About ProMusica Minnesota
Summit Avenue Music Series (SAMS) was established in 2016 by Artistic Director Bethel Balge to bring performances by professional musicians to the campus of Martin Luther College. Recognizing an available niche, Bethel and Co-Artistic Director Peter McGuire established ProMusica Chamber Music Festival in 2019 with the goal of producing a unique week-long summer chamber music festival for the community of southern Minnesota. In 2020, the two organizations merged to become ProMusica Minnesota.
Meet The Team
Artistic Director Bethel Balge
Winner of the Louis B. Sudler Prize in the Arts and of the McKnight sponsored Artist Grant, pianist Bethel Balge has performed in Germany, including at Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, in Russia as soloist with the Voronezh Philharmonic, as well as in various American venues. Balge's "highly concentrated, technically secure and captivating interpretation" of Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit attracted notice from a reviewer at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung after a performance at the Alte Oper. As a doctoral student of Lydia Artymiw, Balge performed in a Minnesota Public Radio live broadcast in the Bach Birthday concert organized by MPR host Michael Barone. She is founding Artistic Director of the Summit Avenue Music Chamber Music Series and Co-Artistic Director with Peter McGuire of the ProMusica Chamber Music Festival. After six years in Germany, Balge received a Diplom degree from the University of Frankfurt's Staatliche Hochschule fuer Musik und darstellende Kunst. Previously she received her Master of Music M.M. from the University of Wisconsin under Howard Karp. She is a cum laude graduate (Bachelor of Music) of Michigan State University, where she studied under Van Cliburn gold prize winner Ralph Votapek. Balge has received numerous awards, including first place in the Grand Rapids Concerto Competition, in the Michigan State University Concerto Competition, in the Beethoven Competition in Madison, WI, and in the Ida Schroeder Foundation Scholarship Competition in Milwaukee, WI. Balge has taught piano and music history courses at Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, MN) and at Martin Luther College (New Ulm, MN). She became Executive Director of the Mankato Symphony in 2020.
Benji Inniger is a nationally award-winning sound designer, composer, recording engineer, musician, and director from North Mankato, Minnesota. Some of his regional theatre credits include work with Des Moines Metro Opera, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Guthrie Theater, The Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, Trinity Repertory Company, and the Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company. He has composed music for The Mankato Symphony Orchestra, Mankato Area Youth Symphony Orchestra, Film Score Fest, and StoryCorps for National Public Radio. Benji also works as a video game composer and sound designer, Associate Professor of Theatre and Music at Bethany Lutheran College, Executive Director of ProMusica Minnesota, and Director of Operations for Mankato Symphony Orchestra. He received his Masters of Fine Arts from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2010.
Executive Director Benji Inniger
Bruce Taylor has served as the Executive Director of the Kansas City Chorale, the Dale Warland Singers, the Minnesota Boychoir, and American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) MN. His 25+ years of nonprofit management work includes fundraising and donor cultivation, grant writing, board development, community outreach, management training, and team building. He also led workshops on two occasions for the Chorus America annual conference, and moderated a session on employee compensation for the AIGA annual conference. Taylor has served on the board of directors for the Mankato Ballet Company. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Baker University and a Master of Arts in music from Michigan State University.
