Amir Kats
Artistic Director Amir Kats has extensive experience in conducting, teaching, and performing music. He currently teaches orchestra and band at Blake Middle School. From 2012 to 2022 he was conductor of the St. Paul Jewish Community Center Symphony, and he has served as a coach for MacPhail Center for Music and various school ensembles throughout Minnesota and New Mexico. From 2007 to 2012, Mr. Kats served as the Artistic Director of Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies.
Mr. Kats holds degrees in clarinet, music theory, and conducting from the University of Michigan, Florida State University, and Curtis Institute of Music. A native of Haifa, Israel, he comes from a musical family, being both the son and the grandson of pianists.
Chris Chelgren
Assistant Conductor Chris Chelgren has taught violin, viola, and piano and has freelanced in the Twin Cities since the late 1990s. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music theory and composition from St. Olaf College, where he studied conducting with Steve Amundson and viola with Charles Gray. Chris performs in several orchestras and is principal violist of the Bloomington Symphony and the Roseville Strings. He is also a member of the Twin Cities-based original rock, folk, and Celtic-inspired band The Minstrel’s Bazaar.
Logan Combs
Christmas Song Leader Logan Combs is a St. Paul-based vocalist and conductor. Logan is active in the Twin Cities choral music community, singing as a tenor with the National Lutheran Choir and The Summer Singers. He holds a Bachelor of Music in church music with a choral conducting specialty from St. Olaf College and is passionate about all forms of sacred music. Logan works professionally as the Interim Marketing and Development Associate at the National Lutheran Choir and teaches voice lessons to singers of all ages.
Previous Guest Artists
Sara Pajunen, violinist and composer
Manny Laureano, Minnesota Orchestra
Lauluaika
Lynn Erickson, trumpet, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
Christopher Aspaas, tenor, St. Olaf College
Kenneth Freed, violin, Minnesota Orchestra
Sachiya Isomura, cello, Minnesota Orchestra
Aaron Janse, violin, Minnesota Orchestra
Peter McGuire, violin, Minnesota Orchestra
Anthony Ross, cello, Minnesota Orchestra
John Snow, oboe, Minnesota Orchestra
St. Mary’s Balalaika Orchestra