The Gustavus Philharmonic Orchestra with Conductor Justin Knoepfel
Under the direction of Conductor Justin Knoepfel, the Gustavus Philharmonic Orchestra will present its fall concert Saturday, December 10 at 1:30 p.m. This performance by the 16-member ensemble will take place in Björling Recital Hall on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus. The concert is free and open to the public.
This performance features works by the Philharmonic as well as chamber ensembles of members from the larger ensemble. The concert will open with Handel’s Concerto Grosso in B minor, featuring a quartet of Dempsey Schroeder and Hannah Crane, violin, Phillip Lunde, ‘cello and Chad Fothergill, harpsichord. The quartet of Zicheng He and Alexandra Coen, violin, Dempsey Schroeder, viola and Helen Wauck, ‘cello will next take the stage to perform Beethoven’s String Quartet in C Major, Op. 18, No. 1. The next work on Saturday’s program is T. Albinoni’s Sonata a tre for violins, ‘cello and continuo and will feature Sarah Graver, Justin Knoepfel, Annelise Salmela and Yanna Georgas, violin, Carla DeWitt, ‘cello and Meghan Peterson, organ. The full Philharmonic takes the stage once again to conclude the concert with C.P.E. Bach’s Sinfonia No. 3 in C Major and the Art of the Fugue, BWV 1080 by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Justin Knoepfel joined the Gustavus faculty in 2009 as Adjunct Viola Instructor and now serves as Visiting Instructor in Violin and Viola and Conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra. He graduated from Luther College with a degree in Violin Performance in 2004. Two years later he received his Master of Music degree in viola from the University of Minnesota and recently earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts in viola performance with a secondary emphasis in music theory at the University of Minnesota’s School of Music. He has participated as a performer and teacher in various programs including Dorian Music Festival, Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival, Salem Music Academy, Bravo!, and the International Viola Congress, and as a substitute violist with the Minnesota Orchestra, Minnesota Opera and former principal violist of Exultate Chorus & Orchestra.
Saturday’s performance by the Gustavus Philharmonic Orchestra is free and open to the public. The concert begins at 1:30 p.m. in Björling Recital Hall.