allow us to introduce ourselves

organizational history

The Bach Society of Minnesota (BSM) was formed in 1932 by University of Minnesota students wanting to sing the works of J.S. Bach, making it the oldest Bach Society in the US (other Bach Societies include: St. Louis, Houston, and the American Bach Society, based in Yale University). Over the course of its 89-year history, the artistic leadership passed from the University to the broader Minnesota artistic community. BSM has presented approximately 500 concerts, engaged some 10,000 musicians, and served over 150,000 audience members spanning six generations.

staff

Matthias Maute

Artistic Director, Conductor, Composer, Flautist

Award winning conductor, composer, recorder and flute soloist Matthias Maute has achieved an international reputation. In 2016 he was named artistic director of the Bach Society of Minnesota and in 2019 of the professional choir Ensemble vocal Arts-Québec. Impressed by his artistic approach, The New York Times described the orchestra he conducts in Montreal, Ensemble Caprice, as being “an ensemble that encourages the listener to rehear the world.”

Maute’s recording of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos juxtaposed with Maute’s own arrangements of Preludes from Shostakovich’s Op. 87 was hailed by The New Yorker’s Alex Ross as standing out “for its fleet, characterful approach” and “its fresh, vibrant colors”.

Matthias Maute’s compositions are published by Breitkopf & Härtel, Amadeus, Moeck and Carus. In 2014 and 2015, Maute’s 1st violin concerto was performed by soloist Mark Fewer with the St. John’s Symphony and with I Musici de Montréal. Forty-nine movements of Matthias Maute’s compositions are featured in 49 videos on noncerto.com.

Matthias Maute has made some twenty recordings on the Analekta, Vanguard Classics, Bella Musica, Dorian, Bridge and ATMA Classique labels. He is regularly invited to perform at major international festivals. Matthias Maute is co-artistic director of the Montreal Baroque Festival and artistic director of the Méénat Musica Concerts noncerto concert series. He currently teaches at l’Université de Montréal and McGill University.

Marco Real-d'Arbelles

Associate Artistic Director, Conductor, Violinist

Marco was appointed Associate Artistic Director of the Bach Society of Minnesota in 2018 where he works as conductor, violinist, and speaker bringing diverse communities together through music. He leads BSM’s successful “Bach with Friends” workshops and can be seen performing violin in solo, recital, chamber, and orchestral performances.

Equally comfortable in modern and baroque performance, Marco recently led a production of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea in collaboration with BSM, Bold North Baroque Opera, and University of Minnesota Opera Theatre, and a newly commissioned opera titled In Media Res with An Opera Theatre(AOT). Both are due to be released in the Spring of 2021. Marco was also Music Director for Opera on the Lake’s premiere production of Die Fledermaus and Bold North Baroque Opera’s La Dafne. Previous conducting postings and appearances include Winter Opera St. Louis, Chicago Summer Opera, Miami Classical Music Festival, CCM’s Opera Bootcamp, and Oberlin in Italy Opera Festival.

Born in Nicaragua, Marco was raised in Miami, Florida where he formally began studying violin at the age of 11. He was admitted to the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees under the tutelage of Sergiu Schwartz and Carol Cole. While there, he also began studying conducting with Maestros Albert George Schram and Jon Robertson. He later trained with conducting masters Mark Gibson, Riccardo Frizza, Jorma Panula, and Ennio Nicotra.

After graduate studies, he went on to become Assistant Conductor of The Miami Symphony Orchestra where he led outreach, educational, and family concerts. He spent the summer of 2011 in Venezuela working in the world famous EL SISTEMA as assistant conductor. In 2014, the Chamber Philharmonic of Catalonia (Spain) awarded Marco the Conducting Prize. In 2016, he was given Special Recognition by the City of Doral (Florida) for his contributions to the arts and his work with youth.

Marco currently lives in Minneapolis with Yunyue (wife and recital partner) and their baby boy.

Solveig Mebust

Executive director

Solveig Mebust is a Minneapolis native and has worked in the Twin Cities as a music teacher (voice, piano, woodwinds) and performer (soprano and flute) for over a decade.

Currently a PhD candidate in historical musicology at the University of Minnesota, she won a Fulbright Study/Research award to perform dissertation research in Bergen, Norway, studying the role of women in the formation of nineteenth-century Norwegian music culture. She has also been awarded the Torske Klubben Fellowship, the Hella Mears Fellowship, the Lois Roth Grant, and the Graduate Research Partnership Program Grant. Ms. Mebust received her B.M. in Music Education from Augsburg University in 2009. She has performed with several local ensembles, including the Minnesota Chorale and the Augsburg University Masterworks Chorale, and was a section leader and soloist with the Hamline Church United Methodist Chancel Choir for many years.

Ms. Mebust has been deeply involved in the Twin Cities arts community since a young age. In addition to her musical engagements, she grew up dancing ballet in St. Paul and continues to take classes with Ballet Co.Laboratory. She currently lives in the Powderhorn neighborhood of Minneapolis.

board of directors

Jonathan Morgan, President | Retired Attorney, Briggs and Morgan; Deputy Attorney General, Solicitor General, State of Minnesota; Retired Vice President & General Counsel, M.A. Mortenson Company

Jay Kurtz, Vice President | Retired, IBM

Steven Savitt, Treasurer & Secretary | Retired, Honeywell and ATK

Susan Doherty | Retired, former Executive Director, Bach Society of Minnesota

Amy C Fistler | Vice President for Advancement, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities

Holly Fistler | Senior Attorney, Dorsey & Whitney LLP

David Gilberstadt | Retired, Educator, Entrepreneur, and Futurist

Karen Kustritz | Retired, Registered Nurse

Yunyue Liu | former Executive Director, Bach Society of Minnesota

Andrea Leap | former Executive Director, Bach Society of Minnesota

Richard Resch | Retired Professor, Kantor, Concordia Theological Seminary

Special Thanks to our Granting Partners