Artists

Winner of the Louis B. Sudler Award in the Arts, pianist Bethel Balge has performed in Germany, including at Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, and in Russia as soloist with the Voronezh Philharmonic, as well as in various American venues. Bethel is the founding Artistic Director of ProMusica Minnesota.

Sydney native Susie Park first picked up a violin at age three, made her solo debut at five, and, by 16, had performed with every major orchestra in her country. Susie has grown into a musician distinguished by unusual passion and versatility, and today performs internationally as an orchestral, chamber, and solo artist as well as the first associate concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra.

Violinist Rui Du joined the Minnesota Orchestra as assistant concertmaster in 2015, he previously served in same role with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and concertmaster of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. He has been featured as a soloist with Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, South Dakoda Symphony, Aspen Music Festival Baroque Ensemble, FuJian Symphony, Hebei Symphony, Qingdao Symphony and collaborated with renowned conductors such as Osmo Vänskä, Nicholas McGegan, Zhang Guo-Yong, Delta David Gier, Junping Qian, among others.

Tony Ross has been a member of the Minnesota Orchestra since 1988 and assumed the principal cello post in 1991. He has been a soloist many times with the Orchestra, performing concertos by Schumann, Dvořák, Victor Herbert, James MacMillan, Beethoven, Saint-Saëns, Elgar, Bloch and Shostakovich, as well as many chamber works.

Silver Ainomäe was born in Tallinn, Estonia. Currently Associate Principal Cellist of the Minnesota Orchestra, Silver has previously served as Principal Cellist of the Colorado Symphony and guest Principal with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

New Zealand cellist Richard Belcher joined the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in 2019. He was founding cellist of the Grammy-nominated Enso String Quartet with whom he toured for two decades, performing frequently in many of the great concert halls throughout the world, as well as making several highly acclaimed recordings. In 2018 the Enso Quartet disbanded, and Richard became Artistic Director of the chamber music series Music on the Hill in Mankato, MN.

Cellist Pitnarry Shin has been praised in Strad magazine for her beautiful tone and passionate interpretations in her New York debut recital at Weill Hall, Carnegie Hall. She has toured throughout the United States, Europe, and her native Korea. Ms. Shin was a member of the Minnesota Orchestra from 2001 to 2006 and returned as a full time member again in 2012. In addition to her orchestral work, she serves as an artistic director of the Bakken Ensemble. Previously, she has served as guest co-principal cellist with the London Symphony Orchestra and as acting principal of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Gabriel Campos Zamora, a native of San José, Costa Rica was appointed principal clarinet of the Minnesota Orchestra in June 2016. Campos was most recently the associate principal clarinet of the Kansas City Symphony and has appeared as guest principal clarinet with the Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle and Houston Symphonies in addition to serving as the Virginia Symphony's principal clarinet.

Principal trumpet for the Minnesota Orchestra Manny Laureano joined the orchestra in 1981 He and his wife, Claudette, served as co-artistic director of the Minnesota Youth Symphonies for 32 years. He is also entering his eighth season as music director of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra.

Korean violist Jenni Seo is a compelling and versatile soloist, chamber and orchestral musician known for her rich sound and artistic integrity who is a newly tenured Assistant Principal Viola of the Minnesota Orchestra. She has performed extensively across the world in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Kennedy Center, David Geffen Hall, Royal Albert Hall and Walt Disney Hall.

Minnesota-based soprano, Jenny Haugen, is a regularly featured performer with The Summit Avenue Music Series, ProMusica Minnesota, and The Minnesota Valley Chorale. Haugen received her Bachelor of Arts in Music from Bethany Lutheran College and her Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory.