Concert Program
Enigma Variations, Op.36: IX. (Nimrod)
Edward Elgar | 28’
​
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
Ludwig van Beethoven | 80'
​
Allegro ma non troppo un poco maestoso
Molto vivace
Adagio molto e cantabile
Presto “Ode to Joy”
Musicians
Ernesto Estigarribia Mussi
Music Director and Conductor
Violin I
Sabrina Tabby, concertmaster*
Abbey Roemer
Essie Commers
Suzanne Klein
Phil Stoltzfus
Travis Waymon
Madeline Halvorson
Mary Flanagan
Andrea Martinson-Venincasa
Violin II
Megan Wehrwein*
Ash Wood
Larysa Giesen
Leon Kobayashi
Katharine Davis
Kait Klammer
Mary Kjell Normandin
Jim Pfau
Todd Westphal
Paula Anderson
Viola
Chris Chelgren*
Jordan Warmath
Murah Hsiung
Siri Olson
Alyssa Inniger
Steve Davis
Heather Philips
Warren Friesen
Cello
Geoffrey Dean*
Sharon Mautner-Rodgers
Lori Smart
Kate Sonsteby
Carrie Stelter
Stephanie Knapper
Valerie Kahler
Andrea Wallick
Ruth Einstein
String Bass
Nadja Gale*
Rolf Erdahl
Henry Specker
Davis Moore
Flutes
Jill Mahr*
Brian Burkett
Donivan Hill
Oboes
Brendon Bushman*
Tabitha Hanson
Clarinets
Chelsea Kimpton*
Melissa Morales
Bassoons
Thea Groth*
Christine Springer
Emma Plehal
Horns
Nicholas Brown*
Alison Sawyer
Ben LeRoy
Eden Hodgins
Melanie Ditter
Trumpets
Stephen Orejudos*
Ray Culp
Trombones
Mike Larson*
Sarah Houle
Bass Trombone
Brooklynne Audette
Timpani
Michelle Roche*
Percussion
Ryan Borden*
Ryan Rader
Cosette Isakson
Librarian
Megan Wehrwein
*principal player
Meet the Musicians
Paraguayan conductor Ernesto Estigarribia Mussi is highly regarded for his versatility and effervescent style on and off the podium. Hailed for his “expert direction” by Fanfare magazine, he was named the Music Director of the MSO in 2021. In addition, Ernesto has conducted the Quad City Symphony, La Crosse Symphony, Dubuque Symphony, St. Cloud Symphony, Rochester Symphony, Orquesta de Cámara del Centro del Conocimiento (Argentina), Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional-Paraguay and is the most frequent guest conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica del Congreso Nacional (Paraguay). Ernesto is also the Music Director of the Sheboygan Symphony and Director of Orchestral Activities at Vanderbilt University. In his free time, he enjoys cooking vegan recipes with his wife Sabrina.
Jon Hermanson is a 2006 graduate of Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN, where he earned a Bachelors of Science in Education, with an emphasis in Secondary Choral Music. Jon earned his Master’s Degree in Choral Music Education from VanderCook University in Chicago, IL. Currently, Jon serves as Professor of Music at Martin Luther College. Previously he served as Director of Choral Music at Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School, in New Ulm, MN, a call he began in 2015. Prior to his work at MVL, Jon served as the Music Director at Illinois Lutheran High School from 2011 to 2015. Before that he taught for five years at Trinity Lutheran School in Kiel, WI.
Jon has extensive experience as a professional singer. In 2003, he sang in the final season of the GRAMMY nominated Dale Warland Singers. From 2004 to 2006, he was a member of the newly formed group, The Singers: Minnesota Choral Artists, under the direction of Matthew Culloton. While teaching in Wisconsin, Jon sang a number of seasons with the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee under the direction of Richard Hynson. He was a founding member of the WELS Chamber Chorus, Canticum Novum, and sang for seven summers at the Minnesota Beethoven Festival under the direction of Dale Warland. Jon has had multiple solo opportunities with many of these groups, as well as opportunities to solo for various projects at MLC over the past years.
Last spring, Jon served as chorus master for the Mankato Symphony Orchestra's production of Mozart’s Requiem. He is currently working in the same role as the MSO prepares Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Jon is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association as well as the National Association for Music Educators.
Minnesota-based soprano, Jenny Haugen-Hesse, has been delighted to be a featured soloist with esteemed performing arts organizations such as Mankato Symphony Orchestra, The Minnesota Valley Chorale, and ProMusica MN. She received her B.A. in Music from Bethany Lutheran College and M.M. in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory, and was a participant of Daniel Ferro Vocal Program, Inc., The Wesley Balk Opera/Music-Theater Institute, and The Boston Conservatory Vocal Pedagogy Professional Workshop. Haugen-Hesse won 2nd place in the Grieg Young Artists Competition (2015), and was awarded an Individual Artist Grant from Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council (2020). Ms. Haugen-Hesse is presently in her second year of graduate studies at MSU-Mankato, where she is pursuing a career in Speech-Language Pathology.
Melissa Williams, soprano, has been a frequent soloist throughout the Twin Cities, Western Wisconsin and Upper Michigan for years. She has an undergraduate degree in Vocal Music Performance from University of Northwestern-St. Paul, and Master of Music degrees in both Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting from Minnesota State University-Mankato. Her most recent performance highlights have been Soprano Soloist for Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45, Christmas in Christ Chapel performance of Britten’s Sanctus from War Requiem, Op.66 and The Death of David from Arthur Honegger’s Le Roi David, all with orchestra and choirs from Gustavus Adolphus College. She has performed with the Mankato Symphony Orchestra as the Witch in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretl and as Mezzo-Soprano Soloist for Beethovenfest! Along with her music ministry and choral director positions, Melissa has directed choir and taught voice at Free Lutheran Bible College and Seminary (Plymouth, MN), Finlandia University (Hancock, MI) and Martin Luther College (New Ulm, MN). She currently instructs voice at Minnesota State University – Mankato and Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, MN).
Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, tenor Seokho Park is the recipient of the ‘Super Rookie Award’ at the 15th Korea Opera Awards presented by the Korea Opera Festival. Dr. Park has performed the leading roles including La bohème, L’elisir d’amore, Rigoletto, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La tragédie de Carmen, La traviata, Così fan tutte, L’heure Espagnole, The Magic Flute, Cavalleria Rusticana, Les contes d'Hoffmann, Falstaff, and more across US, Canada, and South Korea. Dr. Park earned his Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree from the Korea National University of Arts and his Master of Music (M.M) degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton, where he began his opera career as a collaborative artist with Tri-Cities Opera. He later obtained Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A) degree from the University of Minnesota, further broadening his academic and musical experiences. In Canada, he participated in the Canadian Operatic Arts Academy (COAA) and the Accademia Europea Dell'Opera (AEDO) program at Western University, where he pursued Master of Music in Performance and Literature.
​
In addition to his operatic career, Dr. Park’s diverse musical experiences include service at the Korea Army Band (tuba, trombone, and conducting), as well as involvement in contemporary music, K-pop, and musical theatre. He has received numerous awards from competitions and musical organizations and has participated in prestigious programs such as the Glimmerglass Festival Young Artists Program and the Canadian Opera Company Summer Intensive. Dr. Park has given recent masterclasses at Southwest Baptist University and Texas A&M International University, and has joined the faculty of Songe d’été en musique in Québec, Canada.
Philip Zawisza is a graduate from the Interlochen Arts Academy and Indiana University. Following apprenticeships with the Santa Fe Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Philip Zawisza won the Baltimore Opera Contest, Munich’s ARD Voice Competition and the Marian Anderson Award..While in Europe, Philip was engaged at the National Theater in Mannheim and performed leading roles in Vienna and Bern, Switzerland. He has performed Schubert’s Schwanengesang and at Carnegie Hall. He debuted the world-premiere of Blarr’s Jerusalem Symphony and recently sang works of Asako Hirabayashi in Minneapolis. In Europe, the United States and Australia, Philip Zawisza’s repertoire spans from Bach to living composers. In 2017, Philip debuted with Minnesota Opera’s production of the Machurian Candidate. He appears
regularly in the Twin-Cities with Minnesota Orchestra, SPCO, Minnesota Bach Ensemble and Oratorio Society and is presently an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota.
Program Notes
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Work composed: 1822-1824
Premiere: May 7, 1824, Vienna, Austria
Have you ever had a creative vision or the spark of a big idea, but the prospect of bringing it to life seems just too challenging? You and Beethoven have something in common then. Beethoven had first read philosopher Friedrich Schiller’s text, “Ode to Joy,” when he was a teenager, and tried time and time again to create music that adequately expressed Schiller’s message of hope and unity. It wasn’t until 34 years later that Beethoven finally achieved this goal, although even in writing the Ninth Symphony he threw out more than 200 drafts of the final movement! Some critics of the premiere suggested that the finale was too enormous and that the introduction of vocalists and choir was unnecessary, encouraging Beethoven to make a change to the score; fortunately, more than 250 years later, the music remains just as he imagined it. Now, the Ninth Symphony stands as one of the most recognized musical messages of peace and fellowship all around the world.
​
For today’s concert, the Mankato Symphony Orchestra held just a few rehearsals, gathering for the first time earlier this week. For such an enormous piece of music, that is not much time! However, many of our musicians have performed Beethoven’s Ninth before and, if they haven’t, they have studied it or heard other performances or recordings. So, how did the orchestra which premiered Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in 1824 prepare? Amazingly, they were only given two rehearsals to learn the symphony, with no advance practice time, and no idea what the piece would sound like. Singers left out high notes, string and wind players found some sections so challenging and physically taxing, that they struggled to get through. Beethoven, who was completely deaf at this point, was thrilled and had no idea that it was not quite going to plan. Nevertheless, much of the audience was overwhelmed with joy and amazement at the extraordinary piece of music they were able to witness for the first time.
If this is your first experience with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, here is something important to know. Yes, there is a large and powerful choir, and four phenomenal vocal soloists, but you may wonder at first why they aren’t doing anything! The first three sections of this symphony are written for orchestra only. The final movement is when the familiar “Ode to Joy” theme finally takes center stage, first played softly by the cellos and then building until all of the orchestra and voices are singing together. This is when the full forces of this piece become one—and it takes almost an hour to reach that joyously unrestrained moment. So, until then, don’t spend the concert wondering. Instead, enjoy the suspense and drama of the first three movements. The fourth one is worth the wait!
