BSO Personnel

2023-2024 Board of Directors and Staff

Dr. Beverly Everett
Conductor/Music Director

Katey Lutz
Executive Director

Eric Olson
Concertmaster

Gretchen Rusch
Personnel Manager & Librarian

Mattea Elhard
Stage Manager

Board of Directors:
Rita Albrecht, Co-Chair
Martin Graefe, Co-Chair
Louise Jackson
Tim Lutz
Maggie McCalip, Treasurer
Stu Rosselet, Past Chair
Sue Rosselet, Secretary
Rebecca Swanson
Eve Sumsky, Music Committee Liaison

MEET THE BSO MUSICIANS

Dr. Beverly Everett, Conductor/Music Director

photographer: Kiel Skager, Ohana Photo

Since 2005, Dr. Beverly Everett has served as Music Director for the
Bemidji Symphony Orchestra. In 2009 Dr. Everett was the youngest-ever recipient of the "Friend of the Arts" award in Bemidji, and in 2011 she was awarded a Region 2 Arts/McKnight Career Advancement Fellowship that she used to study with JoAnne Falletta. Dr. Everett is also Music Director for the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra, a position she has held since 2008.

Everett champions living composers and has been involved in numerous commissioning projects and premieres. A composer herself, she has composed scores for documentary films, orchestra and organ.

Everett holds degrees from Baylor University and the University of Iowa. She is the author of three children's books, is an avid runner, and is passionately involved with animal rescue. She maintains her own website at www.beverlyeverett.org.

Katey Lutz, Executive Director

Katey Lutz has served as the Executive Director of the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra since September 2022. She spent three years prior cultivating her skills for business management as the general manager of a locally owned business. During her undergraduate years, she interned with a non-profit organization that ignited her passion for working in the non-profit sector. Outside of her professional life, she teaches yoga, practices her Spanish skills, attends as many musical events as possible, enjoys reading and spending time with her friends and family. She is thrilled to be part of an organization that aims to enrich and educate our community through the arts. Katey has enjoyed making Bemidji her home and hopes to appreciate its natural beauty and arts community for years to come!

Eric Olson, Concertmaster

Eric Olson (DMA, MBA), Assistant Professor of Music at Bemidji State University, Concertmaster of the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra, and Executive Director of the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, enjoys a musical career encompassing performance, teaching, and management. He performs domestically and abroad, and has won awards including first prize in the “Artistic Ambassador Competition” (sponsored by the Minnesota Music Teacher’s Association), various performance fellowships, teaching assistantships, and numerous grants to fund musical activities. Olson holds Violin Performance degrees from Michigan State University and the University of Minnesota, a Music Theory degree from Michigan State University, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Temple University in Philadelphia. He lives in Bemidji with his lovely wife, Jennifer.

Gretchen Rusch, Personnel Manager and Librarian

Gretchen Rusch is the Personnel Manager and Librarian for the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra and coordinates the auditioning and recruitment of new musicians. Rusch attended the University of Northern Iowa where she earned a Master of Library Science degree and played in the double reed studio. By day, she is a Media Specialist for the Bemidji Public Schools. Contact Gretchen to get information about auditioning.