Living in the Northwoods doesn’t mean giving up big-city cultural offerings like live orchestral music.
Since 1965, the Chequamegon Symphony has brought classical music to the greater Ashland community. It’s now in the middle of its 2024-25 season, with its very diverse “Holiday Harmonies” concert on Dec. 7, at the Alvord Theater on the campus of its longtime home, Northland College.
Conductor and music director Nathan Mitchell said the orchestra is among a growing number of ensembles in smaller communities that are focusing on the work of previously underrepresented composers.
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“These groups are using their ability to highlight more diverse composers that maybe people haven’t heard of before, like Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Florence Price, which I think is fantastic,” Mitchell said.
The conductor spoke about the ensemble and its repertoire with WPR’s Robin Washington on “Morning Edition.”
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Robin Washington: Your repertoire is quite diverse. Tell us about your upcoming concert.
Nathan Mitchell: This is our winter concert, so we’ll have “Sleigh Ride” and “A Christmas Festival” from Leroy Anderson and also “The Nutcracker Suite” by Tchaikovsky. But we’re also going to highlight more Midwestern composers, which is what this year’s season is all about.
The Midwest piece we’re doing is the “Tall Ships Festival” by Sarah Siegler. It was originally written for wind ensemble and she was gracious enough to score it for a full orchestra. So we’re premiering the orchestral version of this piece.
RW: Tell us a little about your background and how you got to the area.
NM: I grew up in a smaller town, in the suburban Twin Cities area called Newport. And I grew up in a very musical household with piano lessons.
When I was old enough, I transitioned to learning band and my first instrument was the trumpet. I got my undergraduate degree in music education at the University of Minnesota Duluth. After that I taught just about everything in music for about 10 to 15 years around the Twin Cities area but I really wanted to focus on conducting.
I went back to the University of Minnesota Duluth for a Masters in conducting degree. And while I was there, this position opened up.
RW: In the spirit of the diverse offerings, tell us about something else that’s a little bit different in your “Holiday Harmonies” concert.
NM: The highlighted piece of this concert is “Janitzio” by Silvestre Revueltas. He was a central figure in early 20th century Mexican music. He’s celebrated for his vibrant orchestral colors, and he’s also been described as sarcastic.
You can almost hear it — especially in this piece — where there’s something that doesn’t quite fit in, but still adds energy to the piece, where you say, “Yeah, he’s being sarcastic in this.”
RW: Tell us about the performers. Are there any who we might find wandering around the Chequamegon National Forest?
NM: I don’t know about that, but plenty of the performers really enjoy the area and take advantage of anything that the area has to offer. The group is composed of a unique mix of college students from Northland College and community members from around Ashland, and also from quite a bit away. There have been members that have traveled from 2 to 2-1/2 hours almost every week in order to practice and perform with us. We’ve even had musicians as far as the Twin Cities.
Almost every year, a majority of the members stick around. I’m always very excited when somebody new comes because I want them to experience this symphony the way that I have, which is just complete enjoyment. I love doing this and being able to share that with other people.
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