Leadership
Kornel Thomas
Artistic Director & Conductor
Photo Credit: Zsofia Raffay
The Mississippi Valley Orchestra proudly welcomes Kornel Thomas, a distinguished, multi award-winning conductor and composer, as its new Artistic Director and Conductor. Thomas has worked around the globe with numerous ensembles including the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok, Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, MAV Symphony Orchestra, Miskolc Symphony Orchestra, Szent István Philharmonic, Alba Regia Symphony Orchestra, Duna Symphony Orchestra, Nice Philharmonic Orchestra, Argovia Philharmonic, North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Teplice, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. He is set to make his debut with the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra in 2025 and was recently appointed Artistic Director and Conductor of the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra. In 2021, he made his debut with the Hungarian State Opera and Ballet conducting Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, Gluck’s Don Juan, and Lully’s Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, and has been a recurring guest ever since then. Thomas was assistant conductor of Savaria Symphony Orchestra from 2017-2020. He won 2nd prize at the 2018 Opera Nice Conducting Competition including two special prizes and third prize at the 2016 Atlantic Coast Conductors Competition.
As a composer he has won the 4th Lawson-May Award for composition at the Solent Music Festival, the 2024 International Clarinet Association New Music Composition Competition Solo Category award, 2nd Prize in composition at the 2023 5th Zodiac International Music Competition, 2nd Prize at the 2022 Bartok World Competition in Composition, and two awards at the 2020 MUPA Composers Competition. His works have been premiered at institutions such as Palace of the Arts Budapest, Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest Music Center, Ithaca College, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Kutztown University, multiple International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest events, and Ördögkatlan Festival.
Thomas studied conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and composition at the St. Stephen King Music Conservatory Budapest.
“Kornel Thomas led the small orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera…with an accomplished and fresh sound” Das Opernglass
“We found his (Thomas’) writing so compelling and convincing, generating so much tension but also the space to reflect of his important environmental message about the disappearance of coral reefs.” Solent Music Festival
Sarah Grimes
Concertmaster
Photo Credit: Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Grimes joined the second violin section of the Minnesota Orchestra in 2016 and won a position in the first violin section in May 2017. Before her appointment in the Minnesota Orchestra, she performed as a full-time Guest Musician with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra from 2015-16, and as a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago in 2014.
Raised in the Twin Cities, Grimes began studying the violin at the age of four. She received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, serving as concertmaster of the Northwestern Symphony Orchestra and performer and co-founder for student-led ensembles, while working as a freelance musician in the greater Chicago area. She appeared as a soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra in 2005 and 2010 and with the Minnesota Sinfonia in 2012. As a chamber musician, she has recently been featured on the Minnesota Orchestra Chamber Series, Liquid Music Series, the SPCO Chamber Music Series, Bakken Trio Series, The Musical Offering, and at festivals including Kneisel Hall Chamber Music, Chamber Music Festival of the Black Hills and Astona International. She currently serves as concertmaster of the Mississippi Valley Orchestra.
Her principal teachers include Sarah Kwak and Almita Vamos.
Board of Directors
Officers
Lauren Kunzer, President
Don Feeney, Vice President
Sue Haight, Treasurer
Mariellen Jacobson, Secretary
Ex Officio Members
Kornel Thomas, Artistic Director
Mary Madson, Orchestra Manager
Henry Charles Smith, Conductor Emeritus in memoriam
Don Ostlund, Director in memoriam
Directors
Donna Hill
Emily Ruggles Johnson
Bob Oslund
Steve Schellenberg
Mark Smith
Maddie Tuggle
Jeremy Weston
Artistic Committee
The Artistic Director curates each season’s repertoire with the support of the Artistic Committee. We consider several elements like concert length, venue suitability, and ensuring meaningful parts for all instrument sections. Beyond these logistics, we plan each season guided by the following priorities:
Artistic growth of the ensemble.
Stylistic and historical variety, including lesser-heard works that will engage audiences.
Representation across culture, era, gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and religion.
Commemorations of composer anniversaries, significant works, and historic events.
Relevance to current local and national conversations.
Seasonality —this is Minnesota, after all!