Artistic Director Bethel Balge

Winner of the Louis B. Sudler Prize in the Arts and of the McKnight sponsored Artist Grant, pianist Bethel Balge has performed in Germany, including at Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, in Russia as soloist with the Voronezh Philharmonic, as well as in various American venues. Balge's "highly concentrated, technically secure and captivating interpretation" of Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit attracted notice from a reviewer at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung after a performance at the Alte Oper. As a doctoral student of Lydia Artymiw, Balge performed in a Minnesota Public Radio live broadcast in the Bach Birthday concert organized by MPR host Michael Barone. She is founding Artistic Director of the Summit Avenue Music Chamber Music Series and Co-Artistic Director with Peter McGuire of the ProMusica Chamber Music Festival. After six years in Germany, Balge received a Diplom degree from the University of Frankfurt's Staatliche Hochschule fuer Musik und darstellende Kunst. Previously she received her Master of Music M.M. from the University of Wisconsin under Howard Karp. She is a cum laude graduate (Bachelor of Music) of Michigan State University, where she studied under Van Cliburn gold prize winner Ralph Votapek. Balge has received numerous awards, including first place in the Grand Rapids Concerto Competition, in the Michigan State University Concerto Competition, in the Beethoven Competition in Madison, WI, and in the Ida Schroeder Foundation Scholarship Competition in Milwaukee, WI. Balge has taught piano and music history courses at Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, MN) and at Martin Luther College (New Ulm, MN). She became Executive Director of the Mankato Symphony in 2020.

Artistic Director Peter McGuire

Peter McGuire joined the Minnesota Orchestra in 2003 and was named Principal Second Violin in 2016. He served as Second Concertmaster with the Tonhalle Orchester-Zürich in Switzerland from 2012-2016.

McGuire has performed as Guest Concertmaster with the Orchestre de la Suisse-Romande, Zürich Opera, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Gürzenich Orchester-Cologne, and Richmond Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has performed and recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic, SWR Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, All-Star Orchestra, Chicago Symphony and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

A frequent chamber musician and soloist, McGuire has been featured with the Minnesota Orchestra for the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto and has performed with ensembles throughout the US, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Austria, and Switzerland. Along with Bethel Balge, he is Co-Artistic Director of the ProMusica Chamber Music Festival in Mankato, MN.

Originally from Mankato, McGuire grew up playing violin at the Mankato Suzuki School, and performing with MAYSO and the Mankato Symphony Orchestra. McGuire received his Artist Diploma from the University of Northern Iowa, where he studied with Fred Halgedahl. He attended the Manhattan School of Music and studied with Sylvia Rosenberg. His primary childhood teachers were Patti Tryhus and Charles Gray.

Executive Director Benji Inniger

Benji Inniger is a nationally award-winning sound designer, composer, recording engineer, musician, and director from North Mankato, Minnesota. Some of his regional theatre credits include work with Des Moines Metro Opera, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Guthrie Theater, The Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, Trinity Repertory Company, and the Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company. He has composed music for The Mankato Symphony Orchestra, Mankato Area Youth Symphony Orchestra, Film Score Fest, and StoryCorps for National Public Radio. Benji also works as a video game composer and sound designer, Associate Professor of Theatre and Music at Bethany Lutheran College and Concert Manager of the chamber music producing organizations Summit Avenue Music Series and ProMusica Minnesota. He received his Masters of Fine Arts from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2010.

Board President Bruce Taylor

Bruce Taylor has served as the Executive Director of the Kansas City Chorale, the Dale Warland Singers, the Minnesota Boychoir, and American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) MN. He is currently the Executive Director of the Madelia MN Community Hospital Foundation, a position he has held for the past four years. His 25+ years of nonprofit management work includes fundraising and donor cultivation, grant writing, board development, community outreach, management training, and team building. He also led workshops on two occasions for the Chorus America annual conference, and moderated a session on employee compensation for the AIGA annual conference. Taylor has served on the board of directors for the Mankato Ballet Company. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Baker University and a Master of Arts in music from Michigan State University.