Artistic Staff
Dr. Kevin F. E. Sütterlin, Artistic Director & Symphony conductor
is an internationally sought-after conductor and pedagogue. He belongs to Beyond Artists, a coalition of artists that donates a percentage of their concert fees to organizations they care about. He supports “WIRES” (Australian Wildlife Rescue) and the “Memphis Music Initiative” through his performances. In addition to his position as Artistic Director of the Northern Valley Youth Orchestras, he is Director of Orchestral Activities and Opera at Concordia College, where he and his colleagues received two EMMY awards for 2016’s nationally broadcast Concordia Christmas Concert productions. Furthermore, The Concordia Orchestra won the prestigious American Prize competition in 2018-19 under his leadership. Sütterlin is Music Director of the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonietta Memphis, and is Artistic Director of the Sinfonietta Academy for Historically Informed Performance Practice. He holds The Phyllis and Richard Duesenberg Endowed Orchestra Chair as Director of Orchestral Activities and Conducting Studies of the Lutheran Summer Music Festival and Academy. Considering himself a "citizen of the world," Sütterlin has been building musical bridges across four different continents, and has led his ensembles on many successful national and international tours. He has performed and taught across the globe including Austria, China, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland and the United States. Institutions he has taught at include the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Sichuan Conservatory, The University of Hawaii, Lucerne Conservatory Switzerland, and The University of Memphis. This upcoming season Sütterlin will guest conduct in China, South Africa, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Texas, Alabama, Connecticut, Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Minnesota.
Ms. Kara Hartten, Philharmonic conductor Kara Hartten began her musical studies at the age of five in her hometown of Redding, Connecticut. She earned both a Bachelor of Music Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in French from DePauw University, followed by a Master of Music in cello performance and instrumental conducting from the University of North Dakota. Ms. Hartten is presently an orchestra teacher in the Grand Forks Public Schools and performs with the Fargo Moorhead Symphony Orchestra as well as the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra. She founded a string ensemble she currently directs, the UND Community Orchestra, and is a past conductor for NVYO’s Allegro Orchestra; she has additionally coached NVYO Crescendo chamber music and cello sectionals. As a cellist, Kara has performed with the UND Student String Quartet and UND’s Red River Trio, a student ensemble that toured in May of 2014 in Tokyo, Japan and Shanghai, China. Kara has studied with Drs. Simona Barbu, Darilyn Manring, Yeon-Ji Yun, and Eric Edberg, as well as performed in master classes with renowned cellists such as Amit Peled, Matt Haimovitz, Nicholas Photinos, Emilio Colon and Laszlo Varga. In 2009, she performed with the DePauw Chamber Orchestra during a tour of Austria and Germany. She also performed the Lalo cello concerto with the Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestra in 2007 as the winner of its concerto competition. In 2011, she played Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat major with internationally known cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
Dr. Cody Hunter, Symphony assistant conductor Dr. Cody Hunter is Assistant Professor of Music and Head of Fine Arts at Mayville State University, where he directs the performance ensembles. Prior to his appointment at MSU, Dr. Hunter was the band program director for East Hardy Schools in Baker, WV. As a bassoonist, Dr. Hunter has performed with notable ensembles such as the Eroica Ensemble of Memphis, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra Augusta, and the Arkansas Symphony. Most recently, Dr. Hunter has performed with the FargoMoorhead Symphony, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, and Bemidji Symphony. Dr. Hunter received his D.M.A. from the University of Memphis, his M.M. from the University of MNTwin Cities, and his B. Mus. Ed. from the University of WI-Stevens Point.
