NATHAN DOEGE, MUSIC DIRECTOR
A chance encounter in 1991 led to the formation of the Alexandria Festival of the Lakes. Two members of the Toronto-based Canadian Trio, violinist Jaime Weisenblum and cellist Nina Tobias, pulled off Interstate 94 to stretch their legs and find something to eat. Strolling through town after dinner, they noticed a small violin shop. Intrigued by the idea of a violin shop in a small west-central Minnesota town, they decided to stay the night so they could visit the shop the following day.
The next morning they met owner Ken Amundson and struck up a friendship. After spending more time in the region, Weisenblum and Tobias decided Alexandria would be the perfect place for a summer music festival.
Two years later, with support from the community, an active Board, and faithful volunteers, the dream of a classical music festival became the Alexandria Festival of the Lakes.
From a musical perspective, Alexandria is an ideal place for the Festival. The city has developed a reputation as a community that embraces and celebrates live performance. Its high school has a strong music department (the foundations of which were outlined in the 1930s) that is recognized throughout the state. Alexandria has been host to the Vikingland Band Festival since 1985. Theatre
L’Homme Dieu, a summer theater, has called Alexandria home since 1961. The Andria Theater, a renovated movie house run by the Alexandria Area Arts Association (originally established in 1967), has a regular season featuring plays, musicals, a Student Theater Project, and other events. And the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra performed its inaugural concert on December 6, 2009.
Numerous lakes, resorts, and many fine restaurants are also located in the Alexandria area and make the region a popular vacation spot. With all that Alexandria has to offer, it is not altogether surprising that a first-class music festival is located here. The Alexandria Festival of the Lakes is a professional music series held in August, and is dedicated to making classical chamber music available locally to people who would otherwise need to travel a long distance to experience this level of music-making. Our musicians – mostly from Twin Cities area orchestras, but others have come from as far away as Indiana, Ohio, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Ontario, Switzerland and Germany – are eager to visit Alexandria every August and share with us their passion for classical music.
We hope you enjoy our programs as much as the musicians enjoy putting them together for you. We look forward to seeing you at our concerts in August.
Artistic/Music Director
Nina Tobias 1993-2003
Nathan Doege 2004-present