Following a four month search, the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota’s queer/ GLBT symphony orchestra, is pleased to announce the selection and appointment of Joseph Schlefke as its new principal conductor. Mr. Schlefke is already well known to the orchestra, having served as its apprentice conductor for the past two years.
Mr. Schlefke is currently the Associate Conductor for the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, working with both the Symphony Orchestra and the Concert Orchestra. This past summer he toured with the Symphony Orchestra, conducting them in performances in Beijing and Shanghai, China. He is also currently involved in conducting projects with the Buffalo Community Orchestra of Buffalo, Minnesota and the Heights Theater in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, as well as serving as Instructor of Music at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.
Recent appointments include three seasons with The Minnesota Opera as music director and conductor of the Midwest Educational Tour, serving as conductor for their productions of Madame Butterfly, The Marriage of Figaro, The Barber of Seville, and as music director for the Faerie Tale Opera program. Mr. Schlefke has served as Assistant Conductor for The Minnesota Opera, the Berkshire Opera Company in Massachusetts, the Moraine Symphony Orchestra, the Lakeshore Symphonic Band, and as a staff conductor with the Great Lakes Opera Company of Milwaukee. Further, he currently serves as an Artist-In-Residence for The Minnesota Opera’s Opera Venture program and frequently lecturers around the area, educating students and adults about opera.
Mr. Schlefke holds his Master of Music degree, with an emphasis in orchestral conducting, from the University of Minnesota. He has participated in conducting workshops with the American Symphony Orchestra League and the Conductors Institute of South Carolina. A native of West Bend, Wisconsin, Mr. Schlefke earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire.
The orchestra’s first concert under Mr. Schlefke’s leadership will be March 2, 2002 at Hamline University’s Sundin Music Hall. The program features music of Johann Strauss, Jr., Mozart, and a rarely heard orchestral suite from “The River,” a ballet by Duke Ellington. For more information about the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert series or for playing opportunities, please log on to its web site at www.mnphil.org.
