Board of Directors
If you are interested in serving on the MYS board, contact our Executive Director.
Board Members
Jon Feustel, President
Merchandising Manager, Google Inc.
Kim Macynski^, Secretary
Media Clerk, South Washington County Schools
Paul Gronert, Vice President^
Band Director, Chippewa Middle School
Jeff Nichols, Treasurer
CEO, Minnesota Autism Center
Julie Haight-Curran
Retired Arts Management Professional
Mark Mandarano^ - Ex Officio - Non-voting
Artistic Director, MYS
Natalie Kennedy Shuck^
Director of Statewide Engagement, Bell Museum, University of Minnesota
Richard Marshall
Violist, Minnesota Orchestra
Susan Scott^
Retired Music Teacher
Amy Weisgram
Attorney, Dorsey & Whitney, LLP
Melissa Falb
MacPhail Center for Music, Director of Group Instruction
Tony Thomann^ - Ex Officio - Non-voting
Executive Director, MYS
^ indicates alumni or alumni parent or current MYS parent
Artistic Staff
With over 100 years of combined experience, our talented artistic staff is excited to work with you! Their passion and inspiration are integral to the success of our programs.
MARK MANDARANO
Artistic Director &
Symphony Orchestra Conductor
-
Mark Mandarano enjoys an international career as a conductor that has included performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and other important venues in the U. S. and abroad.
He has premiered new works with New York City Opera, served as principal guest conductor of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and has twice been invited by the U.S. State Department to act as a cultural ambassador to Russia performing the music of Gershwin and Bernstein, with concerts in numerous cities including the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.
An advocate of the music of living composers, he has conducted performances of works by Karel Husa, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Steven Stucky, John Corigliano, Ellen Zwilich, Melinda Wagner, David Bruce, Nico Muhly, and others. He has recorded two CDs for Albany Records and has other releases on Arabesque and Bridge Records.
He has conducted performances with the Houston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony, American Symphony Orchestra and worked with such conductors as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo Vänskä, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Valery Gergiev, Msistislav Rostropovich and Leonard Slatkin. Mandarano is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Sinfonietta of Riverdale, which he founded in 2008, and has been the Director of the Macalester Symphony Orchestra since 2012.
He was named Artistic Director of the Minnesota Youth Symphonies in 2022.
LUCAS SHOGREN
Repertory Orchestra
Conductor
-
Lucas Shogren is a multifaceted musician whose style and energy has been sought after across the United States. He is currently the Orchestra Director at Mounds View High School in Arden Hills, Minnesota, where he teaches over 250 students in 6 different ensembles.
In 2022, he was appointed as the conductor for the Repertory Orchestra with Minnesota Youth Symphonies. Shogren has been a guest clinician and conductor for several national and state level festivals and conferences. In 2019, he was the recipient of The Master Teacher: School Orchestra Award from the Minnesota String & Orchestra Teachers Association.
As a composer, Shogren has been commissioned to compose music for various ensembles. He is also the executive producer for Good Courage Music Productions where he currently composes and produces material used in television and film. His music has been published with Wingert- Jones Publications and In the Groove Music.
Shogren is the cellist and co-composer for the original trio Clocks & Clouds. This group has fused classical and rock styles together to create an exciting performance that has inspired audiences across the country.
Mr. Shogren received a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance degree and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities and a Master of Music - Conducting Specialization degree from Colorado State University.
JIM BARTSCH
Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor
-
Jim Bartsch has conducted with MYS for 32 years. He especially loves the energy young musicians bring to great orchestral music! Jim retired after teaching public school orchestra programs for 25 years in Northfield, Red Wing, and most recently in the Mounds View Schools.
He is an active guest conductor/clinician for festivals and camps throughout the upper Midwest and Canada, and teaches with the Augsburg University Suzuki Talent Education program. He took a hiatus from school teaching to serve as the Minnesota Orchestra’s Director of Education from 1999-2013.
Jim performs regularly as violinist/violist in the Twin Cities. He joined the viola section of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra for over 50 productions since 2000, as well as many other freelance performances. One of his favorite activities is reading string quartets with friends.
He is past president of the Minnesota String and Orchestra Teachers Association (MNSOTA), and was granted their 2022 Master Orchestra Teacher award, joining past winners (and MYS colleagues) Pat Kelly and Lucas Shogren.
Outside of music, Jim is an avid biker, hiker and reader. He has climbed dozens of peaks throughout the US, and is working on reading all of the Pulitzer Prize winning novels of his lifetime.
PATRICIA KELLY
String Orchestra
Conductor
-
Patricia Kelly has taught and conducted at all levels from the Bethel University Philharmonic Orchestra and Chamber Strings to first graders at Ramsey International Fine Arts Center. Currently, Pat is teaching at the FAIR Fine Arts School in Robbinsdale Public Schools.
Pat has been invited to direct many Honor Orchestras, Conference Orchestras, Orchestra Invitationals and Festivals over the past 40 years. She is honored to direct with the Minnesota Youth Symphonies as Conductor of the String Orchestra, Director of the MYS Summer Programs, and Co-Artistic Director from 2020–2022.
Her K-12 orchestras from Minneapolis Public Schools as well as Roseville High School have been chosen to perform numerous times at the Minnesota Music Education Association Midwinter Conference, the National Principals Convention, and the American String Teachers National Orchestra Festival. Her students have consistently won superior ratings in music competitions and appeared many times at the MNSOTA Middle Level Orchestra Festival at Orchestra Hall which she co-founded in 1996.
She has hosted music luminaries at her schools such as Yo Yo Ma, Ray Brown, and Bobby McFerrin. She was awarded the Minnesota Master String Educator Award in 1998, the Outstanding School Orchestra Program from the American String Teachers Association, nominated as Teacher of the Year, and the Minnesota Public Radio’s Music Teacher Award in 2015. Building inclusive, strong, exceptional and diverse orchestral programs at all levels of education in collaborative partnerships is her core philosophy.
Pat loves chamber music and has played viola with the Nicollet Quartet since 1998. Pat received her BA in Music and Journalism from the University of St. Catherine, and a Masters in Art and Doctoral Studies from University of Minnesota. She lives in Saint Paul with her son and her their cat Casper.
NICHOLAS ELLISON
Wind Orchestra
Conductor
-
Nicholas Ellison conducts the Minnesota Youth Symphony Wind Orchestra and teaches middle school band in Edina Public Schools. He previously held similar teaching positions in the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage, Orono, and Eden Prairie school districts. He has presented and performed at the Minnesota Music Education Assocation Midwinter Clinic.
Ellison graduated from St. Olaf College with a degree in music and management, a graduate of the Johnson-Auge School for Music Management.
Ellison has also completed a master’s degree from the American Band College of Sam Houston State University and studied music education at the University of Minnesota. He performs as a trumpet player in Encore Wind Ensemble. He has served as a trumpet section coach for Minnesota All-State Bands.
Ellison lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Melissa Morey, a professional horn player and teacher.
Administrative Staff
TONY THOMANN
Executive Director
-
Tony Thomann has a wealth of experience in leading non-profit organizations. After studying vocal performance and music education at the Eastman School of Music. He spent time as an elementary school music teacher and working as a singer and actor in the Twin Cities before transitioning into non-profit leadership and administration.
MURAH HSIUNG
Head Librarian
-
Murah Hsiung is a graduade of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities with a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance. She has a passion for performing and has played for several orchestras, including: the Quad City Symphony, Mississippi Valley Orchestra, and Mankato Symphony Orchestra. She has also participated in the Curse of the Vampire Orchestra and The Light in the Well.
TARA MEADE
Communications Coordinator
-
Tara Meade is an experienced non-profit administrator, flutist, and music educator. Tara holds a B.A. in Music Education from Luther College and an M.M. in Flute Performance from the University of Northern Iowa. A private flute instructor in St. Paul, Tara has previously taught as a college professor, substitute teacher, and middle school band director.
MELISSA MOREY
Operations Manager
-
Melissa has been a free-lance horn player and teacher for 15 years, formerly teaching at Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter), Concordia St. Paul, and UW-River Falls. She holds a Master of Music degree in horn performance and pedagogy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal music education from St. Olaf College. In addition to her teaching and performing career, she also has a background in non-profit arts management and music group travel. Melissa lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Nicholas Ellison, and their music-loving pets.