P
& S T A F F
The Heartland
Symphony Orchestra is governed by a 20-member
volunteer Board of Directors, half of whom
are from the Little Falls area and half from
the Brainerd area. These board members are
elected to 3-year rotating terms by the HSO
membership each June. The two geographic
areas alternate in naming the Board President
and Vice-President each year. All directors
actively serve on committees concerning many
aspects of running the orchestra, including
concert production, fundraising, public relations,
and managing personnel. In order to carry
out all of its programs, the HSO also engages
a Music Director, Concert Master, Orchestra
Manager, Business Manager, and many volunteers.
(Click here
to view HSO volunteer opportunities.)
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S O P R O G R A M S
The HSO performs three
full-length orchestral music concerts in both
Little Falls and Brainerd each year, as well
as occasional outreach concerts in neighboring
communities upon invitation. The fall concert
usually features a professional guest soloist
of the conductor’s choice, who not only performs
with the orchestra but often presents music
clinics in local schools while in the area.
The winter or Christmas concert often involves
local or regional solo artists, choir, or
other ensemble in a holiday setting. The
spring concert each year features two youth
soloists drawn from area schools, who are
selected from HSO’s annual Youth Concerto
Auditions. (Click
here to view current concert season.)
Besides these live concerts, the HSO also
engages its conductor, guest artists and musicians
to present music education clinics in area
schools, offers ticket give-away programs
to schools and youth groups, and provides
special training for its own musicians. (Click
here for more information about these HSO
special programs.)
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S O M U S I C I A N S
The Heartland
Symphony Orchestra players number well over
fifty volunteers drawn from this Central Minnesota
region, including Little Falls, Brainerd,
and the surrounding communities of Aitkin,
Aldrich, Backus, Baxter, Bemidji, Breezy Point,
Browerville, Collegeville, Crosslake, Fort
Ripley, Hillman, Long Prairie, Mora, Nisswa,
Onamia, Osakis, Pequot Lakes, Perham, Pine
River, Rice, Sartell, St. Cloud, St Joseph,
Sauk Rapids, Staples, Swanville, Verndale,
Wadena and Walker. Musicians in the orchestra
have a variety of musical training, ranging
from adults who have studied their instrument
in college or teach professionally, to adults
who have just recently began studying an instrument,
to local high school musicians who are trying
to broaden their playing experiences. All
ages are welcome and encouraged to participate.
(For
information about joining the HSO, call 1-800-826-1997
or
email us at info@heartlandsymphony.org.)
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S O A U D I E N C E
The HSO
strives to appeal to a variety of music lovers,
including young children, teens, adults and
senior citizens and continually works to attract
new audience members. Since bringing in an
audience is of great importance both for the
orchestra and for perpetuating classical music
itself, every effort is made to keep ticket
prices as low as possible. And, thanks to
grant subsidy, the HSO is able to give several
free tickets away to children and families
each season. Ticket availability in all communities
is advertised by a season brochure mailing
in the fall and then through board members,
players, and regional print, radio and television
media.
(Click here to email us for a free season
brochure) Adult, Senior, Student
and Family tickets are available for the season
or single concert tickets can be purchased
at:
Bridge of Harmony
Brainerd Dispatch
Bookin' It - Little Falls
Great River Arts - Little Falls (Click
here for more ticket information.)
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